Cheney tenure in danger

[southsider2k5]

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article...down/article.do

 

Will a blood clot force Cheney to step down?

 

Uncertain future: Dick Cheney

Dick Cheney has been diagnosed with a blood clot in his left leg, leading to speculation he will be forced to resign as U.S. Vice-President.

 

The 66-year-old has a history of major health problems, including four heart attacks, and has undergone quadruple-bypass surgery.

 

He is a driving force in both the war in Iraq and the 'war on terror' and his resignation would be a huge loss to George Bush.

 

The vice-president is the leader of Washington's neo-conservatives and is believed to be a dominant influence on Mr Bush's military and foreign policies.

 

He is also believed to be the president's closest political friend.

 

There has been widespread speculation that if Mr Cheney is unable to complete his term in office through ill health he will be replaced by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, another personal friend of Mr Bush.

 

Mr Cheney called in a doctor yesterday after suffering 'discomfort' in his calf.

 

'An ultrasound test revealed a deep venous thrombosis or blood clot in his left lower leg,' said an

 

official report. The vice-president has been put on blood thinning medication and has returned to work.

 

While the White House is trying to play down the situation, the condition is obviously serious and will again trigger speculation that Mr Cheney could be forced to resign through poor health.

 

Blood clots that form deep in the legs can become killers if they break off and float into the lungs.

 

This is called a pulmonary embolism.

 

Mr Cheney suffered his first heart attack in 1978 at 37. In June

 

2001, doctors implanted a device that monitors and normalises an irregular heartbeat. Mr Cheney refers to it as his 'pacemaker plus'.

 

The vice-president is under enormous stress as his policies in Iraq continue to fail and casualty figures mount.

 

He returned last week from a trip that included unannounced stops in Afghanistan and Pakistan and during which a Taliban suicide bomber tried to kill him.

 

Since he got back, Mr Cheney has been sharply criticising the opposition Democrats for trying to restrict funds for President Bush's troop build-up in Iraq.

 

The President relies on him heavily not just to formulate policy but also as an 'attack dog' to take on domestic critics.

 

There is speculation that the 65 hours Mr Cheney spent in the air aboard Air Force Two over the nine-day trip could have contributed to his thrombosis.

 

'When you're just sitting there with your legs hanging down for long periods of time, that's what predisposes you to the problem,' said Sean O'Donnell, chief of vascular surgery of Washington Hospital Centre.

 

The vice-president's travel schedule is likely to be severely curtailed in future.

[Texsox]

for his recovery.

[Soxy]

Yikes, that's scary, I hope he gets well.

[Rex Kickass]

I think the Scooter Libby verdict emperils the tenure of Cheney more than a DVT.

[Balance]

I think the Scooter Libby verdict emperils the tenure of Cheney more than a DVT.

In a perfect world....

[SoxFan562004]

Yes, I took constitution classes, but can someone refresh me what the process for a new Veep would be if he steps down?

[southsider2k5]

25th amendment time!

 

The President nominates a new one, who is given a thumbs up or down by congress.

[Gregory Pratt]

Yes, I took constitution classes, but can someone refresh me what the process for a new Veep would be if he steps down?

 

Bush nominates a replacement. Must get majority vote from both houses.

[Balta1701]

Bush nominates a replacement. Must get majority vote from both houses.

Evil laugh...

[whitesoxfan101]

Bush nominates a replacement. Must get majority vote from both houses.

 

That's the first thing I thought of when I saw this thread title. I'm sure it'll be easy for Bush to get one of his cronies through both houses right now.

[BigSqwert]

What's Jeb doing these days?

[southsider2k5]

That's the first thing I thought of when I saw this thread title. I'm sure it'll be easy for Bush to get one of his cronies through both houses right now.

 

If I had to handicap it, I would bet on Condi. She is one of the few left from the old group, plus Bush would have a chance to go down in history as putting both the first female and the first minority into the VP slot.

[BigSqwert]

If I had to handicap it, I would bet on Condi. She is one of the few left from the old group, plus Bush would have a chance to go down in history as putting both the first female and the first minority into the VP slot.

What about appointing McCain or Guiliani? Might be a good strategy to ensure a presidential victory in '08.

[southsider2k5]

What about appointing McCain or Guiliani? Might be a good strategy to ensure a presidential victory in '08.

 

Depends on Bush's approval ratings during the interm. If they are put into office, they can't distance themselves from his policies anymore. Plus I doubt they would want to do so, because it would take away from their time campaigning.

 

I still think Rice is the ideal choice for them.

[southsider2k5]

I'll even throw out a wildcard name that no one would be thinking of, and that's Alan Greenspan.

[EvilMonkey]

If I had to handicap it, I would bet on Condi. She is one of the few left from the old group, plus Bush would have a chance to go down in history as putting both the first female and the first minority into the VP slot.

Yeah, let's see the Dems try to block that one. What, is she not black enough? or woman enough? Oh boy, I can just see the spin on the 'no' votes now. Would NOW stand behind Rice, or sacrafice her for their preferred party's goals? Would the NAACP support the move, or does being Republican make someone 'not black enough'? THAt would be an interesting situation.

[Rex Kickass]

There are plenty of reasons why Condi could be legitimately denied the VP spot.

[kapkomet]

There are plenty of reasons why Condi could be legitimately denied the VP spot.

Really? What might those be?

 

[mr_genius]

There are plenty of reasons why Condi could be legitimately denied the VP spot.

 

not really.

[FlaSoxxJim]

Really? What might those be?

 

 

 

not really.

 

This is a good place to start.

 

She has been astoundingly bad as both National Security Advisor and Secretary of State, and the chances that she'd do any beeter as VP are slim to none.

[mr_genius]

This is a good place to start.

 

She has been astoundingly bad as both National Security Advisor and Secretary of State, and the chances that she'd do any beeter as VP are slim to none.

 

So says the far left

 

She would be voted in. It is unlikely Al Franken , or whoever your first choice is to be VP is, has any shot at being nominated by a Republican president.

Edited March 6, 2007 by mr_genius

[StrangeSox]

So says the far left

 

She would be voted in. It is unlikely Al Franken , or whoever your first choice is to be VP is, has any shot at being nominated by a Republican president.

 

Robert Novak is far left?

[mr_genius]

Robert Novak is far left?

 

I was taking a cheap shot at FlaSoxxJim. Unless 'FlaSoxxJim' is Robert Novak's soxtalk handle, i wasn't saying Novak is far left.

 

i apologize for any confusion my post may have created.

Edited March 7, 2007 by mr_genius

[StrangeSox]

Sorry for assuming you were referring to the article he cited to support his claims and the article's own references.

[Rex Kickass]

Really? What might those be?

 

 

I would say a PDB delivered on Aug 2001 to the President in Crawford might be a great place to start.

Under her leadership at State, North Korea's gone nuclear and Iran has accelerated a weapon enriching process. In the last few months, our old buddy Pootie has all but declared a new cold war against the United States, and the last significant contributors to our Iraq coalition have announced complete withdrawals within a year. A secretary of state that thinks diplomacy can only begin with conditions attached definitely doesn't deserve a promotion.

 

I used to love Condi. I really did. I thought the work that she did for Poppy Bush as an analyst and Deputy Secretary of State for Soviet Affairs in 1989-1990 was nothing short of masterful. She even wrote a book that IMHO is the definitive work in analyzing the US role in the unification of Germany.

 

However in the last two years, she's been an even weaker Sec of State than her critics thought she'd be and the incredibly shrinking Sec of State seems to be following the path that her underling John "Death Squad" Negroponte has been blazing the past year or so.