Phew! I have been sweating rumors that Bush will replace Cheney with someone more exciting, charismatic, engaging, friendly, and, well, less
evil.
While I won't rest easy just yet, I'm heartened that Republicans insist Cheney will stick around.
"There is a better likelihood that I will be abducted by aliens than that Cheney will get dumped from the ticket," said one Republican official, who called Cheney "indispensable" to the Bush administration.
I want to believe. And seriously, Bush needs Cheney so he, himself, can look less evil. Literally.
Political Wire ferreted out this Inside Politics transcript, where Hotline editor Chuck Todd gives us
this gem:
It's a loophole they weren't necessarily aware of but people have discovered it in both sides. And that is this whole "I approve" message on TV ads.
Well when the Bush/Cheney reelect team -- everybody's been wondering sitting president of the United States is going to have to utter the phrase "I approved of this message" because of such and such.
Well, there is nothing that says that Cheney can't be the person that says that, that the running mate -- there's no part of the law. So there's speculation that maybe on the negative ads that Bush/Cheney pays for that you may have the vice president voice it over because you don't -- the thing that all media strategists will say when your running an incumbent's reelection is you don't want to have the incumbent president in particular look negative.
And maybe this is a way for them to run a negative ad without the president looking negative.
Leave it to the Bushies to find new and innovative uses for evil.
