Calls intensify for Bush to boot Cheney off ticket

WASHINGTON — The selection of Sen. John Edwards as the Democratic vice presidential candidate has revived speculation that President Bush might dump Vice President Dick Cheney from the Republican ticket.

Even Cheney's admirers acknowledge that the quiet conservative lacks charisma and finely honed campaign skills. Detractors say his political liabilities have reached the point where Bush should toss him overboard.

Hours after Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry introduced Edwards as his running mate, former New York Sen. Alfonse D'Amato, a Republican, publicly called for Cheney's ouster. Although D'Amato's outspokenness rankled many of his fellow Republicans, he's hardly alone in thinking that Bush could find a better partner.

Cheney's approval ratings have fallen sharply since he took office. Some polls indicate that Americans are more likely to view him negatively than favorably.

Four years ago, Cheney was widely seen as a steady, experienced backstop for Bush, who was then an untested former Texas governor. Now he's more often viewed as the driving force behind Bush's most controversial moves, starting with the war in Iraq.

"He's become a lightning rod for criticism of Bush's policies in Iraq," said Andrew Kohut, the director of the nonpartisan Pew poll.

Democrats are looking for any opportunity to exploit the vice president's political vulnerabilities.

"Cheney has a very weak profile. He's got very low approval," said Jim Johnson, a Kerry adviser who headed the candidate's vice presidential search. "Many people believe that at the heart of many of these misjudgments was a very active vice president named Richard Cheney."

Still, Bush isn't likely to dump him, for several reasons. The president is known for his loyalty to aides, as long as they're loyal to him. Replacing Cheney would damage that reputation and look like a sign of panic. It would also complicate the struggle for succession after Bush leaves office.

Cheney, who's survived four heart attacks, is not considered a likely presidential candidate. That would almost certainly not be true of his replacement, who would have a built-in advantage over any other future rival, including the president's brother, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.

Dumping Cheney also would risk a backlash from conservative Republicans, who generally like him. For all the grumbling about Cheney in the nation's capital, he continues to have a strong following among grass-roots Republicans.