Posted on 02/26/2005 6:55:39 AM PST by Pokey78
VICE PRESIDENT DICK CHENEY IS adamant about not running for president in 2008. Asked by host Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday if he might change his mind, Cheney answered with a firm no. "I've got my plans laid out," he said. "I'm going to serve this president for the next four years, and then I'm out of here. . . . In 2009, I'll be 68 years old. And I've still got a lot of rivers I'd like to fish and time I'd like to spend with my grandkids, and so this is my last tour. I don't plan to run for anything."
And that wasn't all. Cheney said a primary reason he has influence with Bush is that he has pledged not to run. His ability to serve the president, he said, "depends upon my ability not to have any agenda other than his agenda. I made it clear when I took the job that I had no aspirations to run for president myself, that I wanted to be part of the team. And it's worked very effectively." If he were running, he'd have to worry now "about what the precinct committeeman in Ottumwa, Iowa, is going to think about me in January of '08." Since that's not the case, Cheney said, he's free to "offer my advice based on what's best from the standpoint of the president and his program and what we're trying to achieve now."
As professions of lack of interest in the presidency go, Cheney's is unusually
But there's a larger reason Cheney should seek to succeed Bush. In all likelihood, the 2008 election, like last year's contest, will focus on foreign policy. The war on terror, national security, and the struggle for democracy will probably dominate American politics for a decade or more. Bush's legacy, or at least part of it, will be to have returned these issues to a position of paramount concern for future presidents. And who is best qualified to pursue that agenda as knowledgeably and aggressively as Bush? The answer is the person who helped Bush formulate it, namely Cheney.
There's one other person who has been as important as the vice president in helping the president shape that agenda, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. She could be an attractive candidate, but she has shown no interest in running for public office. Rice was once introduced to Arnold Schwarzenegger as "the next governor of California." She declined to run, however, and of course he got the job in 2003. Last year, Rice had the opportunity to run for the U.S. Senate from California. Again, she declined. If she decided to run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008, she would face the distinct disadvantage of being a first-time candidate.
What about John McCain, Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney, Bill Frist, and other Republicans who are thinking about running? They don't come close to Cheney in foreign policy know-how or decision-making experience. That's not to denigrate them. McCain has emphasized foreign and military affairs in his Senate career and is an able spokesman for a Bush-style foreign policy. Giuliani is no slouch on the subject of the terrorist threat. But who would generate the most public confidence as commander in chief? Cheney, for sure. On domestic issues as well--particularly taxes and energy--he can match any of the likely Republican candidates.
The main rap I've heard on Cheney is that he lacks the charisma to get elected. This is nonsense. So what if he can be characterized as Bush without the pizzazz? Cheney has what's far more important--gravitas. He's a man who's taken seriously as a national leader by everyone here and abroad. Voters aren't stupid. They know that gravitas trumps charisma in choosing a president in a foreign policy era.
The other question about Cheney as a presidential candidate is how he gets out of his vow not to run. That's easy. In the final two years of Bush's second term, the president will be a lame duck whose agenda has been exhausted. There will still be foreign policy issues on the table, true. But that will entail the playing out of policies that Bush, with Cheney's help, developed in his first term. So Bush will be in a position to anoint a successor. If
I don't know if Bush, two years from now, will actually want to choose a successor, someone to carry on his policies. It's possible his presidency and his signature issues may have soured by then. But I doubt it. So imagine Bush as a successful president looking to the future after he leaves office and wondering whether his accomplishments will be protected and expanded or reversed. It would be out of character for Bush to leave the selection of his successor to chance or to the whims of presidential primaries. If he says he'd like Cheney to run, my guess is Cheney would be hard-pressed to say no.
Followership is a strange word and I would go into all of the aspects of what good followership is, but I don't need to. Dick Cheney is the example of great followership. And, no, followership doesn't have anything to do with being a "yes man".
The idea of followership really goes right back to Ronald Reagan, who said:
"There’s nothing you can’t achieve as long as you don’t care who gets credit."
Dick Cheney is a living example of that axiom.
No offense, but PLEASE do not compare anyone to Truman, that is unless you're insulting them.
HST was a 2nd 3rd 4th rate political hack who...
This MSM fallacy and propaganda about 'give em hell Harry' must end. The only Hell he gave was to people in Eastern Europe, Asia and the USA - you know, basically the entire world.
As such, I personally believe that POS should be dug up, tried for treason, shot and dumped in a swamp.
Hello, all --
Have I suggested Donald Rumsfeld for 2008 lately?
OK, then, let me suggest....Donald Rumsfeld - 2008.
If the Vice President wishes to step aside after this term in office, then I think Rumsfeld is best able to continue a strong stand against terror, and least likely to be dragged down by PC concerns.
His vigor and energy are twice that of younger men, and we have clearly seen that he has conceded nothing to age.
Interestingly, in a recent speech to the National Press Club, when Rumsfeld was asked if he were planning to fade into the sunset, he said, and I paraphrase closely, "Dick Nixon said that you wouldn't have him [Nixon] to kick around anymore. I'm saying no such thing!"
Go, Rummy, go!
It sounds good to me.
Harry was directly responsible for the fact that my entire generation lived its active productive life in the context of the Cold War. And the current geopolitical climate is a direct follow on result.
Do you think the nation is prepared for a Supreme Court Justice who is not an attorney?
Georger Allen: Good man, #1 with me.
John McCain: Like him, hope he runs.
Rudy: Too liberal for the top job, would be a great Director of the FBI.
Bill Frist: Who?
Bill Owens: Need to see and hear more from him.
Arnold: Same as Rudy, too damn liberal.
Chuck Hagel: Disloyal to Bush and conservatives, don't trust him and don't care for him.
Sam Brownback: Good guy, but something's missing.
Rick Santorum: Great VP candidate.
Mitt Romney: Will the Red States vote for him?
Not going to happen, IMO...Fred's off the beam on this.
Cheney and Rice swap jobs in '06 then on to '08 and beyond
Sanders, the Governor of SC, is someone to keep an eye on. Pence rocks, but he has to become Governor first to be a viable candidate. Sad, but true.
He's an experienced candidate at the national level and an effective debater with a wry sense of humor.
Understatement of the decade. While I wish Cheney all the best in a well earned retirement, I will miss the VP debates. He pimp slapped Lieberman and humiliated Senator neck brace.
Cheney has the charisma (not as much as W), definitely the intelligence. It would be an honor to have him run and win, but I wonder about his health. I guess if you keep busy like W, he would be in top shape healthwise. Give that heart some exercise!
Rice-Cheney.
It's important that we keep the Illumiati out of the lead position.
P.R., y'know.
My guess is that Cheny may actually have more serious health problems than he lets on. It wouldn't surprise me if he didn't serve out the entire four year period.
Seems Fred won't take "no" for an answer. Maybe if Vice President Cheney gives the Leahy treatment to anyone who asks, that'll be strident enough.
If we're putting Cheney up in 2008, then we're desperate. He can't win with his health problems.
Note that Hillary has to get reelcted to the Senate in 2006. The Republicans need to counter with a "gravitas" candidate whom she can't ignore. Then we need a bloody knock-down, drag-out barroom brawl kind of campaign. Sure, her Thighness will win but she may too damaged to be a viable presidential candidate. Please, please let that happen.
Owl Eagle said it best in this thread. Let Dick Cheney go fish those streams and spend time with his family. He's served America with integrity, distinction, honor and class.
If the GOP wants to nominate a winner, they need look no further than the combination of General Tommy Franks and Senator John Cornyn of Texas. The only problem would be deciding who should be President, and who should be VP.
Both men are more than qualified and instill confidence.
That ticket would finish the job of totally destroying the Democratic Party, Senator Fat Ankles notwithstanding.
If that POS were to run you can be sure the Philadelphia Daily News would endorse him.
He has all the qualifications:
He's black...
He's overrated...
He's black...
He lashed out at George Bush on television....
He's black...
He plays the race card with total impunity to a loving media...
He's black...
If he had to go out and get a real job in the real world he'd starve in a week...
He's black...he's black...he's black.
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