Bush-Cheney 1992

In 1992 there was a significant dump Quayle movement within the Republican Party. The two big names put forward were James Baker and Colin Powell.

What if George HW Bush had made Defense Secretary Cheney his VP for the 1992 election?
 
Well he doesn't have that questionable career in the private sector to explain. He's certainly qualified, erudite. The relationship's a lot more traditional than the bargain he struck with W, so that means he's towing the HW line. Honestly I don't see a downside, on a personal level.

There's probably a flood of ink spilled on an administration admitting a mistake. It's yet another distraction the campaign doesn't need. But the point of Baker/Powell is to mitigate that kind of talk, and Cheney likewise fits the bill.

On the "changing horses" front, I think Quayle's drain on the ticket is overstated and this ends up doing more harm than good with undecideds and low-information voters, but it's probably taken in stride by the base.

What might be a problem- and what might have truly kept him off the list IOTL- is Mary. She's in a same-sex relationship in 1992. The follow-ons from that are massive to think about. Honestly it's probably enough that Cheney doesn't make it through the vetting process once this comes to light.
 
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