Rumor Mill: McCain to Replace Cheney?

Off Topic Politics & World Issues
1

Wouldn’t this be an interesting happening… gotta love the rumor mill.

http://dbsoxblog.blogspot.com/#109387797552127636

Monday, August 30, 2004

RUMOR: MCCAIN TO REPLACE CHENEY?

Bill Kristol was just on FoxNews irresponsibly disseminating a rumor that he began the previous day on FoxNews Sunday with Brit Hume. Since I love the rumor and fervently wish for its accuracy, it is my pleasure, nay my responsibility, to continue its irresponsible dissemination.

Reading the tea-leaves, Kristol has concluded that McCain might be poised to replace Cheney on the ticket. Here?s the logic: After his convention speech tonight, McCain is flying out to New Mexico to hook up with the President and introduce him to the American Legion convention and then he?s going to travel with the President to Nashville. Kristol wonders what could possibly occasion this flurry of McCain activity. He speculates that Bush and McCain could make an announcement together in New Mexico and then later in the week triumphantly wing their way back to New York.

Kristol also perceives a couple of other portents. For the last several weeks, Dick Cheney has been pretty much playing Tupper-ware parties in Fargo. And last week, Karl Rove said that he wants to model the RNC along the lines of Roosevelt?s 1944 convention where Roosevelt positioned himself as a successful war president and dropped his Vice President in favor of a far more popular and less controversial politician.

Left unsaid in Kristol?s analysis but clearly implicit is that dropping Cheney for McCain would be pure political gold for the Bush administration. Whether deserved or not, John McCain has become a virtual political saint in this country. Both parties, when they seek to prove the right-ness of one of their positions, eagerly seek out a McCain quote to serve as support. Indeed, the one thing that both parties seem to agree on is that John McCain?s word is final. How many times in the past several months has the Kerry campaign implied that they have McCain?s imprimatur on a key issue? Presumably McCain?s presence on the Republican ticket would put an end to this unseemly inter-party fawning.

A more pressing question is whether true Conservatives can live with John McCain?s presence on the ticket and with it his de facto coronation as the 2008 front-runner? On behalf of all true conservatives, I?m here to answer with an emphatic yes. Look, I?m no McCainiac ? far from it. While I find his life story inspiring, I also think he?s the vainest politician of our time, and his repeated thumbs to the administration?s eyes grew tiresome years ago.

But, and this is the big thing, he?s right on the war on terror. I?m passionate about the full range of issues that most conservatives are, but for me the war on terror trumps them all. By a lot. And McCain has been out front on the GWOT since day one. He was rattling his saber at Saddam before we were even in Afghanistan. Since he?s so right about the biggest issue, I can live with everything else. Besides, Churchill wasn?t much noted for his modesty either.

None of this is meant to denigrate Dick Cheney. I?ve always been a big fan, still am. But the stakes of this election are huge. If subbing McCain for Cheney will make a huge difference, as it likely will, it?s the proverbial offer we can?t refuse.

Besides, I have a feeling Cheney will make a bang-up Secretary of State.

2

i’d take it

but i like guiliani for 2008

cheney would make a bang up secretary of state of powell wants out…

so would condi…and cheney could be NSA advisor which doenst need congressional approval.

anyone see the cover of the new repubic this week? I will be intersted to read it.

3

I don’t see it happening, and furthermore it’s not necessary! The Bush/Cheney ticket will be victorious in November.

4

Interesting. It certainly would have been easier to turn away Kerry knowing that something else was coming up the pipeline.

However, I don’t know that it would be in his best interest to do this. If here were to end up as yet another ineffectual administration official he’d come out in four years without a prayer.

This isn’t an attack on the Bush administration, but I think it is widely understood that a few players on the team don’t get the ball very often.

[edit to fix typo]

5

Cheney should be fully investigated for his dealings with Halliburton, from their no-bid win forward. That whole scene makes Whitewater look like nothing (which in the end it was).

6

Roadwarrior,

Thanks for the daily buzzword. Today it’s “Halliburton.”

What’s tomorrow?

You want to open a major investigation while maintaining that another was frivolous.

Great thinking.

By the way, You wrote: “makes Whitewater look like nothing (which in the end it was).”

Just to open your infinitesimal mind some:

From a newsmax article from 2000:

“In addition to the three defendants convicted after jury trials, the investigations thus far have resulted in fourteen convictions of twelve defendants by guilty pleas. Twelve such pleas have occurred in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas. Two guilty pleas have occurred in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.”

To say that Whitewater was nothing, depends on what the definition of nothing is.

Sick and tired of people who can’t do their own research,

Thanks,

JeffR

7

As a democrat, that prospect scares me, as McCain is so respected by Republicans and Democrats alike. He’s turned into an almost Independant moral compass in this campaign. His willingness to schill for the Bush administration has been a bit off-putting, but he would still smoke the Kerry-Edwards ticket. I remember a poll a month back that said a Kerry McCain ticket would enjoy something like 55% of the popular vote. Hope Cheney’s heart lasts until November. S

8

This rumor should put to rest the nonsense claims that somehow “George W Bush is so principled that he doesn’t care about polls”.

Bush cares about polls like every other politician. The only reason to dump Cheney is because he’s a drag on the ticket.

Can you imagine Kerry trying to dump Edwards because someone else might be more popular?

If Bush does it, it’s a sign of desperation.

9

“Can you imagine Kerry trying to dump Edwards because someone else might be more popular?”

Yes. He would dump Edwards in a second and replace him with Big Bird if he thought he could win.

See his 19 years in the Senate: Long on hot-air, short on principle.

Poor Lumpy,

JeffR

10

DUH??? Do you have a problem differentiating between fantasy and reality, Jeffrey?

We can pretend to imagine Kerry dumping his running mate at the last second, in order to win.

Instead, we are talking about the VERY REAL possibility that Bush WILL do it.

It proves that the claims “Bush doesn’t care about polls” are complete bullshit. He cares about polls just like every other politician.

One could even argue that for the past year or more, Bush has made political decisions based more on his re-election chances, than on good government or conservative principles.

11

[quote]Lumpy wrote:
This rumor should put to rest the nonsense claims that somehow “George W Bush is so principled that he doesn’t care about polls”.

Bush cares about polls like every other politician. The only reason to dump Cheney is because he’s a drag on the ticket.

Can you imagine Kerry trying to dump Edwards because someone else might be more popular?

If Bush does it, it’s a sign of desperation.[/quote]

Not really Lumpy desperation Lumpy -

Basically, with Cheney, it’s a fight Bush can win, but it’s a fight. With McCain, it’s no contest. If Bush were to name McCain, then you may as well throw in the towel.

The question is really whether Cheney will insist on stepping aside or not – Bush is too loyal to push him aside.

12

[quote]Lumpy wrote:

Instead, we are talking about the VERY REAL possibility that Bush WILL do it.[/quote]

Get off it, Lumpy - Cheney is on the ticket.

You gotta make up your mind - Is Bush the biggest idiot on the planet? Or is Bush so calculating that he would be playing to the pollsters in the midst of the Iraq war?

13

I never said Bush was the biggest idiot on the planet.

He’s merely a life-long fuckup who is in way over his head, as the leader of the most powerful nation on earth.

He’s certainly smarter than some of his toadies are, though.

14

Saying whitewater was nothing, doesn’t mean that there wasn’t anything wrong. It means that it didn’t stick to the primary political target – and hence ended up being nothing but a waste of time and money with respect to going after the administration of the time.

Get a grip!

On another front, whether or not Bush is a moron doesn’t have much to do with whether or not he is getting political advice that he chooses to follow from smarter people. Of course he is playing politics with a lot of things at once – through his advisors.

Holy myopia batman!