A while back I predicted that if Bush got re-elected, Cheney would be gone within a year (the excuse being personal health reasons), and the Rove-anointed heir apparent to the Republican nomination for President would take his place. I stand by that prediction.
I'm going to make the next leap here, and predict who that replacement will be: Rudy Giuliani. And I think that given the current political crisis for the Bush administration brought upon themselves by their abysmal response to Hurricane Katrina, I think they will move fast. He is the one person who can get them beyond this crisis by stepping up to a leadership position now. If he had no further ambitions and just wanted to help the Republican cause, he'd take over as head of FEMA (and perhaps he will). But I'm betting that he does indeed continue to harbor greater ambitions, and will see this as his big chance to virtually ensure a lock on the Republican nomination.
There are only two people standing in his way: Dick Cheney and Bill Frist. At this point, I think Cheney would be just as happy going back to his old job as CEO of Halliburton, a company he has made considerably richer during this administration with fat, juicy no-bid contracts in Iraq and now in the Gulf States. I'm sure Halliburton would love to have him back and would reward him dearly for all the favoritism this administration has shown to them. But Frist is clearly jockeying for position for his own run at the White House, and will not easily be pushed aside.
So then it all comes down to one scary question: who does Karl Rove want to see in the White House in 2009?
10:37:39 PM 
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