Posted on 03/25/2005 10:26:44 PM PST by West Coast Conservative
Vice President Dick Cheney, in public and private, is being urged by a small but growing number of conservatives to reconsider his refusal to run for president in 2008. So far, the vice president is unmoved by the fledgling Cheney-for-president boomlet.
"I'm not running for president in '08," the vice president told columnist and TV host Lawrence Kudlow last week. "Four years from now, I don't plan to be here."
Yet Mr. Kudlow, along with fellow conservatives Fred Barnes of the Weekly Standard and Tod Lindberg of Policy Review, have written columns this month pining for a reversal by the vice president. They say his foreign-policy credentials make him the most qualified heir to Mr. Bush's legacy of Middle East democratization.
"He's the logical successor," Mr. Barnes said. "He has the experience at the highest levels of government that no one else can match. And he is the embodiment, along with President Bush himself, of the achievements of the Bush administration."
Former Sen. Alan Simpson of Wyoming, Mr. Cheney's home state, scoffed at such talk. "It just ain't gonna happen," the Republican said. "And I don't usually say things with that clarity, but I know him well, and I love the guy."
What about other names being discussed for the Republican nomination in 2008? The list includes Sens. John McCain of Arizona, Bill Frist of Tennessee, and George Allen of Virginia; Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, former New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.
"It's a field of strong individuals, each with a particular weakness," Mr. Barnes said. "Every one of them seems to be weak in one area or another. I don't think Cheney is."
(Excerpt) Read more at washtimes.com ...
Go Cheney.
The best part would be the absolute meltdown of the left and the Bush haters on the right.
Mr. Cheney, your country needs you.
True. angry = Stupid. Go Cheney.
Yes, this is what we need.
Get 'em Cheney!
Oh, I could hardly wait to see the crybaby lefties' faces! That would be sweet!
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Haley Barbour or Sanford should run, with DeLay or Tancredo as a possible Veep pick.
Yawn another 2008 thread. Why can't FReepers worry about helping Bush succeed in his 2nd term rather than worrying about scenarios in which 99.9% of them will turn out to be false anyway.
That said - Mark Sanford in 08!
How about Cheney-Bush? This way Jeb would be keeping his word about not running in '08....
Cheney-Rice? Gets Condaleeza the campaign experience she needs....
Cheney-Allen? Gets George the exposure he needs beyond Virginia....
Cheney-Frist? Well, then the Veep can both treat a Cheney heart attack, and assume power if, ah, you know...
(Yes, I know, that's in horribly poor taste. But I've had a heart attack, so I'm exempt from taste rules on cardiac disease. They gave me an official waiver when they discharged me from the hospital.)
It certainly would add an all-new dynamic to the V.P. spot! Instead of the V.P. playing lapdog for 4 years, the focus is on him or her from the get-go.
Too many doubts about his health--which isn't to say that the VP isn't perfectly capable of tackling the job with vigor, mind you, or that it would be fair or right to use his medical history against him, but those doubts can be effectively exploited by the opposition. The VP would be spending half of his campaign fielding questions about his blood pressure readings for that day. I'm no mindreader or fortune-teller, but I do know GOP party leaders are realists, as they should be, who know those doubts will translate into real numbers on election day. VP Chaney has spent decades in public life, and while I'm sure he is grateful for the support, I'm equally sure he'll stand by his decision.
Tom Delay at the top of the ticket. The only man in Washington with a backbone.
I worry about a conservative agenda in his 2nd term. If Bush is on board(John Bolton), I help him on that. If he's not(Border security), I'll fight him on it.
LOL! You're funny.
I would love to see a Cheney-Rice ticket! Oh the liberals would be red faced!
I love Cheney.
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