Bush Wars III: Revenge of the Cabinet

William Safire has up a new piece where he makes his prediction on the makeup of GWB's second term cabinet. Out? John Ashcroft, but NOT Colin Powell. Maybe, despite the nay-sayers all around, the General wants his legacy to be the triumph of a Free Iraq, and not leave that to a newbie who can sweep into office and pick up all of the roses after the hard-won elections in January 2005

Donald Rumsfeld should remain as secretary of defense at least until the backbone of the insurgency is broken, and until his reshaping of our military has taken hold under Marine General Peter Pace, to become Joint Chiefs chairman next fall. Rumsfeld's deputy, Paul Wolfowitz, is likely to become SecDef unless he is moved into the national security adviser's job...With moralism redeemed, John Ashcroft can confidently return home. Representative Chris Cox of California, a savvy former White House counsel, is mentionable for attorney general, and that state could use another high-profile Republican. Another prospect is Ted Olson, former solicitor general, unless he is to be Bush's first nominee to the Supreme Court, where he was this generation's most persuasive advocate. Then there are the two Larrys: Larry Thompson, Ashcroft's former deputy, and Laurence Silberman, senior Court of Appeals judge.

And of course, I have to wonder whether Rudy Guiliani would be nominated for Attorney General, Director of Homeland Security, or Intelligence Czar. Some say that he has nothing to gain (politically) by joining forces with Bush, but I can't help thinking that the blessing of a born-again president might do wonders to sway Pro-Life voters should Rudy run for the presidency himself in 2008.