Political Indictments I Can Live With: Indict Libby and Condoleezza Rice Becomes Vice President
By: Steve Yuhas
As of this writing no indictments have been handed down concerning anyone in or around President Bush or Vice President Cheney, but the countdown clocks have begun as the media prepares for the adjournment of the grand jury and the hopeful indictments. The talking heads are abuzz with speculation over what will happen if Karl Rove, senior political advisor to President Bush, or I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, the Vice President’s Chief of Staff, is indicted. In hoping for indictments it is clear that the mainstream media misses the Clintons (indictments were plentiful when the Clintons were at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue) but have been absent during the Bush years.
Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald was tasked to ascertain if any laws were broken when the name Valerie Plame was published after a “leak” from the White House and publication by syndicated columnist Bob Novak. Of course the media forgets that prior to Novak’s column Plame was “outed” by her own husband, Joseph Wilson, in his many biographies in his pseudo-important capacity as a U.S. Ambassador to places nobody cares about. Moreover, everyone in Washington, D.C. knew who she was and what she did.
Plame was working a desk job at the CIA and was not undercover when her name was used in the press and the evidence that she got her unemployed husband the gig to go to Niger to “investigate” whether or not the British were correct when they concluded that Iraq was seeking yellow cake from Niger is compelling. She and the CIA denied that she got her husband the job, but it turns out she wrote a memo recommending him (no offense to the CIA, but secrets are your business – don’t put any more secrets into memos).
Now the left is preparing the banners and marches to demand President Bush and Vice President Cheney resign when, not if, there are indictments handed down (if you listen to the media they are already indicted and convicted, but so far nothing happened). President Bush will not resign, but in deference to the left and the spirit of bipartisanship, if Libby is indicted the Vice President should resign and the President should appoint Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as the new Vice President.
Even if the left does not demand Cheney’s resignation he should resign citing that he could no longer serve the President with the distraction over Libby’s indictment. Cheney could move back to private life at Halliburton making trillions of dollars a year on no bid contracts using hurricane Katrina victims as a piggy bank and Rice could serve out his term as Vice President.
The left is hoping for political indictments against Rove and Libby and if they are lucky enough to get them, Cheney should step aside and allow the President to work in a distraction free White House.
Congress would quickly confirm the appointment of Condoleezza Rice as Vice President because nobody could say she is not qualified after being Secretary of State and National Security Advisor; she certainly is more qualified than Gerald Ford was when Nixon appointed him when Spiro Agnew resigned in 1973. She would be Vice President two days after her nomination and would be a sure bet for becoming the Republican nominee for President in 2008.
There is nothing connecting Vice President Cheney to the non-outing of an already outed CIA desk worker, but that doesn’t matter: the important thing is that there be no distraction and the stress on the Vice President would certainly be intense so that even his health could be cited as a reason to leave. Cheney would sacrifice his seat so that the President could continue without any disruption and Vice President Rice would become the first female and first black Vice President in American history.
All of this could happen in a matter of days if an indictment is handed down against Libby; it is almost enough to make a conservative like me hope for one. Fitzgerald should hand the Democrats and the loony lefties exactly what they want and then let them deal with the unintended consequences of a new Vice President who would have the inside track to both the GOP nomination and victory in 2008.
Vice President Cheney is a loyal man and there is no greater loyalty than to allow the President to work undistracted for the American people. A fresh start with Vice President Rice would do just that. Besides, there is nobody ready to take the lead and woo the GOP to victory in 2008; at least not yet, but having Condi Rice one heartbeat from the Oval Office would make her the best bet.
The crossover voters alone from moderate women and blacks would certainly give Rice an advantage over the woman the pundits say will be the next Democratic nominee – Hillary Clinton.
Hillary Clinton’s First Lady portrait is sufficient for the White House and there is one sure way to stop her from having a picture in another hallway and that way could be handed to the GOP in the form of unintended consequences after an indictment. The left is consistently unaware when they are wishing for something that could help the other side, but even if they are aware the only thing that matters today is they want indictments to distract the President and I say go ahead and give them a few.
Who wouldn’t sacrifice Libby or Rove for Rice to have the advantage in 2008? I can’t think of a single Republican who wouldn’t support her vision of America and to say she was unprepared to be President would be obtuse considering she is in the line of succession already and her credentials to be Commander in Chief far surpass Hillary Clinton’s alleged attempt to join the Marine Corps and carpet bagging to New York.
Yes, it is true that there may be a couple people indicted for whatever reason and someone at the top could be forced to take the fall. Who better than Vice President Cheney and then when Vice President Rice takes over the left will not even know what hit them; but they’ll have their indictments and today that is all that seems to matter to them and the mainstream media.
Steve Yuhas is a columnist and radio talk show host on KOGO AM 600 based in San Diego. He may be reached at steve@steveyuhas.com or www.steveyuhas.com