If by 'brilliant' you mean 'very predictable' and 'shamelessly self serving, 'shallow, & 'transparent,' then yes the move would be 'brilliant.'
Not to mention that it would be ham-handed, clumsy, and show contempt for the electoral process. After all, Cheney was elected to the office. Condi was not.
W, Cheney and Rove and their Republican advisors have never shown anything but very subtle and clever electoral moves. They're not going to do something like that unless there is a compelling health reason. Cheney seems to show all evidence of being in better, or at least equal, health now as he was in 2000.