There is a serious flaw in this argument.
Bush is unpopular, with low approval numbers. True even if not acknowledged by many on FR.
A new VP would have some advantages of incumbency but also the taint of the close association with Bush.
That VP will lose in 2008.
Plus this...what highpowered politician would even accept a job that's only guaranteed for one year? It would be political suicide.
I was reading about previous Vice Presidents yesterday. President McKinley's Veep died one year before his term was up. They didn't even bother to replace him. The nation was without a Veep for a year, and the people hardly noticed it.
Of course, that was way back when the Offce of the Vice Presidency held little power or influence.
If Cheney has done nothing else as Veep, he has at least raised the status of the office.
Peggy Noonan ought to educate herself and read a little history before she sits down at her keyboard again.