DBWI: Vice President Dick Cheney

Dick Cheney served as Secretary of State during the administration of President George W. Bush.

During the 2000 Presidential campaign, Bush was this close to picking Cheney as his running mate.

Had Cheney been chosen, would he have been an asset to the ticket as in OTL? And if Cheney had been Vice President, would the war on terrorism have gone differently?
 
There's not much I can say beyond doubt, but I'm certain that a VP Cheney would mean that the Bush/Powell '04 Ticket would never have been able to win the State of California. Was the late Reagan the last Republican to take that State?

As for the War on Terror? It wasn't great then, but I can't help but think that it could've been worse with Cheney as VP. Powell - having been from the US Military - knew how to fight smart, and was able to convince Bush to use his preferred tactics.
 
Well, I know Bush's assassination in 2007 by a Pakistani terrorist may well have been butterflied away, but just imagine, President Cheney:eek: Cheney resigned in 2005 in OTL, because he did not get along well with Bush and Powell. Perhaps he would be dropped from the ticket in TTL. Powell was re-elected in 2008 despite the economic downturn, ultimately beating Hillary Clinton by a slim margin despite losing the southern states of Arkansas, Georgia, and Tennessee. Cheney would have been crushed in 2008, and he may win only a few Midwest states.
 

DTanza

Banned
Bush worked hard trying to convince Powell that he was needed to serve his country as VP. Hell, if Bush had gotten tired of begging Powell it's easy to imagine he would have gone for Cheney. Cheney, believe it or not, has one thing in common with Powell that would have made him a desirable VP pick.

Every faction of the party wanted their candidate to be VP, so that they would be Bush's natural successor. So to keep the party together, Bush needed to pick someone unlikely to run after him. Cheney had heart trouble and was too old, and Powell had absolutely no interest in the Presidency. There's no chance that either of them would be Bush's successor in '04 or '08.

Just make Bush a little more impatient with Powell, and you could see him settle for Cheney.
 
Who would be Secretary of State, then? Would we get Tom Ridge earlier? It also occurs to me that they'd probably have to give Powell a cabinet spot, probably Sec Def. You could see a reversal of the main intra-cabinet conflict, with VP Cheney facing off against Powell in Defense and Ridge in State instead of the showdown between Powell and Cheney/Rumsfeld over AfPak strategy.
 
Who would be Secretary of State, then? Would we get Tom Ridge earlier? It also occurs to me that they'd probably have to give Powell a cabinet spot, probably Sec Def. You could see a reversal of the main intra-cabinet conflict, with VP Cheney facing off against Powell in Defense and Ridge in State instead of the showdown between Powell and Cheney/Rumsfeld over AfPak strategy.

John McCain maybe? Either that or Secretary of Defence. Problem is that McCain (to this day even) hated Bush for what he did in South Carolina. Maybe Condoleezza Rice can be Sec of State in Bush's second term (for those of you who don't know, Rice was Bush's National Security Advisor from 2001 to 2005)
 
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