He’s been critical of the president’s foreign policy, particularly where it involves the war on terror.

But why hasn’t he joined the chorus of critics — on the left and the right — who’ve been blasting the daylights out of Obama over the White House response to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill?

Oh! I forgot. He once ran Halliburton, the giant firm that supplies oil companies, which has been linked to the disastrous spill. Yep, the former veep’s silence on this one has been deafening, even though the president’s tepid response to the spill has drawn deserved criticism — from both ends of the vast political spectrum. Those on the left have blasted the administration for relying too heavily on British Petroleum’s expertise; those on the right have pounded the president for failing to mobilize federal response teams.

It’s good to know that Cheney’s political antenna remain finely tuned. He wouldn’t dare mouth off about this disaster when he knows all too well what a hands-off approach to oil-drilling regulation can produce.

We’re watching the tragic consequences unfold right now.