Even at times when the dictator has prickly relationships with world leaders, his residence in Crawford, Texas, is a good place to ease the tension between himself and his allies around the world. And a good place to pull the cactus stickers out of his socks.

It's "hard work" when he's on vacation, just as it was hard work during his vacation in August 2001 and on every vacation since. The dictator doesn't just drive his pickup truck around the ranch, dodge the cowpies, chop wood, and shoot the breeze with reporters. There is work to be done in running this country, and Cheney calls him regularly, sometimes interrupting those all important video games, to let him know Cheney's getting the work done. (J. Scott Applewhite, AP)