Dick Cheney becomes POTUS, May 2003

"This attitude of appeasing staff at any cost was especially evident when President George W. Bush came aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln in May 2003 to announce "mission accomplished," strapped into the right seat of an S3 Viking jet aircraft. Carrier aviation is one of the most dangerous endeavors known to modern man. To allow a sitting president to become part of the Viking crew was more than unwise — it was actually quite insane. Ramp strikes, broken arresting wires, or engine malfunctions contribute to numerous fatalities in carrier aviation each year. When the idea was brought forth, the service of course objected. But in the end, staff won due to their strong wish to get the mother of all photo ops for the upcoming re-election campaign. No sitting president had ever done anything more colorful, or foolhardy.

"The compromise — which was really no compromise at all — was that was that the president used the Viking, which had an available seat for the agent in charge, rather than an F18 Hornet, which had only two seats: one for the president and one for the pilot. Had there been a fatal accident, the agent in charge would have had no more power to change the outcome than if he had been standing on deck watching the catastrophe unfold. And, had such a tragedy occurred, staff would have immediately distanced themselves from the issue, leaving the Secret Service to assume all responsibility..."

https://www.vox.com/2014/10/9/6946949/secret-service-911-homeland-security-treasury

I don't know if this article exaggerates the risks of carrier aviation, but assuming it doesn't, we have a quite plausible POD for Dick Cheney becoming POTUS in May 2003. (And if he wins in 2004, he's eligible to run again in 2008! Though if the economy in 2008 is anything like it was in OTL, he wouldn't stand much of a chance...)
 
His approval ratings were consistently worse than Bush's, from what I remember, so I don't think he'd stand a chance against Kerry in 04.
 
Cheney himself didn't have much interest in the Presidency,so he'd probably not run in 2004 if he even accepts it following Bush's death. Not sure who he'd choose as his VP although I would expect a cabinet shakeup as Powell may resign as SecState or we'll get a public Powell-Cheney feud of sorts akin to the current Tillerson-Trump one.
 

James G

Gone Fishin'
Have presidents died in accidents before? There's been assassinations and illness, but accidents?
Anyway, this man below will be in charge. Just the face, the evil grin will frighten many considering he will have his hands on the big red button.
Cheney.jpg
 
Would Cheney and other Bush allies, who would have much more clout here than they did IOTL 2007 and 2008, work out some sort of deal with McCain when he inevitably runs in the 2004 GOP primaries, or would they back someone else, even if tacitly? If so, who?
 
Have presidents died in accidents before? There's been assassinations and illness, but accidents?
Anyway, this man below will be in charge. Just the face, the evil grin will frighten many considering he will have his hands on the big red button.

Well Harrison did die of illness but he was so foolish in regards to giving his absurdly long speech in the driving rain that it can be considered an especially stupid accident.
 
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James G

Gone Fishin'
Well Harrison did do of illness but he was so foolish in regards to giving his absurdly long speech in the driving rain that it can be considered an especially stupid accident.

I see. When I think about it, Bush was targeted quite a bit by serious assassination attempts: the shoes and the grenades. Then there is the pretzel incident (... or is that made up for a TL?)
An accident would be very different. The conspiracy theories would be immense plus I'd guess many would blame bin Laden too.
 
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