Bush Pulls Away from Cheney, as Questions Arise About the Vice President's Political Future

"Vice President Cheney's slow and unapologetic public response to the accidental shooting of a 78-year-old Texas lawyer is turning the quail-hunting mishap into a political liability for the Bush administration and is prompting senior White House officials to press Cheney to publicly address the issue as early as today, several prominent Republicans said yesterday," reports the Washington Post, via MSNBC.

The New York Times reports today, "The tension between President Bush's staff and Mr. Cheney's has been palpable, with White House officials whispering to reporters about how they tried to handle the news of the shooting differently. "

New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd reveals today that "Presidential staff members and lawmakers speculated yesterday about whether Shooter would resign and make room for Condi if Mr. Whittington did not survive."

This Condi-replacing-Dick rumor isn't new, of course. US World News & World Report wrote in October 2005, "Sparked by today's Washington Post story that suggests Vice President Cheney's office is involved in the Plame-CIA spy link investigation, government officials and advisers passed around rumors that the vice president might step aside and that President Bush would elevate Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice."
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Let's take another jog around the blogosphere to see what the latest word is on Dick Cheney.....

From blogger Vonski at Ponderings and Politics: "I will add a prediction I'm sure 99% of you will disagree with: VP Cheney will resign by the end of the year. "
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From blogger Jake Wallace at LiveJournal: "We now have Lawrence O'Donnell and Eric Alterman seriously and publicly speculating if Dick Cheney was wasted when he shot that guy. Afterall, why else would he prevent the Sheriff's office from interviewing him and his entourage until the next day? I believe I saw '14 hours later' quoted in the press, which is remarkably similar to the amount of time it takes for alcohol to be completely metabolized by the liver....

So, the question burning me at the moment, is Dick Cheney fired, or does he resign? And, given that we have not heard one public statement out of his mouth, has this already happened?

Is the White House trying to figure out who's running things after Cheney bows out? It certainly won't be George Bush."
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From popular, outspoken liberal blogger Oilver Willis: "History is going to record Dick Cheney as the vice president who accidentally shot a guy, leading to a heart attack....But he should probably want to not have that record also say 'Acted like a cold fish while America finally understood the significance of Cheney’s first name'. "
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From blogger LaryLaw, a San Francisco attorney: "I'm certain Dick didn't mean to shoot the guy, and we're all hopeful that he's okay. But it's clear the matter has been handled extremely badly. Cover it up, joke about it, then hope the guy doesn't die.

And still no comment, no apology by the VP or his staff. Ironically, if the guy does die, any apology or statement made by the VP could be used against him in the event he was charged criminally in Mr. Whittington's death....

Cheney could be forced to resign from office if charged, thereby clearing the way for his boss' impeachment without having to worry about what Dick Cheney would do to us if he were president."
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And to be fair, a comment from libertarian blogger Jonathan Leffingwell at Crush Liberalism: "The MSM has suggested that Cheney resign...over a hunting accident where the victim will likely recover fully in a short period of time.

There is no indication that the MSM has ever suggested that Ted Kennedrunk resign over drowning Mary Jo Kopechne. Nope...no liberal media bias."
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Related Article - Serious Side of the "Dick's Got a Gun and Shoots a Senior Citizen in the Face" Story
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