For some time now, I've believed that John McCain is the administration's handpicked "boy" to succeed Bush in 2008. What I couldn't figure out was how they would try to ensure that it happened. Now I'm beginning to see the light.
A senior columnist for the inside-the-beltway publication Congressional Quarterly speculated on MSNBC's Hardball this afternoon that Vice President Richard B. Cheney may be the next to exit the Bush Administration, a report first caught by ThinkProgress. ThinkProgress has the video here.
Speculation that Cheney could depart the White House has been rampant, and the claim by CQ political analyst Craig Crawford could be yet another case of "crying wolf" on the Washington political scene. Still, with the depature of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and the continuing ostracization of Administration neoconservatives, the possibility isn't beyond the pale.
Story and video at Raw Story
So what if Cheney does resign for "health reasons" and Bush gets to name a successor -- McCain. Then McCain gets to run in 2008 as the incumbent VP, rather than just another Senator. In that event, it seems to me we would have to put up a particularly strong candidate if we were to win.
I know it's just speculatin' but it has become kind of a game to reach out to left field, haul something in and then watch it come true with these guys. So, why not McCain for VP in 2007?