Dick Cheney dies November 2001

If I remember correctly, Tom Ridge was one of the "finalists", so to speak, in 2000, before Dick went to Bush and said "None of them work, pick me"

I'd say Ridge.
 
Argh!!! Yet more confusion about filling a vice-presidential vacancy in the US.

Under the 25th Amendement, ratified in 1967, an appointment to fill a vice-presidential vacancy must be ratified by majority vote, of both houses of Congress. Hence, while having the Senate nominally democratic will be a problem, all Bush needs is a one vote flip, since the GOP has a majority in the House. As many have said, in 1974 with strong Democratic majority in both houses, Nixon still got a Republican as his replacement VP (granted perhaps not as conservative as he might have liked) in the form of Gerald Ford. Indeed, the Democratic leadership of the time is thought to have considered it important to make sure he did, because forcing a democratic candidate (or trying to deny him a VP and force a resignation or impeach him causing the Democratic Speaker of the House to become President by the 1947 Act of Succession) would be seen as overturning the result of the 1972 election.

Furthermore, in 2001, Joe Lieberman hadn't displayed any tendancy to buck the Democratic Party -- he had just been the VP nominee.

As to potential nominees, I think BlackMage is quite correct:
Pete Wilson (if he's not too old), George Pataki, Rudy Giuliani, William Weld, or Tom Ridge

I'd bet on either Ridge or Giuliani.
 
Last edited:
Top