Reply #14: There could be a possibility of a GOP "incumbent" of sorts [View All]

[MADem]

And that's if Deadeye Dick resigns and is replaced by "Huggy Bear" McCain. I've been thinking that is about to happen for the LONGEST time. Why? All that hugging, all that sucking up, not only to Monkeyboy but his religious right base by McCain. Deadeye Dick, quick like a bunny, buying a mansion on the eastern shore of MD, Lynne racing to frigging POTTERY BARN to furnish it, in a hurry (what, no decorator? No snazzy fabrics, commodes, and whatnot? SURELY they could afford to doll the joint up!!!) and then, all these rumors floating about how the Monkey is pissed at, and barely speaking to, that fat, grunting, shotgun toting jerk.

When tighty-righty mags are putting forth that scenario as a possibility (however remote, so they say right now--later, if it happens, they'll remind everyone how clever they were!), ya gotta wonder what's being said inside the walls of 1600 Penn:

So Bush has to overcome these two characterological features that have cemented as conventional wisdom--that he's fundamentally incompetent and that he governs for the benefit of a handful of Republican special interests. With these two problems in mind, here's my own (admittedly fantastic) plan for a Bush recovery:

Fire Cheney. I believe historians will trace all of Bush's problems back to July 25, 2000, the day he picked Dick Cheney as his running mate. The Cheney rollout was met by a slew of negative stories about Halliburton, heart attacks, and his Neanderthal voting record in the House (against sanctions for apartheid South Africa, for example). Ever since, Cheney has been at the center of most Bush screw-ups: the energy task force investigation, the policy battle over torture, White House stonewalling of numerous congressional investigations, the Iraq war, the intelligence failures, and many more. (Also, Cheney shot someone in the face.) Now Cheney is a recurring star in the court filings of Patrick Fitzgerald. ...Cheney is the cancer at the center of the Bush White House. Bush has less than three years left in office. Most political forces--Republicans jockeying for president, the coming GOP losses in the midterms, the normal decline in a lame duck's authority--are working against him. Americans are psychologically moving beyond Bush. The only reason to give him another chance is if he indicates he's learned some lessons and is willing to make dramatic changes. Firing Cheney would do both.

Bring in McCain. It would do two things. First, it would show that Bush is serious about reaching out to independents and others disaffected and alienated by his presidency. It's not realistic for any president to bring in a member of the opposite party as his vice president, but despite his recent political moves, McCain is the one Republican for the job that would signal Bush cares about governing from the middle.

Second, McCain would give Americans a reason to pay attention to the White House again. Would he overshadow Bush at times? Sure. But that's better than the current situation in which people are tired of Bush and appalled by his vice president. ...

http://www.tnr.com/doc.mhtml?i=w060410&s=lizza04106

This is one of those WEB ONLY (i.e. we don't friken DARE to put it in our print magazine!!) articles, but I find it to be a bit of a harbinger!!!!

Will Deadeye clutch his pearls and claim that his ticker is tricky? Will he be frogmarched off? Either way, I think he won't make it to the end of this term--and I think McCain has made a deal with the devil...the only thing stopping the Monkey is JEALOUSY. He doesn't want McCain getting more attention than he gets. Also, he may be holding off to see if the Senate comes down to a single GOP majority vote in the November contests...in which case, McCain will have to stay put.