The Rumor Mill Churns: Condi for Cheney?

You know, I just wrote a post about the rightosphere not trafficking in rumors, yet here I go.

It's not a conspiracy theory, though.

I don't really believe this at all. Rumors about Dick Cheney leaving his position have been percolating for so long I think we can safely say they jumped the shark sometime back in 2003.

Still, a lot of people who should probably know better never tire of hyping a hypothetical Condi run, so here's the latest Condi-for-Cheney replacement rumor:

Dr. Jack Wheeler reports on his Web site, To the Point (http://www.tothepointnews.com/article.php?id=629&i=), that a "red-breasted rumor bird" is buzzing around the Capitol whispering Hillary's worst nightmare. Congressional know-it-alls claim Vice President Dick Cheney will use health reasons as an excuse to not finish his term. If or when that happens, word is that Bush will pick Condoleezza Rice to succeed Cheney.

Wheeler says: "Being a sitting Vice-President places Condi in an impregnable position for the GOP nomination in 2008, and sucks every breath of wind from Hillary's sails. ... This is George Bush and Dick Cheney's way to buck history – and make it."

...

Condoleezza Rice is a flipping juggernaut waiting to be unleashed on the dysfunctional, lost, babbling Democratic Party.

...

Hillary has 'tried' to reinvent herself. She has 'tried' to mitigate her extreme liberal roots. She has even 'tried' to equivocate on abortion (go figure). However, if you think John Kerry got hammered for flip-flopping, wait for the point-counterpoint on Hillary.

Condoleezza Rice is Hillary's worst nightmare. If only the "red-breasted" rumor is true ...

I've said it before, but here goes again: Condi has never run for elective office. Being a politician requires a very odd and particular skill set, and there is no evidence whatsoever that she possesses it.

Further, she is probably too pro-Affirmative Action to woo the conservative base (she was reported to have fought tougher anti-AA language in Ted Olson's brief in the Michigan U. case) and I think it's known (?) that she is at least moderately pro-choice.

Which leads me to wonder: Sure, she has a great story, and sure she's a black woman and a capable strategist as far as foreign and military policy, but if the Republican Party is inclined to nominate a social moderate/liberal, it has others it can turn to. John McCain, for one. Rudy Guiliani, for another, and a superior one at that.

I don't buy it, but I'll just report and let you decide.

Thanks to LauraW.

And... If you want to start wargaming out a Condi-Hillary death-match, you can pick up miniatures -- well, action figures, really -- from this company.

H/t Michelle Malkin.

posted by Ace at 04:10 PM

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