President Obama and Vice President Cheney: To Balance the War

Last Friday, while yours truly was involved in a personal drama, there was a debate on Gitmo and the War on Terror (or "Overseas Contingency Operations," if you work in the current White House).

First, here is President Obama. And his transcript. :

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Now Former Vice President Cheney and his transcript:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

So who is right? For today's Democrats, they thought the War on Terror started on 9/11 -- in fact it started before 9/11.

In fact, Osama bin Laden declared his intentions against the United States in August 1996. But it's Bush's fault in 1996 too, right Democrats?

Let's not forget what happened before 9/11/2001 (USS Cole, WTC 1993, two embassies) But again, lefties, Bush's fault, right?

Compare both speeches. Former VP Cheney expresses a theory and a way to solve it; President Obama speaks in platitudes. Know who else belived in platuitudes against an enemy who did not care? Neville Chamberlain. How many terms did he serve?

I know this requires nuance from the Left, but my questions are these:

What policies has President Obama enacted that is different from President Bush and Vice President Cheney in the War on Terror? And what are the direct aftereffects? And finally, do you remember the 444 days? If President Obama's policies echo President Carter's, what are the odds of a return to the 444 days?