Could be to panic us into action?
By the response by FReepers, I'd say it's working!
You can't really blame Bush, I suppose, for not actively pushing a replacement candidate. It would undermine his own power. So I suppose we won't see a candidate emerge until fairly late in the day.
The MSM are jumping in to push their candidates--notably McCain. But I don't think the Republican party is that stupid and suicidal.
Still, it looks like a race to see who can screw up the most, rather than a race to see who can field the best candidate with the best platform. The Democrats don't even have a platform they can admit to publicly.