W goes off the deep end:

I think W may be going off the deep end; if not now then soon.  A quagmire of a war, a souring economy, increasing public unrest, associates being investigated and indicted – it drove Nixon off the deep end, and all things considered (and I NEVER thought I would say this) Nixon was mentally better prepared to handle these events than the current president.  He was more reality-based regarding the world as a whole, even if paranoid about himself.  He was more intelligent, even if twisted.  God wasn’t speaking to him personally.

How will W handle the concept that the people don’t adore him anymore?  Remember the staged campaign crowds?  How are they going to hide the poll numbers Catnip’s posted from him?  How long can they hide it all?  (On the other hand, I look forward to Rush Limbaugh’s head exploding.)

If he loses Rove and several others on his staff due to Plame-gate, and Cheney is tainted or indicted, who is going to pull the strings on the marionette?  Laura? It’s happened before, at the end of Wilson’s presidency.

And what kind of policies might we have then?  We might seriously need to start considering this possibility.

Cheney is shown the door:

I think that we may also soon bid adieu to Cheney, for reasons that follow.

Let’s say Cheney (and possibly W) are indicted in Plame-gate, or are unindicted co-conspirators, or even are just highly suspect to the public.  If Cheney remains, and the congress goes Democratic in 2006, both Bush and Cheney may be driven from office and then Nancy Pelosi, as the new speaker of the House, would become president (gasp!).

Obviously, the Republican political powers that be and the corporate powers that be do NOT want this to happen.  How to avoid it?  If Cheney resigns due to a ticker malfunction, there will be a “new, fresh, clean” vice-president in the wings to take over in case Bush is removed from office; ready to run in 2008 and carry on the plunder.

Alternate possibility – W leaves office for health reasons (or whatever), Cheney takes over with a fresh VP.  I consider this less likely because I expect Cheney is going to be more wrapped up in Plame-gate, as well as other scandals that get spotlighted after the 2006 election.  Also, the public will have trouble swallowing a President Cheney – we’ll despise him, so will many fundies, and so will the portion of the plutocracy that hasn’t made out well the last 5 years (i.e., those not connected to big oil).  And by 2006 the plutocracy will be hurting from the upcoming recession.  He has no natural constituency to help make his presidency happen.

So who is the new VP in this scenario?  McCain?  I doubt there will be much stomach for Jeb among the plutocracy after l’affaire Schiavo.  And I don’t think the fundies are going to have the wherewithal to successfully challenge the moneyed interests to bring forward someone like Sam Brownback to carry the standards forward into the crusade.

The business class is increasingly fed up, as I commented here. It’s a matter of time now, folks, a matter of time.  Pop the popcorn for the show.