New York Times reports Cheney buzz

Vice President Dick Cheney

WASHINGTON – New rumors about Vice President Dick Cheney say his new doctor will pronounce him unfit for a second term just before the Republican National Convention, the New York Times reports today – mirroring a story published by WorldNetDaily more than a month ago.

The Times reports the "conspiracy theory" is now "racing through Republican and Democratic circles like the latest low-carb diet."

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"The newest theory – advanced privately by prominent Democrats, including members of Congress – holds that Mr. Cheney recently dismissed his personal doctor so that he could see a new one, who will conveniently tell him in August that his heart problems make him unfit to run with Mr. Bush," the Times reports. "The dismissed physician, Dr. Gary Malakoff, who four years ago declared that Mr. Cheney was 'up to the task of the most sensitive public office' despite a history of heart disease, was dropped from Mr. Cheney's medical team because of an addiction to prescription drugs."

The chatter was quickly dismissed by Matthew Dowd, the Bush campaign's chief strategist.

Nevertheless, Cheney himself was asked yesterday in a C-Span interview if he could envision any circumstances under which he would step aside.

"Well, no, I can't," he said. "If I thought that were appropriate, I certainly would."

In the interview, to be broadcast Sunday, Cheney said that the president "has made very clear he doesn't want to break up the team."

"I suppose right now, because we're in the run-up to the convention, people don't have much to talk about so you get speculation on that," he said. "It's normal. When we get to the convention, I think that'll put an end to that."

Naming possible replacements for Cheney, however, has become a favorite inside-the-beltway parlor game. Some of the names being dropped include Secretary of State Colin Powell, Sen. John McCain, Condoleezza Rice and Rudolph W. Giuliani.

WND first reported on the buzz based on Bush campaign sources June 9. Cheney, who has no aspirations to run for president in 2008 and has had well-publicized heart problems, has been involved in the discussions and is open to the idea if it strengthens the ticket and helps position a viable Republican candidate to succeed Bush, sources told WND.

Originally, Cheney was asked by Bush to lead the effort to find the best running mate in 2000. After months of interviews and offering advice, Bush surprised many by picking Cheney.

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Rudy Giuliani

Giuliani, as well as New York Gov. George Pataki, has been expected to play a starring role at the convention. Both are also considered possible presidential candidates in 2008. Securing the vice presidential nomination, however, would instantly make Giuliani the front-runner among all potential Republican candidates.

"There is some thinking at the very highest political levels that this move could add some late sizzle to the campaign, steal any thunder generated by the Democrats in Boston and even potentially put the state of New York in play for the president," said one source close to both Giuliani and the White House.

No one is talking on the record, and the plan is not yet set in stone.

So far, the only people who have speculated publicly about such a move are Democrats.

"They'll probably play Rudy heavier than any other part of the convention," former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo told the Associated Press last week. "So Rudy will go up and people will start talking about him replacing Cheney or him running for president. It'll be very, very good for Rudy."

Giuliani became a national star in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks that brought down the World Trade Center towers, killing almost 3,000 people. He became known as "America's mayor."

"They'll make the most of 9-11, the most of Rudy," Cuomo said. "He is now still iconic, you saw that in 9-11 and that's it," the Democrat added. "He's received a stature which is, for the time being, absolutely unshakable."

Giuliani has said he may return to elective politics as early as 2006 by running either for governor, should Pataki call it quits after three terms, or for U.S. Senate against Democratic incumbent Hillary Rodham Clinton. In the face of prostate cancer, Giuliani withdrew from the 2000 Senate race won by Clinton.

By beating Clinton in 2006, Giuliani would not only position himself as a leading candidate for president in 2008, he would have eliminated the Democrats’ No. 1 contender. But it's a risky proposition for Giuliani. If he can't topple the popular Democratic incumbent, his chances of becoming president, or even winning the nomination in 2008, would be slim indeed.

The only potential political danger in replacing Cheney with Giuliani, said a source close to Bush, is that it would create problems with the president's right flank. Giuliani is widely perceived as less conservative than Cheney, and by elevating him to front-runner in 2008, Bush could anger many conservatives in his base.

Cheney has suffered four heart attacks and is seen by some as a drag on the ticket. His approval ratings, according to a New York Times/CBS News poll, are down to 21 percent.

The Times quoted one anonymous Republican member of Congress as saying: "I don't think you fix the problem by changing the No. 2 horse, but Bush is facing so much heavy baggage going into November, he's going to have to throw some of that baggage off."

Earlier this week, Charlie Cook, the editor of the Cook Political Report, wrote: "Stipulating that dumping a totally loyal, integral part of his inner circle is something that is absolutely not in George W. Bush's DNA, losing with plenty of notice does not appear to be part of his genetic makeup either." He concluded that in an election year as close as this one, "the president badly needs something to shake this race up, and I can think of just one thing. Cheney may need to watch his back."

A week earlier, former Sen. Alfonse D'Amato said on a cable TV interview that Bush should replace Cheney with Powell or McCain.

Cheney came in for more criticism yesterday from political analyst Larry J. Sabato, director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics.

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"To put it bluntly, Cheney has blown it," he wrote. "One would have expected a classic Washington establishment insider to know how to keep his reputation intact through innumerable controversies – calling the 'right' people here, consulting the 'wise' men and women of D.C. there, taking the puffed-up press poobahs of the Capital City to lunch at the White House here and there. Anybody recall how Henry Kissinger came out of the Nixon sleaze and the Vietnam disaster smelling like a bouquet of yellow roses – at least with the bunch that counts in D.C. and New York – despite the fact that he was in both situations up to his eyeballs?"

He continued: "Instead of being Kissinger, Cheney has been Nixon in the Bush term. He has hunkered down in the White House and 'undisclosed locations.' He's been uncommunicative with the broader public and unconcerned about his image until it's too late. He's often appeared to be the sinister puppeteer, pulling Bush's strings on critical matters like Iraq. He's more associated with the Halliburton scandal than anything else in the public mind. And most importantly from a political standpoint, Dick Cheney is now seen as a rigid ideologue, unconcerned about facts that do not fit into his preconceived notions of the world, too closely tied to the far right and too unacceptable to the voters as a whole to be what he once was: workable standby equipment, a potential president who could take office with popular support."

"In short, Cheney has failed his president and become a significant liability," wrote Sabato.

Sabato concludes, however, that Cheney cannot be dropped without creating even more of a political problem with Bush's right flank.

The GOP convention is being held Aug. 30-Sept. 2. Democrats are holding their convention in Boston at the end of July.

Earlier stories:

Ex-GOP senator: Dump Dick Cheney

Giuliani to replace Cheney on ticket?