If This Doesn't Scare The Shit Out Of You...

Wow.

This post over at Pensito Review outlines a scenario that hadn't really occurred to me.

What if Cheney's atrial fibrillation is just a ruse to allow him to flee to Paraguay resign. That would allow a newly incumbent V.P. to slide into a nomination, bypassing a less than acceptable lineup of current candidates.

Normal people often overlook how hierarchical Republicans are by nature. They prefer to anoint their candidates in an orderly way: In the absence of a sitting vice president, as George H.W. Bush was to Reagan in 1992, a senior statesman is anointed, as Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole was in 1996 — or, better yet, they can satisfy their aristocratic yearnings by anointing the son of a former president, as they did the current Bush in 2000.

This year, in the absence of a clear choice, Republicans find themselves facing a roster of unacceptable candidates: a philandering liberal, a Mormon, an aging warrior who’s considered insufficiently doctrinaire, a lazy television actor, a former preacher with a weak record as governor of Arkansas and a Libertarian kook.

The strain of this disorderliness must be tormenting the GOP power base. And all of it could be wiped away in a simple fiat — the replacement of Dick Cheney with a new vice president whom they could anoint right away to become Bush’s successor.

So who might fit the bill — who could be counted on to beat the Democrats next November and keep the Bush family secrets for at least four more years?

Only one name comes to mind. He is experienced and available, and tanned and rested — and his name is Jeb.

I'm not sure about Pensito's choice of replacement, (God I hope not!) but it sure might shed some light on Lott's sudden retirement, less than a year into his new term.

Go read it all.

h/t to Pookyshoehorn