(CNN) - He may have exited the national stage nearly one year ago, but former Vice President Dick Cheney has been named "Conservative of the Year" by the conservative Human Events magazine for his ardent and continuous criticisms of the Obama administration's national security policies. "What Cheney is saying, primarily on foreign policy, defense and anti-terrorism, makes sense to more and more American citizens growing increasingly worried by the Obama Administration's insouciance when U.S. national interests are threatened, both at home and abroad," former U.N. ambassador John Bolton writes for the magazine.
"Since the only real, long-term way to deal with persuasive positions on substantive policy matters is to refute them with sounder policy arguments, it is not hard to understand why the Obama White House is near panic," Bolton also writes. "Where are they going to go to find a better policy inside his administration?"
In a series of interviews and speeches over the last year, Cheney declared President Obama had put the country's security at an elevated level of risk as a result of a string of national security decisions that largely went at odds with Bush administration practices.
Cheney's comments have met criticism from many Democrats and some members of the media who say he would be better off following the example set by former President George Bush, who has remained largely silent on the actions of his successor.
But in the Human Events article, Bolton said its necessary former leaders continue to defend their policies.
"Most people have scratched their heads at this criticism, which is what passes for devastating analysis by the media, because it is entirely natural for a senior public official to explain and defend his policies once he leaves office," Bolton writes. "In fact, it is critical that men and women who have served in high positions, as Cheney has, to do just that, to give our citizens a better understanding of what actually goes on in high-level decision making."
"Cheney's quiet, inner-directed motivation is simply impervious to the attacks orchestrated against him by the Chicago machine-style politicians at the White House, a fact also plainly visible to his fellow citizens," Bolton adds. "And it is yet another important reason to have confidence that Cheney's solid policy analysis will yet prevail in the national political arena. Of course he is the conservative of the year!"
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