# What if George W. Bush had chosen a different running mate in 2000? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [October 15, 2013, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-george-w-bush-had-chosen-a-different-running-mate-in-2000/671331 "2013-10-15T18:29:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2013, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-george-w-bush-had-chosen-a-different-running-mate-in-2000/671331/21 "2013-10-17T02:02:04Z")
Another possibility is that Bush took a tip from his father and intentionally chose a Vice President who he knew most people would find unthinkable as President. A little insurance against impeachment. I think that was Nixon’s plan too but Agnew screwed it up by getting caught for his own crimes. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2013, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-george-w-bush-had-chosen-a-different-running-mate-in-2000/671331/22 "2013-10-17T04:55:24Z")
I’m a bit curious as to why the OP’s questions comes up now, several years after all that. Anyway, several posts have already suggested that Cheney chose himself to be the VP; and perhaps that he meant to all along, and never had any intention of choosing anyone else; and that his VP-search was just a charade all along. That’s exactly what I’ve always believed, but I’ve suspected one thing more: That Cheney and Bush had a deal, right from the start. And (without any real evidence) I’ll even suggest a more cynical deal I suspect they had: I think Cheney said to W: Let me choose myself as your VP, and I’ll let you be Prez. So maybe the OP’s question really should have been: What would the Country, the World, and Everything be like today if Cheney had chosen somebody other than W to be his President? (Confession: With respect to the W administration, you can see that my cynicism transcends all rational boundaries.) ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2013, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-george-w-bush-had-chosen-a-different-running-mate-in-2000/671331/23 "2013-10-17T14:32:09Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Another possibility is that Bush took a tip from his father and intentionally chose a Vice President who he knew most people would find unthinkable as President. A little insurance against impeachment. Unlikely. Prior to Sept 11, 2001 Cheney was pretty well regarded. In fact, he added some gravitas to W’s not so gravitas-y image. ---
**Author:** ![Interrobang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/interrobang/32/17463_2.png) [@Interrobang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Interrobang)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2013, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-george-w-bush-had-chosen-a-different-running-mate-in-2000/671331/24 "2013-10-18T19:58:10Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > I’m a bit curious as to why the OP’s questions comes up now, several years after all that. I sound delightfully nefarious. I was prompted, actually, by the recent article in the _Times_, which got me wondering who else Bush had considered for a VP. Not much info on that, as it turns out, but I then started wondering What If. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2013, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-george-w-bush-had-chosen-a-different-running-mate-in-2000/671331/25 "2013-10-18T20:09:43Z")
I suspect that if Bush had pick McCain\* that it would have been a great improvement. He was far more honest, less evil and more fiscally conservative then Cheney. He probably would not have pushed W and the world into the war against Iraq. He would not have pushed for the authorized use of torture. Of course he probably would have been far weaker a VP then Cheney. So who knows if it would have really made that much of a difference. The Puppet master would probably have still pulled many of the same strings. \*\* (old tradition of taking the #2 from the primary, much as Reagan took on Bush the Elder.)\* ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2013, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-george-w-bush-had-chosen-a-different-running-mate-in-2000/671331/26 "2013-10-18T20:30:55Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Unlikely. Prior to Sept 11, 2001 Cheney was pretty well regarded. In fact, he added some gravitas to W’s not so gravitas-y image. Cheney would have been a competent president had the need arisen. I would have violently disagreed with about 95% of everything he did or said, but that doesn’t mean he couldn’t have done the job in a professional and efficient manner. I mean, it’s not like he’s Sarah Palin. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2013, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-george-w-bush-had-chosen-a-different-running-mate-in-2000/671331/27 "2013-11-09T00:10:17Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Very unlikely that any other Veep could scare the guy he shot in the face into apologising to him, though. 🙂 I dunno…I think a bullet in the face would be pretty persuasive. ---
**Author:** ![Stringbean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Stringbean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stringbean)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2013, 9:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-george-w-bush-had-chosen-a-different-running-mate-in-2000/671331/28 "2013-11-15T09:39:53Z")
We would not have invaded Iraq. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-george-w-bush-had-chosen-a-different-running-mate-in-2000/671331.md?page=1)