Dick Cheney

At Thanksgiving time last year I predicted that Bush would not pick Cheney as his running mate in 2004. At the same time, I opined that the logical running mate would have been Condi Rice, Bush's National Security Advisor. However, she would be toast because she was tainted with the Iraq disaster.

Well, what a difference a day makes. If you think about it, something very interesting has been happening. Or, more aptly, something interesting has not been happening. You never hear her criticised for Iraq. In fact, when Iraq is in the news, her name never comes up. Dick Cheney, Don Rumsfeld, and Tenet are taking all the heat.

It appears that Rumsfeld and Cheney are intentionally acting as lightning rods to protect Condi Rice. That would let Bush throw Cheney (and perhaps Rumsfeld) overboard to distance himself from Iraq and to choose a black woman as running mate. (Remember, you heard it here first.)

The irony is that the way our government is organized, the person who bears the greatest responsibility for Iraq, good or bad, is the National Security Advisor - Condoleezza Rice. She has many strengths and good qualities. However, she did not have the experience and understanding of the Middle East and terrorism to carry out that job.