A remarkable series of stories in The Post about Cheney's unprecedented role began Sunday with the amazing tale of how, two months after the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, Cheney got Bush to sign an order denying foreign terrorism suspects access to any court of law, military or civilian.

Cheney presented Bush with the order, which had been written "in strict secrecy" by Cheney's lawyer, as the two had lunch. Within the hour, the document had been made official with Bush's signature -- and neither Secretary of State Colin Powell nor national security adviser Condoleezza Rice had been informed.

Rice was "incensed," according to The Post, while Powell didn't learn of the order -- which had enormous implications for U.S. foreign policy -- until he heard it announced that evening on CNN. His response: "What the hell just happened?"

What happened was that Cheney took him to school.