Mission Un-Accomplished

May 1st, 2003:  An S-3 Viking, assigned to the "Blue Wolves" of VS-35, transporting President George W. Bush to the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln stationed off the coast of San Diego, California crashes as its engines flame-out on approach to the carrier. Unable to eject and unable to control the craft, the crowd of sailors on the "Lincoln" watch in horror as the S-3 slams into the aft end of the carrier and explodes.

Also killed is the pilot, Commander Skip "Loose" Lussier, then the Executive Officer of VS-35, and the flight officer, Lieutenant Ryan "Wilson" Phillips.

Minutes later, Vice-President Dick Cheney is sworn in as President at the Vice-President's mansion, the Naval Observatory. He calls on prayers for the Bush family and the nation, but answers no questions about who he will name as Vice-President.

May 3rd, 2003: A stunned nation holds a state funeral for the President. Left-wing critics on the Blogosphere raise the question as to the necessity of the "PR stunt" of flying to the "Lincoln" in a Navy fighter, and not the Presidential helicopter. But most pundits hold back on criticism for atleast a few weeks.

Dick Cheney stuns the world by announcing after the funeral that he is nominating National Security Advisor Condaleeza Rice as his Vice-President, over theories that he would have nominated Secretary of State Colin Powell.