If Dick Cheney became president on 9/11?

[dw93]

One of Cheney's first role would be to find a VP. He'd know he'd have a high chance of dying in office due to his heart issues, so he'd want to get someone he deems capable in there fast (God only knows who'd that be). Iraq would be an even bigger cluster than it was with Bush and would likely happen quicker with an administration that would be even more neoconservative than Bush's. Expect increased tensions with Iran as well as the Neocons had their sights on that one for years to. Afghanistan however would more or less be as it was in our timeline, as that didn't seem like a priority to the Neocons (at least not as big as Iraq was). I imagine Tom DeLay, Dennis Hastert, Trent Lott, and Bill Frist would be the ones running Domestic policy and Cheney never seemed like the type that was interested in it. The Executive Branch and Police state would likely be larger under Cheney to.

As for 2004, Darth doesn't run again, if he even finishes out the term at all, so his VP or McCain likely get the nod. With the Middle East being even messier than OTL, with it being an election without an incumbent, and given how close 2004 OTL was, there's a good chance we see President John Kerry or President Wesley Clark become a thing.