We keep hearing about how much the Obama administration likes it when Dick Cheney makes a high-profile interview criticizing the administration on how they’re fighting the war on terror. They think that because Obama is more popular than Cheney, that fight is on good terms for them. Yesterday I heard Jane Mayer and Peter Beinart repeating this argument on This Week.

Except the problem is that the public generally prefers Cheney’s positions on these issues. Quinnipiac:

How likely do you think it is that in the near future there will be a terrorist attack in the United States causing large numbers of lives to be lost?
78% Very/Somewhat, 20% Not very/Not at all
When it comes to dealing with people suspected of involvement in terrorist attacks against the United States, which would you prefer: trying them in open criminal court with a jury and a civilian judge or trying them in a closed military court with a military judge?
34% Criminal court, 59% Military court
Should president Obama close the Guantanamo Bay prison?
28% Yes, 60% No
What concerns you more about the government’s anti-terrorism policies – that they have gone too far in restricting the average person’s civil liberties or that they have not gone far enough to adequately protect the country?
25% Gone too far, 63% Not gone far enough
In order to prevent terrorism, should there be greater use of body scanners at airports – which allows screeners to scan a person’s body through their clothing?
84% Yes, 13% No

And Rasmussen:

Should the trials of suspected terrorists linked to 9/11 be held at Guantanamo Bay?
Yes 44% No 33%
Should the trials of suspected terrorists linked to 9/11 be held in the continental United States?
Yes 49% No 37%
While they are being tried, should suspected terrorists be given all the rights of U.S. citizens?
Yes 16% No 74%
A proposal has been made that would require all Guantanamo Bay prisoners to be tried in a military tribunal. Do you favor or oppose this proposal?
Favor 67% Oppose 15%
Survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted January 30-31, 2010. The margin of error is +/- 3 percentage points.

Sometimes it seems like this administration never moved past Election Day, and that in their minds, it’s perpetually November 2008. Public attitudes shift, and opinions change. The public may not like Dick Cheney as much as Obama, but that doesn’t mean they prefer the Obama stance on every issue – or, these days, many issues.