John McCain (An Independent in 2000)

The Vice Presidency of the Edwards administration is marked by two men to share the office in two separate terms. Former US Senator from Arizona John McCain served as VP during Edwards' first term, but was fired by April 2004; and Ret. General Wesley Clark was promoted to the office from his position as Defense Secretary for Edwards 2nd term. [edit]The 2000 Compromise

With the election going only so far in Edwards' favor, the Independent candidate for president makes a historic promise to take members of both parties and add them into his cabinet. The most notable of which is his Running Mate John McCain. McCain is widely credited to be the key factor in Edwards' victory, acting as a bridge between two ideologies. The Compromise continues when Edwards asks' Al Gore, whose candidacy is almost certainly doomed, to head up a more powerful position as Secretary of the Environment. Gore agrees, and Edwards wins his Unity ticket with a respectable plurality. [edit]McCain's Folly

While McCain proved an excellent co-pilot during 9/11, and the War in Afghanistan, it wasn't long until many began to suspect McCain's determination to go to war with any country that appeared to be the enemy of US policy. In 2003 when Iraq began to appear to be in the process of making a WMD, McCain was the first person to suggest that the UN send inspectors into Iraq. The President agreed with the initial evidence to send in weapon's inspectors, and when it was confirmed that the Hussein regime used VX Nerve gas on the Kurds, Edwards and McCain prepared for a strategic invasion to arrest Saddam. McCain however, believed that a larger invasion would be necessary to handle a potential nuclear threat. Edwards was extremely unconvinced by McCain's lack of evidence, which ultimately led to McCain's downfall. The Vice President immediately went to then Director of the CIA, Dick Cheney. McCain simply asked Cheney to find evidence to engage a full scale invasion of Iraq. Cheney gave McCain the same data that the Bush administration fabricated in OTL. Edwards was willing to trust his VP enough to prepare for a larger invasion, but asked Colin Powell to investigate further. Powell eventually discovered the inaccuracy of the data, and brought it to the President's attention. Edwards' immediately called for a stand down of troops. No investigation was necessary when the VP asked the President why he called down the invasion. McCain admitted to asking Cheney to find evidence, professing that he would protect the country if Edwards' wouldn't. Edwards fired McCain the next day, and an investigation eventually found Cheney, NSA director Rumsfeld, and several Congressmen and military professionals guilty of fabricating the evidence to invade Iraq. The impeachment proceedings came to be called, "The Columbia Trials." [edit]Wesley Clark

With McCain gone, and the Republican brand badly damaged, Edwards opted to nominate Defense Secretary Wesley Clark for VP, bolstering support with Democrats. Clark proved to be a competent VP, maintaining McCain's style of being blunt, while upholding a level of restraint that the old VP never had.