There may be a certain amount of “wishful thinking” or “trial ballooning” in this story, which touts the likelihood that Dick Cheney will step down from being VP after the mid-term elections. The idea is that growing rifts in between Cheney and Bush, and the Scooter Libby scandal, will make the post-election period the “right” time for Cheney to pull away from the White House and GOP, before he endangers their 2008 election chances.
Actually, that would potentially give Bush the chance to select his heir apparent, something that’s been sorely missing from the current White House configuration.
Whether it will happen is anyone’s guess, though. Cheney’s “retirement” has been speculated at for years. And, of course, if he really is the Evil Puppet-Master behind Bush (as half the conspiracy theories have it), one wouldn’t expect him to leave that opportune position.
At any rate, I hope the mid-term elections leave the GOP shaken up enough, at least, to prompt more profound political moves than a “graceful” Cheney exit.