The first six years of the Bush administration could fairly be called the "Cheney years." The Dickster was brought on board to advise candidate Bush on choosing a running mate. Cheney the advisor became Cheney the running mate. The rest was magic. Like the camel's nose under the tent, Cheney brought in his gaggle of neo-cons - Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Feith, Hadley, Perle and others. The Republican administration was molded in the image of Cheney, not Bush.
Six years of one calamity and an endless succession of disasters brought the miserable adventure to an end with the loss of both houses of congress to the Democrats. The Pelosi mob stormed the Bastille at 1600 Pennsylvania and oiled up the guillotine. With breathtaking speed the head of General Rumsfeld tumbled into the basket while Cardinal Cheney lurked mute behind the tapestry.
The departure of Rummy deprives Cheney of his principal ally in pulling the president's strings. Gone forever may be the Cheney/Rumsfeld push for a military response to Iran. The new boy, Gates, is expected to steer toward more diplomatic solutions, a style more common to Bush 41 than Bush 43. Gates, fresh from his stint on James Baker's Iraq Study Group, realizes that America needs the support of Iran and Syria to stabilize Iraq enough to allow a "peace with honour" withdrawal of U.S. forces.
This is not to say that Cheney will give up without a fight but he's certainly wounded and at a disadvantage without Rumsfeld, especially if Rice bolsters Gates in opposition. How this test of wills plays out is bound to have repercussions throughout the Middle East. America simply can't afford two more years of a Cheney administration.
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