Interesting Bush Manuevering

This editorial in the USA today offeres an interesting hypothetical. Give the Republican party a boost going into 2008 by changing out Vice Presidents. Bump cheney and give an 08 hopeful some spotlight. That said while it is interesting to think about, who wants to be associated with the president with a 38% job approval rating?


Cheney is toast, so new veep in works?
Updated 11/16/2006 10:17 PM ET

Now it's all about the White House in 2008. With midterm ballots barely counted, they started lining up on both sides of the aisle this week. Before it's over, expect 10 or 12 Democrats and four or five Republicans to make a serious run for the Oval Office.
In modern politics, the party in power with a two-term president has had a vice president waiting to move up. Those nominations have been almost automatic. History over the past half century:
Bill Clinton's VP Al Gore in 2000. Ronald Reagan's George H.W. Bush 18 years ago. Lyndon Johnson's Hubert Humphrey in 1968. Dwight Eisenhower's Richard Nixon 46 years ago.
Dick Cheney unequivocally has taken himself out of the running. So he's toast.
It's hard to think of a good reason he should remain in office and logical to assume that some Republicans are pushing him to leave. It could be on "doctor's orders." He's 65 with serious heart problems.
Bush then could name a vice presidential successor who they hope might be nominated and win in '08. But the appointment would need approval of both houses of Congress. With control shifting to the Democrats in January, time may be of the essence.
Likely on the short might-be list (alphabetically):
•Bill Frist, 54, Senate majority leader from Tennessee.
•Rudy Giuliani, 62, former mayor of New York City.
•John McCain, 70, U.S. senator from Arizona.
•Condoleezza Rice, 52, secretary of State.
If Cheney goes, Bush could make political history by naming the first woman and first black as veep. When presidents are lame ducks, they sometimes think more about what historians will say than about current events.