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Ex-GOP Senator Suggests Bush Dump Cheney

By MARC HUMBERT, AP Political Writer

ALBANY, N.Y. - President Bush should consider dumping Vice President Dick Cheney from the Republican ticket this year, an influential former GOP senator said Wednesday.


Alfonse D'Amato said Bush should consider putting Secretary of State Colin Powell or Sen. John McCain of Arizona on the GOP ticket.


There was no immediate comment from the Bush-Cheney campaign.


Bush has long maintained he wants Cheney to be his running mate.


The D'Amato advice came one day after Bush's Democratic challenger, Sen. John Kerry (news - web sites), announced he had selected Sen. John Edwards to be his running mate.


"Let me note that Vice President Cheney is a decent, honorable, and patriotic American, a man of great intellect, who has served the president and the nation with dedication," D'Amato said in a statement released by his office. "But we should make no mistake, we are a nation at war with a vicious terrorist foe, and in war hard decisions must be made."


"As an observer of politics, I believe the president can guarantee his essential re-election by looking to several other notable individuals who would add a great dimension to his ticket as a running mate," the New York Republican added.


Placing Powell "first and foremost" on his wish list to replace Cheney, D'Amato said the retired general "would help galvanize the nation and offer a truly historic opportunity for American unity and pride."


McCain, said D'Amato, is "a genuine American hero who would also help bridge the political divide in our nation and assure the president's re-election by a wide margin."


"While I believe George Bush will win re-election even without this bold stroke, he will insure a broader, deeper, more resonant reaffirmation of his leadership if he places his duty to continue as president above any one individual," D'Amato said.


"The president deserves more than simple re-election," the former senator added. "He deserves a mandate to continue to lead this nation to peace and prosperity."


D'Amato, who is now a highly successful lobbyist and consultant, first raised the possibility of Bush dropping Cheney from the GOP ticket in an interview Tuesday night with the NY 1 cable news channel in New York City. D'Amato is a regular commentator for NY 1.


In his NY 1 appearance, D'Amato said that while he realized his comments would "shock Republicans and probably get them angry," he said, "I think we can do better."


The former senator said he believed Powell would run with Bush if the position was offered to him.


That, said D'Amato, "would change politics in America for the better."


"Instead of millions of African-Americans having their votes taken for granted or just saying, `Republicans don't care about us, they don't reach out to us,' this would send an incredible signal," D'Amato said. "It would turn many of the battle (ground) states into tremendous wins for Republicans."


D'Amato said McCain, who had been unsuccessfully courted by Kerry as a running mate, would help the GOP win votes from independents and conservative "Reagan Democrats."





D'Amato, who lost his Senate seat in 1998 to Democrat Charles Schumer, is a political mentor to New York Gov. George Pataki, who is considered a potential 2008 GOP presidential candidate.

Yes, from high altitude and preferably onto Rumsfeld.

Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes.
Art is knowing which ones to keep.

A change would be good from a polling standpoint. It gets Bush re-elected for sure.

But there's the personal side of it. Bush seems loyal to Cheney so I don't think he would ask for a switch and unless he does Cheney won't leave.

Powell, Rice, McCain or even Ridge make Bush almost unbeatable.

Imagine a 2008 McCain/Powell ticket after that.

Strong...

"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction"

Ronald Reagan

McCain should have been Bush's VP back in 2004. Cheney and Rummsfield are cold war relics who need to get out of the way.

People like: McCain, Powell, Ridge

People dislike: Ashcroft, Rummsfield, Cheney.

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McCain should have been Bush's VP back in 2004. Cheney and Rummsfield are cold war relics who need to get out of the way.

People like: McCain, Powell, Ridge

People dislike: Ashcroft, Rummsfield, Cheney.
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I am one person that is less enthusiastic for McCain than Cheney. I would rather replace the whole ticket than have McCain on it. Better leave well enough alone. Al D'Amato was my Senator when I lived in NY. He was kind of a populist Republican if that is possible. He got elected to the US Senate from a relative lowly political position of Hempstead Town Commisioner or something. Still, he had some scandals to overcome. He pushed this garbage to energy plant that ended up to be a scam. They tried to operate it but it never worked reliably and caused smelly air pollution. They dynamited it and started over. Many millions of taxpayer's money was thrown out with the garbage. Around that time the Republicans were slapped on the wrist for shaking down County employees for campaign contributions. Somehow he weathered the storm, kissing hands, shaking babies, making deals. I don't know if he was dirty, but I have some suspicions. His claim to fame for me was that he led an unsuccessful fillibuster in the Senate to save the T-46 project. Shortly after that he was defeated by (Up)Chuck Schumer. He is obviously a smart pol, so what he says should be taken seriously, but he mostly knows about what works in downstate NY, not Peoria. It is doubtful the rest of the country agrees with him on much.

THE CRAPTOR ENGINEERING TEAM <img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>
"The F-22...It's the poo"

Edited by - a10stress on Jul 08 2004 10:36 AM

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hey rice now that would nuke kerry's campaign a sucessful black female, and position her to be nomine in 2008.