Do you think this scenario might happen?

[zbdent]

Bush is out of the country. His numbers are in the toilet. It's pretty acknowledged that he is a puppet, a figurehead, the Prince to Rove/Cheney's Machiavelli.

So, as he's flying home, something happens, and the plane goes down. No survivors. Suddenly, the nation is in "mourning".

What could be described as "the JFK effect" might be played. The Repukes might use this to push their agenda on the sympathy factor. They're probably even banking on it.

Cheney would be elevated to the official position that he has been playing since 1/20/2001 . . . he will be sworn in as President. However, he might refuse, and the nation gets a "new" unelected president/puppet (unlikely that the replacement would be a puppet . . . I don't see any of the recent Repukes who would be willing to just be the puppet).

Whomever is elevated to the pResidency would have the Repuke nomination sewn up in 08 . . . and play up HUGH111!!11 on they sympathy ("The JFK Effect") factor.

It could happen . . .

[DIKB]

1. He's their ideal puppet.

Sticks to script, does what they want, and not too intelligent. I think they'd sooner try and keep him, and make him more popular. Another "terrorist attack" or something like that sounds more feasible than sacrificing him.

Besides, they'd kill many regular americans, before they'd ever risk angering the BFEE. (I think they're afraid of Babs.)

[Tesla]

2. Chimp would never agree to it, and Dick would be looked at right away

Unless he just tries to take over.No debate in WH.
Then it's up to our troops to take on those orders.

[zbdent]

3. What's there to agree with?

and they could blame it on a "terrorist" missile attack . . .

But they could easily get AF1 to go down . . . especially if you spike the pilot's Kool-aide when the rest of the plane's occupants are asleep and the (soon to be persona-non-grata) spiker has access to a parachute and a submarine to somewhere undisclosed . . .

[displacedtexan]

4. Maybe that's why Poppy went along...

... To keep such a scenario from coming to pass.

Things that make you go Hm.

[ComerPerro]

6. Nah, Poppy would just bail out and let everyone else die

he's done it before...

[droidamus]

5. Added possibility

This scenario starts the same with Bush going down and Cheney taking over, but then Cheney uses the sympathy factor to appoint who the Repugs want to be president in 2008 as his new VP. At that point Cheney conveniently has some more heart problems and resigns for health reasons. Again using the sympathy factor the new president appoints the Repug selected VP and they are all set for the 2008 campaign and the stripped themselves of the Bush problem.