Will Giuliani replace Cheney in ’04?

[Pale Blue Dot]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4065772/

Will there be a Bush/Giuliani ticket in '04?

A well-placed source says that the president will “most likely” drop Dick Cheney from his re-election ticket and his first choice for a replacement is former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani.

“The issue of Cheney’s health will probably be given as the reason,” says the insider. “There’s a short list of possible replacements, and Rudy is at the top of the list.”

The source adds that the selection of the former New York mayor may be overridden by Bush advisors from the far right. “Giuliani has been pro-choice, pro-gay rights, and is pretty liberal on some other social issues, but the thinking is that he might broaden Bush’s appeal.”

Consider the source...

[virtualobserver]

1. I don't believe it

I think that this is just distraction from the Bush people.

I think that Bush is more likely to be replaced on the ticket than Cheney.

[yellowcanine]

2. Please let this be true. This would keep a few wing nuts home.

Plus Giuliani has so much personal "baggage" he makes Bill Clinton look like a piker.
It won't necessarily hurt his electability but it will serve as a major distraction and be hugely entertaining to boot.

[kskiska]

3. Rudy would easily outshine Junior

and anything he did would be geared toward running for prez in ’08. On the other hand, Junior needs someone who would, in effect, be acting president the way Dick is. Giuliani is a take-charge guy, but he doesn't know the ins and outs of Washington and Congress and doesn't have Cheney's clout.

As far as "family values," go, Rudy is on his third wife, and is a little liberal for wingnuts' tastes.

[colonel odis]

4. is this the same giuliani

who's working on his 3rd marriage?

who moved his mistress, the current mrs. giuliani, into gracie mansion while the second mrs. giuliani was still living there?

is this the same giuliani under whose watch ny cops sodomized one guy in the station house and put 47 bullets into another one who was trapped at the end of a hallway?

just making sure i have the right rudy giuliani.

i think he'd be perfect for them.

[Piperay]

65. Haha...bring him on...

Rudy is an adulterer, that should go over well for a party that promotes family values, those f*cking hypocrites! :puke:

[Dogmudgeon]

5. Rick Santorum

I think he's well-positioned to get the VP nod.

Rudy has high visibility, but as VP, his sainted 9/11 performance will be quickly forgotten as his usual sleazy personality gets the spotlight.

Santorum is pretty, he's smooth, and he's the most powerful politician the Radical Right has after Bush. A Santorum vice-presidency would be useful to shore up Bush's base support, especially in the event his previous AWOL, drug abuse, or promiscuity become issues.

At that point, I think I'll order Pimsleur French and start trolling Match-dot-com for Canadian chicks.

--bkl
Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep!

[yellowcanine]

6. You may think Ricky is pretty but do Dubya and Karl agree?

Ricky would only get the nod if Dubya and Karl think he is pretty as well.

[wildwww2]

11. Santorum would lose PA. Just like Gore lost TN. PA is going Democratic!

I am sure of it. Santorum would be a waste. If it really turns out to be a close election. I hope they do choose him. He is a hateful homophobe and many people that can`t stand hateful homophobes know it.
Peace
Wildman
Al Gore is My President

[La Lioness Priyanka]

43. rick santorum

Yikes! Could anyone be more disgusting

[yellowcanine]

50. Someone more disgusting than Ricky? - Tom Delay

any more questions?

[0007]

56. Ralph Reed & Gary Bauer need to be mentioned,

Santorum can't have all the glory, ya know?

[yellowcanine]

57. How about Pat "Hurricane gonna hit you" Robertson?

And watch out for tornadoes and meteroites too, you infidel!

[Devlzown]

7. I've believed that for a long time.

As far as being pro-gay rights...well, isn't Cheney's daughter gay? And I seem to remember a time when Poppy Bush was pro-choice, before he hooked up with Reagan and got religion. The shrub is in trouble in this election and they know it. Rudy's got some broad appeal because of 9/11, and could even help them carry (or make it close enough to steal) New York.

[devinsgram]

8. No way

Cheyney runs the show, he'll never let go of the stronghold he has over the rest.

[soleft]

9. Or Frist?

[Leilani]

10. The Religious Right Would go Beserk

Falwell & Robertson would have cardiac arrest.

Rudy is a Northeast Liberal, pro choice, pro gay rights, pro gun control.

[wildwww2]

13. The Killer Christian Right are already Beserk. Ya can`t go to were ya are.

Can you?
Peace
Wildman
Al Gore is My President

[Merlin]

18. That won't stop Bush. He has placated the right ad nauseum.

He knows he's got to move to the center to get reelected. That's why Rudy is perfect, and Dickie stepping aside makes the perfect scapegoat for moderates--who have been terribly disappointed in this moron's admin--to say "Oh, well, now we have a clean slate, so I can vote Repub after all. It was all that Cheyney's fault, but he's gone now."

Rudy also has a tough side of his image that offsets any "too liberal" rap.

Don't think for a minute the Rovians are above this, if it get them reelected.

[Kathy in Cambridge]

44. Don't Forget CATHOLIC

and he's one of those swarthy eye-talians. They would go nuts. But Rudy has credibility with more moderate Republicans and Independents, unfortunately.

[Merlin]

12. THIS big surprise has been in the works since 2000.

The whole reason why the right has behaved in such an obnoxious, in-your-face manner, despite the consequences to Shrub, is because--from the very beginning--Cheyney's main reason for wanting to be on the ticket was to try to accomplish huge portions of the right wing agenda in the first term, take as much of the heat for it as possible, then disappear, allowing the reelect campaign to claim they now have a clean slate since evil Dick is gone.

I've been posting this scenario for 3 years now. Originally, I thought it would be Powell. But he is now severely damaged goods.

I think Powell was told, 16 months ago, that Cheyney would step aside, and that he (Powell) was on the short list for replacing him on the ticket. I believe that's what turned Powell on a dime right before his UN presentation, and induced him into becoming a whore. Unfortunately for him, he didn't consider the hit his image would take, nor did he take into account the others on that list. Ridge had been one, until his lackluster performance. Rudy has always been on it.

There's absolutely no doubt in my mind, this will be the big September/October surprise.

We have got to be ready for this.

[Pale Blue Dot]

15. The convention is in New York...

just more food for thought.

[worldgonekrazy]

53. It is also, IMO, why Rudy was propped up as a "hero" on 9/11

Think about it. It fits right into the whole having-the-convention-in-NYC scenario.

This has been their evil plan right from the start.

[frank frankly]

61. holy shit

that stopped my heart.

[KansDem]

14. I've often wondered how Cheney got on the ticket in the 1st place.

He was originally given the task to find a VP for Bush the Unelected. Rumors flew regarding the likely candidate. Then, he announces he will run on the ticket with His Royal Flatulence.

Was it planned all along to have him run? Was the "head hunting" chore just a ruse? Did the Bushistas need to clear the way regarding that pesky Constitutional Amendment that prohibits the Pres and V-Pres from being from the same state? Why go to all this trouble during Campaign2000 just to have him run anyway? :shrug:

edited to correct verb tense

[maddogesq]

30. My guess: Cheney was Poppy's pick.

Oil baby...OIL!

[Paragon]

16. A gossip columnist? Please...

This ain't "latest breaking" and it's definitely not "news".

[Pale Blue Dot]

23. In fairness, I did say "consider the source". nt

[MattNC]

17. dont believe it

I thought it's been stated clearly several times that Cheney will remain on the ticket.

[Merlin]

20. And your point is... ?

That's like Clark insisting he'll never accept the VP.

When the time comes, they just change their minds. The news is so big, nobody pays an iota of attention to what they said previously.

[AlGore-08.com]

19. They've been saying this since Smirk "picked" Cheney in 2000

In 2000, of course, the rumors were that Cheney would be dropped for Colin Powell or John McCain. When Frist became Senate Majority Leader, the rumor was that Frist was going to replace Cheney.

There's a new one of these "Smirk will replace Cheney with the flavor of the week" rumors out every month. I'll believe it when I see it.

[NashVegas]

21. If Cheney Gets Beat Up Enough in the CIA Probe

It won't matter. No way can Shrub say he had no idea what Dickie was doing.

[ugarte]

22. You're all forgetting Condoleezza

Bush is all about people he trusts and feels comfortable with. If he replaces Cheney, bet on Condoleezza. He and Rove will both smirk with delight in putting forward the first African-American/ woman on a national ticket.

[aquart]

25. Yeah, she has real stump appeal.

Name one vote she would bring in.

[AlGore-08.com]

26. She wouldn't be the first African-American woman on a national ticket

In 1952, Charlotta Spears Bass was the Vice Presidential candidate on the Progressive Party ticket.

In 1988, Lenora Fulani ran as the Presidential candidate of the New Alliance Party.

In 2000, Ezola Foster ran as the Vice Presidential candidate on the Reform Party ticket (yes, Pat BuKKKanan picked an African-American woman as his running mate).

If Rice were to replace Cheney (and that's a big if), she wouldn't be the first black woman to run for VP. She would be the first to run for VP for a major party.

[Adapter44]

64. Yea right

A pro choice VP will play REAL well with Bush's base.

[aquart]

24. On 9/11, Giuliani was present. Bush wasn't.

There is no way Bush will run on the same ticket. He's a petty, mean, jealous nonentity who pins his reputation on being the President in the Great Crisis of 9/11. Except he wasn't. Giuliani was.

Every stupid, crass, jackass thing Giuliani ever did or will do can't change what happened on that day. Giuliani was there. He was covered in ash and LEADING. He was in freaking shock and LEADING. Everyone in the world knows that Giuliani was present and George was absent.

That isn't something a Bush can forgive.

[Gin]

27. Cheney in Davos...made a slip of the tongue that "may" be important...

When asked about O'Neill..Cheney said some unflattering comment and then said.."when I was asked to pick a VP"...but he never finished the sentence...he may have meant Sec. Of Treasury but he said "VP."

Does it mean anything? Who knows..It jumped off the TV to my ears...so I am sharing it!

[Merlin]

31. Interesting. What did he follow that with? n/t

.

[Gin]

33. .he was been discussing the O'Neill asertions made inthe book...

that started the statement...slips of the tongue are the truth
more times than not.

[AlGore-08.com]

41. Before he was the VP candidate in 2000, Cheney was supposed to pick the VP

He was coordinating the whole thing for Team Smirk, interviewing potential running mates, etc. He came out of the whole process recommending himself for the job. Smirk agreed, and then Team Smirk built up a buzz for a couple days about what an amazing, exciting VP choice had been made, and then announced that the amazing, exciting choice that would electrofy the electorate was - - Dick Cheney.

David Letterman made jokes about the "excitement" generated by picking Dick Cheney for a couple weeks, at least.

[Adapter44]

68. This isn't a valid argument

Name ONE modern president that would come personally rushing in to a death zone.

So basically you are saying that when the nation is under attack a president should personally jump in to the middle of a war zone? Potentially leaving the nation with out a president (and the commander of the armed forces) in the middle of such an attack? Wow, great strategy. Next time I play I chess I'll make sure to lose my queen to a pawn for nothing and see just how bad things can REALLY get.

Giuliani was SUPPOSED to be there. NO member of the federal executive branch has such a duty, and quite frankly suggesting risking the lives of members of the executive branch (very likely crippling the federal government as a result) is the stupidest suggestion I have ever heard. You could very well be risking the lives of countless other americans (while the fed gov is crippled and ripe for attack) in such a situation for NO gain what-so-ever.

[onehandle]

28. Bull. nt

[yellowcanine]

29. "A well-placed source says" - sounds like one of Novak's sources

And just as reliable, no doubt.

[chimpy the poopthrower]

32. about Giuliani's 9/11 performance...

Everyone says he did such a good job and was a real leader that day, but no one ever provides any specifics. I don't live in NYC and I don't want to take anything away from the guy. I'm not challenging, just curious -- I genuinely want to know exactly what he did that day that was so extraordinary. I know he didn't run and hide like Bush, and that he was a visible presence at the scene of the disaster, but is there anything more to it than that? Maybe that is enough for a lot of people. And again, I'm just asking, not attacking.

[tinrobot]

35. He was there...

I don't agree with all of Rudy's policies, he was actually kind of a jerk. But he was the face of New York that day, and while Bush was hiding, he spoke eloquently and with true emotion. He went to ground zero despite the dangers. In fact, a building almost collapsed on him as I recall. Unlike Bush, he also went to funerals, dozens of them. He did everything right and then some.

[tinrobot]

34. I think Cheney will bail - here's why...

It's not because of his public perception, but because of money.

As soon as his term as VP is over, he can go back to Halliburton to rake in all the profits he made while VP. If he waits another four years, the profits might not be there.

Follow the money.

[Dulcinea]

36. Not gonna happen.

Rudy Giuliani would never play second fiddle to Boy George or anyone else. He has too big of an ego for that. Besides, he's Catholic, divorced, pro-choice, & the fundies would never accept him.

He wants to be Governor of NY, not part of a Bush administration.

[tinrobot]

38. Besides...

The Bush people seem to choose VPs that are far worse than they are. Who could even imagine Quayle or Cheney as president? They're both incredibly awful in their own way. They need someone who's wonderfully mediocre.

Rudy's too good, he might overshadow Chimpy.

[worldgonekrazy]

54. What if the piece of $hit thought it could propel him to the Presidency?

You know, go on the '04 ticket as VP and then run in '08 as President. Either that, or he might figure that he will get to play President for two or three years after Bush's ass is impeached (should he get re-selected of course).

[slappypan]

37. A colorful, festive trial balloon display

on a snowy January morning.

[davidinalameda]

39. not just no

but hell no

Jebbie is heir apparent in 2008 if Duyba wins this year.

they don't want anyone challenging him for the throne

[Yavin4]

40. Won't Happen, Halliburton Didn't Hire Guiliani

Halliburton is not going to leave money on the table. Dick has been too good for business.

[grytpype]

42. I predicted this months ago.

It's really the only way to save Bush's grip on the White House.

I don't even think it's out of the question that Bush won't run, and the Repugs will run Benito Giulliani.

Anything to maintain their grip on power.

[Triana]

45. Tom Ridge maybe? Remember the PA ECs

I always suspected maybe Tom Ridge would replace Tricky Dick II. Ridge had NO ntl security experience but was put as head of Homeland Security. I figure this was for the purpose of putting the guy in as Veep and thusly delivering those PA EC votes to Sneaky McMoron in 2004, but it's just theory.

[adriennel]

46. I don't think so...

"Bush/Cheney 04" stickers and signs have started appearing around Michigan.

[proud patriot]

47. One word "Diallo"

:grr:

[David__77]

48. I would be extremely surprised.

The fundamentalists would cringe at a potential President Guiliani. He's a rightist to be sure, but a secular one who could care less about homosexuality or abortion.

[Stuckinthebush]

49. No

Simply because Cheney is in control. He has to stay in office to pull the strings.

[RT Atlanta]

51. Sad, but funny

Below is the direct text of a response regarding a possible */Rudy ticket:

"I have always said that although I like Cheney, we need a 2008 Presidential candidate on the ticket with Bush. I'd like to see Giuliani as VP, then he can trounce Hitlery in 2008 with Condi Rice as his VP. I think both would be unbeatable tickets."

This kind of "reasoning" (and I am using that term very loosely) is scary, but prevalent by many in the SE US. I took the quote from a general discussion message board from my school's atheletics message board.

[Blitz]

52. No, but if Bush wins

I would love to see Guiliani as the new Attorney General. He is an outstanding and fair minded prosecutor. It would be a major upgrade over Ashcroft.

[Red State Rebel]

55. My bet would be Bush/Rice if there is a change...

[warrior1]

58. ehmm

fuck that shit. impeach the bastards.

[colonel odis]

59. condoleeza rice?

you really believe the party of old white men would put an african-american woman -- i don't care how smart or good she would be -- one heartbeat away from the presidency? if so, you see republicans as a lot more evolved than i do.

the only question i'd have about a ticket like that is who would get shot first. would extremists shoot bush so there'd be a black president? or would white supremacists shoot rice so ...... oh, hell. we all know why they'd kill her.

[Whoa_Nelly]

69. Condo-Sleeza is already in bed with the man

So, why bother placing her in the VP choice. :evilgrin:

[Merlin]

62. Condi??? She has all the electoral attractiveness of Maude Frickett.

She is skinny, severe, harsh, cold and heartless. Even Rove can figure that out.

I'll give you Powell, but not Condi.

[nomaco-10]

60. Did anybody else see the interview....

of Guiliani last week when he said he now has a new business. He now operates a company that cleans up toxic, deadly chemicals and has the contract on the office building in Florida (The Enquire headquarters) that was infected with anthrax. He says he will prove that he can make the building inhabitable again.
Weird the way these former repug politicians always go into something to do with national security or defense weaponry with absolutely zero experience in the field. He was very animated and excited over the prospects of his business being very successful. It was just plain creepy, but then again we're talking about Giuliani here.

edited to add: Wonder who set up Rudy in this business endeavor? hmmmmmmm.....

[flaminbats]

63. brilliant politics...

see what can happen when you have no primary opposition?

[Norbert]

66. Things won't change with Rudy on the ticket.

Rudy will be the popular figurehead and the Dick will be the silent partner.

[Whoa_Nelly]

67. Will G replace C?

in one word...
godihopenot...
And even if G replaces C, its the R* that needs to be replaced by the D...
Go Dems 2004!

[legin]

70. Another thing he has got going for him

Having read about the I/P issue you realise that there is a certain 'black logic' to it, i.e. what is the worst thing you can think that could happen, and it usually then does.

I maintain that the world has now become just one big I/P issue.

Rudy Giuliani sucks on the I/P issue, threw Arafat out of the UN 50th birthday celebrations amoung several other things, so Giuliani is about as bad as it gets for the I/P issue therefore the 'black logic' holds that he will become VP.

[Beetwasher]

71. I Think Giuliani Is Too Smart

I don't like him, but I think he's too smart to try to hitch his wagon to this trainwreck...Appearances aside, Giuliani used to be a prosecutor w/ some level of integrity. Much of that integrity has been tarnished, however, I think he know's what scumbags and thugs these guys really are and I don't think he'd lower himself to be a part of it.

[Sugarbleus]

72. Rofl... I LOVE that sig line and pic... heheheheehhe

Let's just hope it "doesn't matter" who he picks cause HE AIN'T COMEIN' BACK ....Wooohoooo Go Dems Go

[Freddie Stubbs]

73. This will not happen

They can't afford to piss off the pro-lifers. Even if there were not a viable conservative 3rd party candidate, many pro-lifers would stay home on election day or only vote for congressional and state candidates.

[pinniped]

74. Lamee Chainknee health brought about by...

breathing all that stale air in that bunker (spiderhole).