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2004-06-25 Home Front: Politix

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Posted by OldSpook 2004-06-25 12:17:58 AM|| || Front Page|| [11126 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 This strikes me as a deliberate move. Cheney doesnt make this kind of mistake. THere had to be a reason or something to gain behind it.

I think it gives Bush a reason to let him "decline to run", and a new Veep for the Republican ticket comes around if the press takes the bait, bites down on the hook and runs with it.

Does 2 things:

1) This issue simmers a bit, then the Bush campaign announces that "Cheney decides not to run" the day that Kerry finally annouces his VP. Steals that thunder. Then a few days after the Dem convention concludes, they start floating rumors all over the place, killing any boost Kerry gets from the Demo convention, soon to be followed by the Olympics which also drown out Kerry (And are some of the time period where Bush can still spend his unlimted Primary funds while Kerry is contrained to the federally capped funds). Then all eyes are on the Repub convention for the anouncement of the new VP candidate. Effectively keeps the Kerry campaign off the "mindshare" for almost 2 months despite press that will obviously plaster their front pages with partisan "news" to try to support Kerry.

2) Eventually gives Bush the ability to bolster his ticket with Guliani, or Powell, etc, fairly late in the campaign, "tuning" the ticket and only leaving the Dems 2 months to attack the new VP. Drops the Cheney/Haliburton things and the "Puppetmaster" crap too. It bascially takes the crayolas out of the Lib-Loonie kids' crayon box.

Here's one wild possiblity: McCain.

Get him out of the senate seat (better conservative candidate can be put in there to replace him), and puts him "on the team" and conveniently close where they can keep an eye on him.

Plus would help with "Independents" and Undecideds, and would take some of the fire out of the "anti-Bush" croud at its edges.

And it sets up a well known name for a run in 2008. McCain vs Hillary. Hooah! What a fight that would be!

Posted by OldSpook 2004-06-25 12:23:18 AM|| 2004-06-25 12:23:18 AM|| Front Page Top

#2 If Powell is the VP candidate, I'm not voting.

Posted by someone 2004-06-25 12:29:23 AM|| 2004-06-25 12:29:23 AM|| Front Page Top

#3 More to the point though, Kerry actually benefits from being out of the picture. The more people see, the less people like. So no need to spring anything until, say, convention time.

Posted by someone 2004-06-25 12:30:29 AM|| 2004-06-25 12:30:29 AM|| Front Page Top

#4 OS---your analysis and stragegy is intreguing. I have to think about it for a while. The plot thickens like a pot of split pea soup on the stove!

Posted by Alaska Paul 2004-06-25 12:46:38 AM|| 2004-06-25 12:46:38 AM|| Front Page Top

#5 Cheney's one of the good guys. But he's got a bad ticker and this business of spending nights in the bombshelter has got to be getting old. He's done his share during this administration. Fly fishing back home in Wyoming has got to sound mighty appealing. I'm with OldSpook, Cheney will leave the ticket and do so in a way that finds the Dems completely flat-footed.

Posted by Classical_Liberal 2004-06-25 12:55:43 AM|| 2004-06-25 12:55:43 AM|| Front Page Top

#6 Use your head and quit throwing tantrums - would you rather see Kerry as Pres than Bush with Powell as VP? That seems to be what you are saying. If so then you are no true friend of the Nation nor of Conservatives

Take a step at at time. As for Powell, I disagree with a lot of things he stands for (especially Abortion and some social programs) - but would rather see Bush-Powell (Or Bush-Anybody) in the Whitehouse than Kerry-Anybody, and would rather see Powell-Anybody in the Whitehouse in 2009 than Hillary-WHomever.

Still, unless you are in a crucial state like Ohio, Penn or Fla, no big loss if you dont vote for a Bush Powell ticket- the net gain from Powell is far larger than a few disaffected rigid "conservative" idealogues who would rather have NOTHING than have half of what they want. Learn from the Gipper and his dealings wiht the Dems in the 1908's: pick your battles wisely and dont throw out progress halfway there and end up with nothing. You remind me of the Goldwater people, whose rigidity and pique ended up hading the election to LBJ for 4 bloody years of micro-managed Vietnam, and the huge social welfare system we now are saddled with.

Posted by OldSpook 2004-06-25 1:00:07 AM|| 2004-06-25 1:00:07 AM|| Front Page Top

#7 I was looking for the next step, like a knee-shot to Leaky's goin area. Maybe next time.

Posted by Capt America 2004-06-25 1:01:53 AM|| [http://captamerica.blogspot.com/] 2004-06-25 1:01:53 AM|| Front Page Top

#8 Powell has been a wretched Secretary of State whose most notable contribution to the war was dragging us into the UN quagmire (and the inspection/WMD distraction) and failing miserably once there. He has done nothing to promote the administration's point of view abroad, instead playing interagency politics as bloodsport and in fact promoting the "international" point of view here. The leaks and public politicking -- against initiatives and policies of our own government! -- from State under his "leadership" have done Bush immense political harm.

I don't care that he's in favor of racial preferences or whatever, though of course I'm not. But putting him in as VP would be a very telling signal of Bush's intentions on the war -- and not for the good. It means the democratic beginnings in the ME would be quickly sacrificed. It means we will cease to pursue the initiative in the war on terror, returning to playing defense until we suffer another mass casualty attack. It means business as usual at State and CIA. That's Kerry's plan, and if someone's going to screw us with that stuff it might as well be him.

Powell handled Pakistan pretty well in the runup to the battle of Afghanistan, but has been a liability ever since. Remember "moderate Taliban"? The endless temporizing with Arafat? Etc etc etc.

Politically speaking, there's a substantial swing neocon/hawkish-liberal vote out there, and Powell is a great way to alienate it.

Posted by someone 2004-06-25 2:49:22 AM|| 2004-06-25 2:49:22 AM|| Front Page Top

#9 Looks like the server done blowed up.

Posted by Shipman 2004-06-25 7:02:46 AM|| 2004-06-25 7:02:46 AM|| Front Page Top

#10 Sounds like a very minor reaction to four years of being called a Nazi, war profiteer, etc. Leahy deserved to have the shit kicked out of him; he's lucky all he got was an insult.

Posted by Robert Crawford 2004-06-25 8:34:47 AM|| [http://www.kloognome.com] 2004-06-25 8:34:47 AM|| Front Page Top

#11 Capt America - LOL, that would have been awesome.

I'm waiting to see if anybody from the Kerry Kult says anything about this. Given Kerry's loose lingo with the mic incident and that Rolling ~~Joints~~ Stones interview, I would think they will keep quiet.

Posted by Laurence of the Rats 2004-06-25 8:35:25 AM|| [http://www.punictreachery.com/] 2004-06-25 8:35:25 AM|| Front Page Top

#12 As usual, I'm with Robert on this one.
(Sorry Old Spook, but you've got your tin foil hat on too tight.)
President Bush has said firmly that Cheney stays on the ticket and I believe him.
And if VP Cheney were obliged to step down, it wouldn't be Powell that would take his place (Remember comedian Chris Rock's theory about black VPs).
Speaking of Powell, I don't think he's going anywhere either.
The Left just loves to think about Team Bush splitting up because of the way Bubba churned his Cabinet, such as it was, as they were all equally awful.
But the Dimocrats "hate" the Bush Cabinet because they're all pretty terrific.
Leaky Leahy had been spoiling for a good FU for a long, long time.
Where's Teddy's?

Posted by Jen 2004-06-25 9:05:26 AM|| [http://www.greatestjeneration.com] 2004-06-25 9:05:26 AM|| Front Page Top

#13 I think Cheney could take Leahy in a fight.

Posted by Chuck Simmins 2004-06-25 10:05:57 AM|| [http://blog.simmins.org] 2004-06-25 10:05:57 AM|| Front Page Top

#14 If I heard right, in polite terms, Cheney suggested that Leahy take advantage of his hermaphodite status, and pleasure himself.
Some one should have suggested this long ago!

If it is a rouse to get a new veep, as has been suggested above, A certain former New York mayor seems to be the ideal choice - post Dem convention - but if he really wanted to make the Donks have an apoplectic fit chose the erstwhile Dr. Rice.

Posted by BigEd 2004-06-25 10:59:31 AM|| 2004-06-25 10:59:31 AM|| Front Page Top

#15 Cheney's a big boy, and he didn't do that without thinking it through. Bottom line - he doesn't care if the media found out, because Leahy (among many others) deserved it, and Americans like guys who stand their ground publicly. So from me as well, go fuck yourself leaky Leahy

Posted by Frank G 2004-06-25 11:25:35 AM|| 2004-06-25 11:25:35 AM|| Front Page Top

#16 If it were me I would have invited most of the Democrats to go have sex with themselves. Leahy egged The VP and got what is mild amount of what he truly deserves. I also would have pointed a single Foxtrot Uniform towards the senior drunken bastard from Massachusetts! This is why I am not a politician!

Posted by Cyber Sarge (VRWC CA Chapter) 2004-06-25 12:12:55 PM|| 2004-06-25 12:12:55 PM|| Front Page Top

#17 (Sorry Old Spook, but you've got your tin foil hat on too tight.)

Since when does honest speculation about the VP slot degenerate into a conspiracy cheap shot? I can see you doing this to Murat or Antiwar, since they tend to have very uninformed opinions, but OldSpook? Please.

Unless, of course, you were trying to be funny...

Posted by Raj 2004-06-25 1:17:27 PM|| [http://angrycyclist.blogspot.com] 2004-06-25 1:17:27 PM|| Front Page Top

#18 Hell, I've never been in the same room with Leahy and I tell him to eff off all the time. As for Cheney doing this for some calculated effect -- no, I'm not buying it. That smarmy bastard Leahy could piss off a saint, and Cheney is only human. The simplest explanation is usually the best one.

Posted by Jonathan 2004-06-25 1:18:04 PM|| [www.workaround.blogspot.com] 2004-06-25 1:18:04 PM|| Front Page Top

#19 Can we give Brother Cheney an Amen? This is something that needed to be said to Leahy, Kennedy, and the rest for at least two years.

Posted by RWV 2004-06-25 1:31:42 PM|| 2004-06-25 1:31:42 PM|| Front Page Top

#20 Amen!

I personally love Cheney but..When I heard McCain stand up for President Bush at Ft Lewis my immediate thought was that he was coming on board as, perhaps, the next VP. Even though Arizona is a small state it is like Orange County, So Cal redux 1960s. It's a rising tide, Pheonix like, ta da.

But is he really capable of staying cool for four years and loyal. I wonder! I was on his side during his campaign until his complaining about christian support for Bush. But I could stand with the guy if he can be as supportive as he was recently. It showed more leadership than I have come to expect. Yep, leadership by showing support.

Powell has a good presence about him. He'd do well to stay where he is. I wonder if being a Presidential canidate is his thing.

Guliani, a great national choice also. He's down with the LLL and he may be the guy who could pull this country together. But he is a little squishy sometimes.

Posted by Lucky 2004-06-25 2:02:31 PM|| 2004-06-25 2:02:31 PM|| Front Page Top

#21 If we were to vote for a VP, mine would be cast for Dr. Condoleeza Rice, one of the smartest, toughest ladies this side of the Atlantic. If for nothing else, it would give Hillary heart failure.

Posted by RWV 2004-06-25 3:36:47 PM|| 2004-06-25 3:36:47 PM|| Front Page Top

#22 Fred for VP!

Posted by The Doctor 2004-06-25 3:51:32 PM|| 2004-06-25 3:51:32 PM|| Front Page Top

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