OK, Rumsfeld is out. That was easy to predict. Mehlman is out. That was even easier to predict. But who's next?
Why I think Cheney is next:
He was strongly opposed to the sacking of his old boss, Don Rumsfeld, and he's even more opposed to the appointment of Bob Gates, the man the Bush family's consiglieri, James Baker, recommended as the new Secretary of Defense. That's a pretty good sign that he's the new Rodney Dangerfield of the Bush Administration.
Will he step down willingly? Not likely. Every time this possibility is raised, he lets everyone know that he has no intention of becoming the scapegoat.
Can the Bush family persuade him to resign? Yes, I think they can. After all, they have the goods on him and Patrick J. Fitzgerald still has an open investigation. Would Fitzgerald be willing to cut a deal with Scooter Libby if both Libby and Karl Rove agreed to testify against Cheney? What do you think?
When Bush delivers his next State of the Union Address, Nancy Pelosi's won't be the only new face in the background.
P.S. -- Bush is a lame duck president. Cheney is a lame duck vice president with no intention of seeking the GOP presidential nomination in 2008. The GOP is reeling from the "thumpin'" they received on November 7th. The conservatives are blaming the neo-conservatives. Cheney is a neo-conservative. Cheney has to go.
Agreeing on a replacement for Cheney won't be easy. Whoever is chosen will automatically become the leading contender for the Republican Party's 2008 presidential nomination. Will it be one of the two current leading candidates or a compromise candidate who has no plans to run for president??? In other words, will it be McCain or Giuliani, both of whom are running hard for the 2008 nomination, or someone safe like James Baker himself? If it's a safe elder statesman, it wouldn't impact the current candidates the way choosing one of them over the others would. Replacing Cheney is a win win situation for the GOP no matter who takes his place, but they have to do it now rather than later.
P.P.S. -- Here's another reason to get a new vice president in place sooner rather than later.