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Thursday, August 26, 2004The Unsteady Destiny of Dick CheneyAre we in for a re-formulation of American politics?
Over half the delegates to the Republican convention (to be held in NYC next week) seem to be disposed to put forward a new running companion for George W. Bush, would Dick Cheney leave (voluntarily?) the ticket. Fasten your seat belts!  Colin Powell and Rudolph Zero-Tolerance Giuliani top the unofficial but very real list to succeed Cheney. Now, Mr. Bush will repeat to friends and foes alike that his support of Cheney is beyond discussion; no delegates would dare to say loud that the vice-president is more part of the problem than of the solution to a bitterly contested election… but whisper they do. To compound matters, AP did ingenuously survey the delegates and found out exactly how much they all love Powell and Giuliani, or, if you prefer, bought the right to go and print what everybody knows privately.
But some delegates still remember that Powell turned down Bush’s offers to run with him in 2000. And most of them believe that, like Martin Luther King, he has a dream: to become the first non white president of the USA. I think they are right about Powell’s presidential ambitions and I believe that a dreadful lot of citizens would vote for him if he runs in 2008, including a fair share of the ones who, like myself, are now leaning towards Kerry… So, perhaps he won’t be very enthusiastic about running this time. Then, of course, you may be willing to bet that Giuliani would surely love to be the first Italian-American tenant of the White House. But we are in 2004 and ahead we all have four years of this war that will probably outlast a couple of presidents So, what about Condoleazza Rice? I reckon Bush would love her on the ticket and so would I. Longer shots would be senator John McCain or even Bill Frist, his being from Tennessee not withstanding. But is Cheney to step aside? Nothing is less sure. Campaign pundits swear that replacing Cheney never has been actively considered. It is true that campaign officials aren’t exactly reputed for their trustworthiness (at least during the campaign!)… And the pressure to bring the GOP more toward the moderate center is building up. Dick Cheney is 63 and has had four heart attacks since 1978, the most recent in November 2000… you sure remember that election!
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