"....President Bush would need to appoint his replacement, just as Richard Nixon chose Gerald Ford to replace Spiro Agnew....".....who then proceeded to lose to one of the worst and disasterous Presidents in US history.
But do you have any idea how close that election was?
The Republican Party went into the 1976 election with three millstones around its neck: the Nixon Pardon, defeat in Indochina, and a Recession. People wanted "Change". Governor Jimmy Carter of Georgia came roaring out of Plains, GA, with a "change" agenda and captivated the American media. They anointed him in the Spring and Summer of 1976 and the hagiography of "James" Carter spread throughout the land. In this age of instant fact checking, it is sometimes hard for us to recall how powerful was the MSM in those days. Republicans were always on the ideological defensive, while the MSM acted as the Propaganda Organ of the DNC. Natch, the 'Tator will tell you how easy it was to manufacture votes for Carter in Ohio in those days, btw.
In the Summer, Carter had built up a thirty point lead. He promised everything to everyone. Now Gerald Ford was a nice man, and he was an honest man, and he was a reasonably competent President (he was actually a better President than Carter), but he was an awful campaigner. He was wounded severely by the beating he took during his contest with Reagan in the Spring, and the Republicans went into the fall a divided party. Their brains were with Ford; their hearts were with Reagan.
A lot is told about a President by the kind of campaign he runs. Carter's began to collapse. Were it not for the fact the Gerald Ford decided to liberate Poland in one of his Presidential debates, Gerry might have won the election. As it was, he got within two points of victory. That was a phenomenal success for such an incompetent campaign. You must realize just how close we came to winning that contest. It all hinged on Ohio, btw. Florida went for Carter in that year, too.
It was good that we lost that year. The stage was set for the ascent of Reagan and the permanent Republican majority that would dawn under Bush the Younger. But Jerry Ford, though not a conservative, was a Republican and fought the good fight for our party. Good for him.
Condoleezza Rice would not be operating under the same set of handicaps that Ford operated under. I cannot see her trying to peddle "Whip Inflation Now" buttons. She doesn't fall over. She doesn't mangle syntax. She speaks in complete paragraphs. She wins debates. Chevy Chase would not be mocking her. Most importantly, she appears to be a conviction politician. Much of the Bush doctrine is her doing, and came out of her shop (NSS USA- 2002).
What she does have to do is get right with the Party on the Life issue or she will have a rebellion on her hands the likes of which has not been seen since Reagan challenged Ford back in '76. Republicans will tolerate an orderly succession, but they will not compromise very much on the life issue. MAYBE, MAYBE she could be personally pro-life and stand for returning the issue to the states where it was before Roe, but that's the most she could get away with (that's my position, btw).
In addition, I would expect her to be on the right on immigration. Why? That's where black America is on immigration. I would expect her to be where the black consensus is on this particular issue. Besides, Vicente Fox has stabbed us in the back once too often for her tastes, I suspect.
Finally, my take on this story is simple: why is it running? Why did Fox News Channel's editorial staff choose to run it on this morning's Fox and Friends?
Not all rumors happen by accident, people. Some rumors happen while Hillary is out of the country, just to keep the kettle boiling.
Be Seeing You,
Chris