Condi is not qualified to be president although she may be able to win the election.
If Kerry who often did not show up to vote and skipped committee meetings was qualified to run for president, then Rice, who has executive experience, should be well-qualified to run. Let Dean and Kennedy complain that Rice is not "black" enough because she did not have a stereotypical job (a "safe" job for blacks) such as the Undersecretary to the Third Secretary of Civil Rights or whatever.
America will soon have its first Black and first Woman Vice President and it will be a REPUBLICAN!
Let's here Jesse, Julian, Sharpton and the other racist call Dr. Rice bigoted names and see the reaction!
The sad part, if true, is that Dick Cheney's health is going downhill. He's such a good man.
Doubtful.
Rumors from both Dems and Pubs will run rampant for the next 2.5 years.
How many 'Wasingtononians' have ever been elected? Very few. And if both parties put up one (Dems: Senators Clinton/Kerry/Edwards; Pubs: Senators McCain/Hagel or SoS Rice), both parties are out of touch.
The Dems' fields is, right now, very narrow: 2 election losers (Kerry and Edwards) or hClinton. Byah might have a good chance if Hillary decides against running.
Edwards couldn't even win re-election to the Senate, nor deliver his state to the Party.
Kerry was the candidate only because of the Dean meltdown, and Kerry was the last viable standing. Kerry got the nomination by default; it wasn't Kerry, it was 'anybody but Bush' and Kerry happened to be the only one viable who got the nod. It took allot of help from the MSM to cover-up his warts, and he almost won, not because he was such an grand candidate, but he was 'anybody but Bush' and had much of the MSM cover-up support.
The Pubs' field? None on the radar. The only names being tossed out are mostly Left of Center. By the election cycle, even Hillary will be to the Right of most of them (she ain't stupid and is moving more in that direction every day). She will make McCain, Guliani, and most of the the other big-name GOP look like liberals.
she has my vote
P O N G!
I love Cheney, but this would be excellent strategery.
It puts the Dems on defense over the race issue in `06. It puts Hillary on her heels and needing to re-shuffle the deck for `08. And, it puts Rudy and McCain into the backseat for the `08 nomination.
The media would have conniption fits.
But, I think this is nothing more than idle rumor.
This would be as good for the democrats as Dean is for Republicans.
From Wheeler's lips to God's ear!
Please, people, there is absolutely no evidence that the VP's health is getting worse, and plenty of reason to think otherwise. He has made it clear he's staying for the duration. What else is necessary? He is not going to want his legacy to be that he did not serve out his full-term for political reasons. Furthermore, Dick Cheney is a valuable asset to the President on Capitol Hill and in the Oval Office as a trusted advisor, probably his most trusted advisor.
If Condi were appointed to the VP position and went on to run for President, she would be forevermore depicted by the Dems as being handed her position and her political career as a gift from the President, rather than earning it. It would not be a good thing for her or for the Republicans.
Condi is prochoice IIRC. I would never ever vote for her if that is true, as much as I think she's great. That is my dealbreaker.
Naah!
Cheney said he was in for the long haul and I believe him.
The problem with replacing Cheney with Condi in '04 is that it looks a tad gimmicky, and suggests that Bush might be nervous about his re-election prospects. It also deprives him of the most involved and effective Vice-President in U.S. history.There's another alternative besides running Condi for VP in '04 or having her go directly for the Presidency in '08. Sometime during Bush's second term, Cheney simply resigns for "health reasons" and Bush appoints Condi as VP. There's no way in the world that Congress would fail to confirm her. That gives her incumbency credentials, the '08 Republican nomination in a cakewalk, and an easy victory in the general election.
I also think we need Cheney for as long as we can keep him.
I do, however, love the idea Dr. Rice as President.
1) I'm sure Dr. Rice would do a fine job (and at least we know her leanings - no big surprises there)
2) A lot of Hildebeast's cachet is the prospect of being the 'first woman president'. Blows that advantage away and goes one better.
3) This could wrench the Black constituency away from their blind loyalty to the Democrats and finally help them realize Democrats weren't/aren't interested in them being part of the American melting-pot where the American dream is to be found.
But then again, I don't necessarily go "Oh, a "BLACK" woman" when I see Dr. Rice. It's more like sometimes I remember "Oh! that's right - Dr. Rice is Black." Her being Black and a woman is just so incidental to her abilities that those facts just don't compute, unless it's been specifically mentioned or is being discussed. So maybe the Black American voting bloc won't see her as "Black" either?