There’s a rumor that Vice President Dick Cheney may be resigning in the near future.
Considering that Cheney is the one person in the government with lower approval ratings than the President, unloading the albatros that is Cheney might give the administration some bouyancy.
Oh, who am I kidding? President Bush is his own albatros. And Cheney brings his problems upon himself.
But it occurs to me. If Cheney is going to resign, he needs to do it quickly. Bush can nominate someone to replace Cheney, and after a majority vote in both houses of Congress the appointee becomes Vice President.
In two months the Republicans will no longer have a majority in either house.
Now, it’s possible that Bush could nominate someone that would garner broad bipartisan support. Or Bush could nominate someone in the hope of giving the nominee a head-start in the 2008 Presidential contest. It’s possible that, even if Bush nominated a right-wing ideologue, the Democratic majorities in both houses would decide to put the good of the nation ahead of partisan politics in voting down the nomination. And maybe the prospect of having Nancy Pelosi a heartbeat away from the Presidency if Cheney resigns would be motivation enough for Bush to look outside his comfort zone.
Oh, who am I kidding? Look at the nonsense over the John Bolton nomination to the post of United Nations Ambassador, and I’m filled with no confidence that Bush could nominate anyone for Vice-President who wouldn’t be anything more than a right-wing ideologue and a polarizing figure.