One Thousand and Sixty-Five Days To Go

(7 of 7)

All these events have revived Washington's favorite parlor game--"Who'll replace Cheney?"--which has been played ever since he needed a cardiac procedure after two months in office, but no one who knows the President well thinks he would cut Cheney loose. His remaining in power, however, does not tell you how much power remains to him. More than one friend who was sure Cheney would serve out his term--"barring the intervention of the Almighty," as an aide said--inadvertently spoke of the Vice President in the past tense while describing Cheney's standing. "Cheney didn't win every battle," an official close to the Vice President said as he ruminated about the wide swath his hero had once cut. Enough people talking about him that way can only make it harder to win the next fight that comes along.