A friend of mine has a theory about why President Bush is doing so poorly as our president. This friend of mine, who shall remain nameless because I don’t know if he would want public attribution for this, has, like me, generally voted Republican off and on over the years--he maybe a little more than I.

But he voiced this theory to me several weeks ago, and I haven’t heard any of the other political talking head pundits postulate it, but the more I’ve thought about it, the more likely it seems.

My original thinking friend says that when Bush decided to run for governor, he simply was mad at Ann Richards for making fun of his daddy at the Democratic convention and since he hadn’t done anything really outstanding with his life (heading up the baseball team was only a title bestowed on him by some of his father’s friends to round up investors), he decided to run for governor.

He ran, and since Texas had started leaning more and more to Republic ism, lo and behold, he won.

Then, he discovered that he had to run the state. Not much because the governor of Texas is largely a ceremonial job. The most important power the governor of Texas wields is the power to not govern i.e., the power to veto.

But soon after Bush was sworn in, he found someone with a vision to run the state for him---Democrat Lt. Gov. Bob Bullock.

Bullock held the comptroller’s office from 1975–1991, then replaced Bill Hobby as Lt. Gov. under Anne Richards, continuing during Bush’s governorship.

Bullock was well known for his bi-partisanship and had been known to tell the Senators at the beginning of a session to “leave their politics at the door.”

I personally have known several people who worked very closely with Bullock and they say that he was the best administrator they had every seen, drunk or sober.

So Bob Bullock stepped into the void that would have been George Bush’s tenure as governor of Texas, and tried to teach Bush the value of bi-partisanship, especially as it relates to someone helping him out.

In an effort we can only now guess was directed to sending Bush on down the road, Bullock unofficially endorsed Republican Governor George W. Bush’s presidential campaign even before most people knew he was running.

So George Bush, with very little experience running a state, much less a country, is being pushed to run for president, mainly because John McCain was the only other choice.

The nomination process had been shortened to the March super primaries, meaning only candidates with huge fund-raising capabilities around Washington would have the great advantage. Bush, with Daddy’s name and Texas’ reputation, was the logical standard-bearer.

And Bush was ready. He looked around and thought, “This running a state is really a piece of cake. I hate it that my friend Bob is dead, and Rick Perry is now the Lt. Gov. I’m not sure either of us can run this state.

Think I’ll try running the whole country. Maybe I can get even with Saddam for making my daddy look bad.”

The money was there, the timing was right, the only problem remained was that by then Bob Bullock was dead, and there needed to be someone who knew what they were doing.

Enter Dick Cheney. He looked just like a Bob Bullock type. He wasn’t but five years older than Bush but looked much more. He had been daddy’s chief of staff, a former House member from Wyoming, and even Secretary of Defense. Just the sort of guy you would like to have on your side in case you wanted to start a little shooting war or something. He was currently serving as CEO of Halliburton, a company which would greatly benefit from higher energy prices.

So Cheney was drafted to serve as vice president. The only problem was....and this is what is wrong with George Bush’s presidency....Dick Cheney was no Bob Bullock.

The more I’ve thought of my friend’s theory, the more I believe he is right. Cooler heads believed that Cheney could run the country for George Bush; they just didn’t realize that he couldn’t run it well.

Not to let George off too easily, but I believe all the sins of Bush’s presidency can be laid directly at Cheney’s doorstep--extreme secretiveness, war-mongering, lying, partisanship, the acceptance of torture, denial of constitutional rights, the neglect and even repudiation of constitutional government by his refusal to allow the Executive branch to be held accountable to congressional scrutiny or judicial oversight, and the inattention to secure borders and national sovereignty.