Boy wouldn't this throw the whole presidential race, which nobody has figured out anyway, into absolute chaos?
But what are they thinking that they're not saying? Here's a hunch, based not on any inside knowledge but only on what I know of people who practice politics, and those who practice it within the Bush White House.
I suspect what they're thinking and not saying is, If Dick Cheney weren't vice president, who'd be a good vice president? They're thinking, At some time down the road we may wind up thinking about a new plan. And one night over drinks at a barbecue in McLean one top guy will turn to another top guy and say, "Under the never permeable and never porous Dome of Silence, tell me . . . wouldn't you like to replace Cheney?"
As long as Cheney is still there, this would be the first presidential election in a long time in which there's no incumbent or vice president in the race. If nothing else, this gives us the chance to play the "Who might replace Cheney?" game.
