Cheney to drop out of race

If McCain goes for the second chair with Bush, my whole thinking about him will change from good to evil.

Well, if he should drop out, he'll probably have plenty of time and energy to take his own advice and go f**k himself...

"I have to say that I think the Republicans' attacks on Edwards as a 'sleazy trial lawyer' will misfire. That kind of thing appeals to the base, but most swing voters won't share that instinctive hostility -- and harping on it too much will just make the Republicans look like tools of Big Business ...

"My own prediction, by the way, is that at an opportune moment Cheney will drop off the GOP ticket for vague medical reasons and be replaced by someone whose selection will make a splash."

Officially, administration officials say there is no chance that Vice President Cheney will leave the campaign. But the "Dump Cheney" rumors continue to swirl in the press, fueled by a steady infusion of feeble poll results, poor reviews from the campaign trail, Cheney's own foul mouth, persistent Halliburton scandals and his continued and unsupported insistence on strong links between Saddam Hussein and al Qaeda.

And then there was this weekend's revelation that the doctor who has repeatedly assured us all that Cheney is fit to serve was allegedly illegally using narcotics. (Don't forget that the "Dump Cheney" conspiracy theorists predict that it all begins with an announcement that Cheney's heart problems have suddenly gotten much worse.)

ALBANY, N.Y. -- Former Republican Sen. Alfonse D'Amato is giving "aid and comfort" to the enemy by suggesting Vice President Dick Cheney be dumped from this year's GOP ticket, an outspoken former congressman said Thursday.

"It is difficult for me to understand why Senator D'Amato would issue his press release coming just days before the start of the Democratic convention," said former Staten Island Borough President Guy Molinari. "Surely, the Democrats will be using his statement to attack the credibility of the Bush-Cheney ticket."

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"It is sad that a man of his background would make comments that are inflammatory and silly," said D'Amato when asked about Molinari's statement.

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"There's a lot of feeling in the party that Dick Cheney is damaged goods," said Roger Stone, who has worked on numerous GOP presidential campaigns. "On top of that is Cheney's, shall we say, perfunctory campaigning style when he clearly looks like a guy who's not enjoying himself."