What About Cheney?

Well, first, Bush cannot fire him. The Vice President is an elected office, not an appointed one. Cheney could resign. He could be removed from office for Treason, Bribery or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors. He could die. There is all manner of conjecture floating around about who will be the designated scapegoat for the massive failure of the Bush administration now that the Democrats have gained control of the Senate and House of Representatives. When Bush said on November 1 that he wanted “Donald Rumsfeld and Vice President Dick Cheney to remain in his administration until the end of his presidency,” everyone knew Bush meant he had no intention to support either man. It was easy enough to fire Rumsfeld. But setting up Cheney as a designated scapegoat is another proposition altogether. It’s not a matter of getting rid of Cheney. He’s sick. Seeing to his imminent demise would be simple. Cheney has to be discredited and forced to resign or removed from office in order to make him wear the scapegoat mantle. I don’t see enough support for Bush to make that happen. Finding Cheney guilty of crimes and misdemeanors that don’t also taint George W. Bush is tricky. Yes, this might be accomplished through the Patrick J. Fitzgerald investigation. But the GOP is not in love with George Bush. The GOP is in love with the GOP. Question One: in the Machiavellian Bush administration, will the evil geniuses be more likely to pick George Bush or Dick Cheney as the fall guy for all the problems of the last six years? Question Two: In the GOP and in the wider world of supporters of the GOP (Carlyle Group, arms manufacturers, White House Iraq Group, Wall Street, William Kristol’s Project for the New American Century fiefdom) is there solid support for Dick Cheney or for George Bush? The reputation of the 43rd United States presidency cannot be salvaged. Therefore, who is the likely candidate for taking the fall? An intelligent, loyal, tireless behind-the-scenes workhorse or a bumbling, narcissistic, fratboy pretender?