Former Vice President Dick Cheney’s death on Monday could be the perfect opportunity for media institutions in the U.S. to take a sober look at the George W. Bush era — but it’s more likely they’ll fire up the nostalgia machine than confront reality.

Liberal network MSNBC’s flagship a.m. program “Morning Joe” somberly announced the news on Tuesday and quickly worked to portray Cheney as a strong leader who fought for the country at all costs. Host Joe Scarborough said the former vice president was defined by his determination not to see another 9/11. Later in the show, author and historian Jon Meacham called Cheney “a remarkable American figure.”

“We don’t make them like this anymore,” Meacham said, implying this is a bad thing.

Scarborough celebrated Cheney as a “defender of democracy” for his opposition to Donald Trump, a common theme in his final act. The former vice president and Republican hard-liner was greeted warmly in recent years by powerful Democrats like Nancy Pelosi, Steny Hoyer, and Adam Schiff for the pivot.

It’s a pattern we’re likely to see continued in the wake of his death — and a sign that Democrats have still not learned hard lessons about their role in sending the country into the abyss.

In fact, Cheney had more of a role in giving us Trump than his later opposition might suggest, pioneering a cruel brand of........

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