Vice-President

We've gone to town with the news of Mary Cheney's pregnancy. We are so full of cheer we went ahead and created a whole cornucopia of baby shower gifts for the happy mom, her out-of-law wife and their baby to be.

A teddy bear will bring many hours of gender neutral role joy. Playing with the truth is better than not playing at all.

Have the baby wear his or her mommies love but also their dissent with this most political of onesies. It's never too early to learn how to slap one on republicans and gay marriage haters.

There's more stuff at our Mary Cheney Baby store, but it's just a start. Would you like to add to the fun? Then go to town with your photoshop!

What are the rules for playing?

We've been so busy all morning we have not been able to even write a quick note about these fantastic news :

Dick Cheney's next grandchild will have two mommies, to the horror of his conservative fans.
The White House says Cheney's openly gay daughter and top political adviser, Mary, is expecting a baby this spring with her lover of 15 years, Heather Poe.

"The vice president and Mrs. Cheney are looking forward with eager anticipation to the arrival," the veep's office said in a statement.

The father's identity was not revealed.

The veep's daughter will have to remain an unwed mom: Cheney, 37, an AOL executive, and Poe, a 45-year-old former park ranger, live in Virginia, which just passed the kind of constitutional ban on same-sex marriages that the Bush administration has been pushing nationally.

"The irony is that the grandfather of this child is part of a party and an administration that has relentlessly attacked gay and lesbian families," said Jennifer Chrisler, head of Family Pride, an advocacy group for gay parents.

"So his own grandchild will not have the same legal protections other children enjoy. And Heather will have no legal relationship with the child. She can't make a hospital visit or even sign a school field trip form," Chrisler said.

So the Vice-President's daughter's partner, Heather Poe, can't legally take care of their child. She can't even adopt her daughter because, as long as there is one mom alive, that's what the Bible Beltway political muckrakers were able to pass as law in the state of Virginia.

Those of you who have been reading this blog since the beginning, know where what I think about the relationship between Condoleezza Rice and George W. Bush. Which is why, I find this editorial at USA Today particularly provocative :

It's hard to think of a good reason [Dick Cheney] should remain in office and logical to assume that some Republicans are pushing him to leave. It could be on "doctor's orders." He's 65 with serious heart problems.

Bush then could name a vice presidential successor who they hope might be nominated and win in '08. But the appointment would need approval of both houses of Congress. With control shifting to the Democrats in January, time may be of the essence.

Likely on the short might-be list (alphabetically):

•Bill Frist, 54, Senate majority leader from Tennessee.

•Rudy Giuliani, 62, former mayor of New York City.

•John McCain, 70, U.S. senator from Arizona.

•Condoleeza Rice, 52, secretary of State.

You know what --it wouldn't shock me if this were true. Especially with the prospect of Dick Cheney's impeachment.

Whether the political-industrial machine or Big Conservative Media want it or not, the case for impeachment is still very real and very much on the table. So it wouldn't shock me if, just for the shock value, Bush let's Cheney go to have Condoleeza as his rightful successor.