Well, my political prognostication credentials are in the toilet after my bald Dean assertions (somebody could made a hundred bucks off of me), but I can't let that stop me!

Dean: "He says 20 brilliant things and then 2 incredibly stupid things" i heard some pundit say. Yep. Tho, he may mature and may be back. Stranger things have happened. I mean. look at Nixon!

Back to the present:

2004: Bush (or is it Cheney) gets to deploy Cheney as media attack dog without worrying about the negative aftertaste of attack ads and vitriolic Cheney appearances on Meet the Press because --- bling! -- right before labor day Cheney announces that he is stepping aside for _____reasons. This allows the one guy in the administration with a small shred of cred (yes, even after all that UN BS) and some gravitas to accept the VP nomination and improve the GOP's situation among African-American voters. (seriously, one "oopsie" and the first African-American president). In alternate-Republican-universe-#1, Cheney agrees in late November to serve as special national security advisor -- the High Plains, protestant Kissinger -- and continues to rule the world! Condeleeza Rice's title changes and she is seen less on TV.

Digression: is it just me? Am I being sexist? racist? Is Rice actually smart? I seem to be missing it. What am I missing?

In the Democrat alternate universe, Kerry continues to get hammered by 100 million dollars worth of Bush commercials accusing him of wishy-washiness (and some of these could be absolutely correct). Kerry starts wishing he had the limited voting record of Howard Dean, but negotations to swap fall apart. Dean still refuses to vote for the Iraq war! Kerry's underfunded pollster phone banks reveal that anyone slightly left of center would hold their nose and vote for Andrew Dice Clay, Darl McBride or a two-week-old piece of road kill over George Bush, so the battle starts to focus on the center. None of the potential Democratic VP candidates poll any better, but a "stealth" poll of independent voters reveals one tipping vote getter: John McCain. He's pissed, he's back, and he's gonna balance a budget.

Digression: I happened to stumble on a new book in my branch library (Sailors to the End) that recounts the catastrophic 1967 fire on the USS Forrestal. Did not know until I picked up the book that it was McCain's A4 that was on the recieving end of the misfired rocket that started the whole explosive mess that killed 140 sailors. Some *very* interesting tidbits in there also regarding another fire on the carrier Oriskany and how *not* to handle magnesium flares in a crisis.

So, there's my political Bizarro World. let's see how I do this time!

> ...and how *not* to handle magnesium flares in a crisis.

Yeah, they burn so damned hot, they burn under water...which is even higher in Oxygen concentration than air...

-brendan

-brendan

Kerry's underfunded pollster phone banks reveal that anyone slightly left of center would hold their nose and vote for ... Darl McBride ... over George Bush...

I distrust Bush as much as the next guy, but that's really pushing the boat out. Ugh, the prospect of McBride as President is kinda like that nude picture of the outrageoulsy obese woman that someone snuck into your inbox last week - something that you wished never existed.

I could forward you to another picture that would make you gouge your eyes out, if you want.

" Ugh, the prospect of McBride as President is kinda like that nude picture of the outrageoulsy obese woman that someone snuck into your inbox last week - something that you wished never existed. "
Frankly, I might be more partial to McBride as president than Kerry. The Democrats chose this fool based on "electability," not knowing at the time that he had none. Dean might have had a shot, except he was painted as an extremist by the media (and that scream). Edwards probably could have won easily if he had run a real campaign, instead of trying to become Vice President.

The country is divided into two groups right now:
1. NotBush, that would be willing to vote for Darl McBride
2. NotLiberal, that would vote for anyone who even CLAIMS to be conservative

Frankly, I'm scared to death of both presidential candidates. Kerry is probably the more frightening of the two, with his only redeeming quality being that he is unlikely to get anything accomplished so long as Republicans control congress. Still, I can not vote for Bush. The lesser of two evils is still evil. How's the Constitution Party looking this time around?

If either presidential candidate wants to win election, they should choose a running mate that mitigates their weaknesses. In Bush's case, he wants someone that the liberals feel OK about. The best man for the job is probably Colin Powell. Kerry needs someone who appears conservative. One of the many choices would be John McCain. I think the original poster is on to something, but, unfortunately, I don't see either party as being that smart.

-Biscuits

....but that's really pushing the boat out. Ugh, the prospect of McBride as President ....

Sorry to upset you, but you have to admit, from the standpoint of revulsion-based voting, Darl just doesn't have the name recognition among Democrats that Road Kill has. He could be a contender.

How about Wayne LaPierre?

Jim, you can just cancel this whole George/Colin and John/John notion.

On the Democratic side, a friend with Libertarian leanings remarked as to how he would lose any remaining shred of respect for McCain if he "crossed over". Not like that is a scientific survey of voter opinion, but the John/John scenario was the one that I thought was most far-fetched and I am ready to cash it in --- for any centrist pull it would exert it would likely create equal-but-opposed backlash.

On the George+Colin front, I am amazed by my own naivete. Sure, I had become convinced that Powell had become the Bush/Cheney lap dog -- and that is still true -- but I never had a true sense of the distrust between Shrub/Cheney and Powell. I was in Seattle's Bulldog News last week and spied a cover story "Misoverestimated. How a great general became a failure as a statesman" (or thereabouts) and grabbed it. The report (pretty full transcript here ) makes it pretty clear how great the divide is between the Wolfowitz crowd and Powell, but also how compliant Powell is.

Anyhow, Powell (lacking any solid base political philosophy) seems willing to be marginalized and "go along" like a good soldier, but will never enjoy any degree of trust or support.

So, VP candidate? No.

The good news? Shrub (*yes* I hate him!) numbers are down. There is a good chance that Shrub will lose to career politico Kerry by a margin large enough that it will be hard to steal the election.