More Greasing Of Skids For Cheney

Al D'Amato and Bruce Bartlett want Dick Cheney out.

Al likes Powell or McCain; Bruce likes McCain, and so do I (in my current fantasy, anyway).

Comments

[bithead]

D'Mato is an idiot.
He's worried that not appeasing the left by eliminating Cheney, will lose us the WH. He apparently still hasn't learned that you don't keep a position by placating the Democrats. Bush Sr Learned it when he lost the WH on the taxes they conned him into. D'Amato should ahve learned it as well when despite playing nice with them, and giving them what they wanted, he lost his senate seat.

Blithering idiot.

[Mitch H.]

Fuck the left. How about appeasing the centre? Do you have any idea how many centrists are making stupid noises about holding their nose & voting for le Dauphin? Cheney's a scary bald white guy who always looks like he's one hissyfit from a coronary. Of course, so's McCain - but for some reason, McCain doesn't scare the centre.

My daydream scenario features Bush putting Powell, Rice, McCain, and Lieberman in a room, and telling them he's locking the door until they figure out who gets to replace Cheney, who gets to be Secretaries of State and Defense, and who has to be Attorney General.

[Forbes]

I can't even imagine W listening to the proposition that McCain should be on the ticket, even if Cheney told him he wasn't running--fo whatever reason. McCain has been a bugaboo on any number of issues for this administration. My point is simply that there are too many central issues that these two don't see eye to eye on. And the media would have a field day on that. That's not part of the Rove strategy.

[TM]

I would pitch it to Bush, McCain, and the country as "there is only ONE issue you need to agree on - the country is not under attack by folks unhappy about campaign finance reform".

[eirik]

I wouldn't mind if there was a change in the ticket, if said person was likely to run for election in 2008. For example, as much as I wouldn't mind seeing Rice as VP, is she seasoned enough to run for higher office? I'm a bit concerned about Powell, if just because he seems to be a little more wishy-washy than I would have expected from his background.

I tend to think Rudy would be a good pick. I'm not so sure I trust McCain, but could support it. I wouldn't mind Rumsfeld, for that matter, but he carries the same baggage that Cheney does.

How's this for a cross-aisle shock: Zel Miller?

[sym]

If Bush dumps Cheney, he loses the election. By dumping him he'd be admitting that his policies over the last four years have been a mistake, and Bush is not the kind of guy that admits errors. What happens to all those "don't change horses mid-apocalypse" slogans?
Besides, McCain said no to Bush in 2000. What makes you think he'd say yes now?

[TM]

By dumping him he'd be admitting that his policies over the last four years have been a mistake...

No, he'd be admitting that Cheney's pill-popping doctor made a mistake in evaluating Dick's ticker.

McCain said no to Bush in 2000. What makes you think he'd say yes now?

History plus vanity - 9/11 really does make the 2004 election more important than the 2000 one. And running as Bush's VP should help McCain in 2008, when he would be an old candidate.

IIRC, McCain at age 72 (come 2008) will be the oldest first time Pres ever - Reagan was older when re-elected in 1984.

[sym]

"McCain at age 72 (come 2008) will be the oldest first time Pres ever "
Well, here's hoping.

Don't you think picking McCain would be read as a repudiation of Bush's fiscal/social policies, and picking Powell would be a repudiation of Defense's hawkishness? Bush could gain popularity by explaining the picks as a move to the centre, but it would take some adroit explanations, and Bush hasn't explained any of his actions very well in a long long time. And if he does pick a senator who votes against the FMA as his running mate, he's going to piss off a lot of people he can't afford to piss off.

[TM]

Bush hasn't explained any of his actions very well in a long long time.

Please don't remind me - if I get a paper cut, you be sure to bring the salt.

And the point about McCain opposing the FMA is well taken. Darn. Well, I said a long time back that Bush should have made the gay marriage question an issue about who do you want appointing federal judges.