Cheney Having Aneurysm Repaired

That's what the White House says, anyway. Cheney's got an aneurysm behind his right knee and it's going to be repaired next weekend. Actually, he's got aneurysms affecting both knees, but the right knee is getting repaired. That's their story, at any rate. Which of course we don't believe. Because the White House ladies lie about everything, even when they don't have to, just to keep their hand in. When Cheney was MIA during Katrina, it was rumored he was in the hospital. Which is very plausible. He may be having an aneurysm repaired next weekend, but it's doubtful it's the benign and routine procedure being put forward. And we don't know what else has gone wrong with his failing body. Let's see…he's had four heart attacks. The most recent one (rather, the last one the White House admitted to) was in 2000. In 2001, a wire mesh stent was inserted to keep a clogged artery open. He has a pacemaker and a defibrillator. And these are the attacks, procedures and devices we know about. This is the man Bob Woodward said absolutely would run for president in 2008? Cheney will be lucky to be alive in 2008 let alone run for office. Let's have a look at the order of presidential succession in case Bush is made to resign and Cheney kicks off his mortal coil. If Condi Rice is impeached, Donald Rumsfeld fired, Michael Chertoff forced to resign, John Snow quits, and Alberto Gonzales becomes a Supreme, these names will change. By the way, the Secretary of Homeland Security used to be last in the order of succession, but was moved up to No. 8. Vice President Richard Cheney Speaker of the House John Dennis Hastert President pro tempore of the Senate Ted Stevens Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice Secretary of the Treasury John Snow Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld Attorney General Alberto Gonzales Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff Secretary of the Interior Gale A. Norton Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao Secretary of Health and Human Services Mike Leavitt Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Alphonso Jackson Secretary of Transportation Norman Yoshio Mineta Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings Secretary of Veterans Affairs Jim Nicholson Back in July, there was a rumor that Hastert might quit the House altogether. However, with the GOP taking a long look at Bush's chances for finishing out his term and Cheney on the seriously disabled list, Hastert may be looking at the odds for his becoming president as a sure thing.