VP Intrigues!

It is always a popular sport in Washington this time of year in the Presidential election cycle to start guessing who will appear on the ticket beside the well-established presidential candidates. President Bush has already said more than once that Vice President Cheney will be running with him. (And the bumper stickers on sale on his website seem to reflect this.) But several public missteps by Cheney have renewed speculation that he may choose to step down as VP for 2004. Now, the Drudge Report is claiming that Washington Insiders are betting on Hillary Clinton as Mr. Kerry's running mate in 2004, after John McCain turned down Kerry's non-offer for a bipartisan ticket. This is sure to renew calls for Cheney to step down in favor of a more magnetic personality, or at least someone who can bring new votes to the ticket.



If Senator Clinton is indeed the choice (something I highly doubt), then my attention is drawn to a little-reported news item that we mentioned here earlier this week. Democratic Senator Zell Miller is scheduled to speak at the Republican Convention in August 2004. What if he is being held in the background as a possible contender for a Bush bipartisan ticket? Bush/Miller would certainly be interesting, and would provide some rationale for democrats to reconsider voting for Bush. And it would be closer in core values to President Bush than some of the Liberal Republicans whose names have been floated to replace the vice president, like Rudy Guiliani.



Count this among those "Things that make you go, 'Hmmmm...'"