Wilbur Storey, a rambunctious editor of the Chicago Times around the time of the Civil war, used to instruct his reporters: "When there's no news, send rumours". In the lull before tomorrow's big television debate between Gore and Bush, the most interesting rumour is that the Republican party leadership is plotting to dump "Big Time" Dick Cheney as the running mate to Bush.
A few weeks before the vote on November 7, the buzz goes, Cheney will announce his resignation, ostensibly because of signs of new trouble with his ticker. One of two good men will then be implored to come to the aid of the party: John McCain or Colin Powell. Powell, who doesn't want the job, would be hard put to resist an emergency appeal to his patriotism. McCain would jump at the chance.
It is all devilishly cunning. Health would be an empathetic exit for the floundering Cheney. It would avoid the impression that Bush did not know what he was doing when he picked him or, rather, when he accepted his dad's recommendation.
The small print attached to the rumour is that nobody I have spoken to in either party believes it will happen - but it is significant. It emphasises how important the running mates have become in this race. Key Republicans fret that Cheney's high unfavourables will prevent Bush taking off in these last few weeks. Either Powell or McCain, both hugely popular, could tip the balance to Bush in the dead heat the polls are currently predicting.
The Democrats are well aware of this. They believe that Cheney is the best opponent they could have, so easy to caricature as a Godzilla of the right, the big-time oil man with enviable millions in stock options. I half suspect that the rumour originated with some Karpov in the Democratic war room to keep the focus on Cheney and pre-empt the possibility that the Republicans could spring such a trick.
The Democrats have a different problem with their running mate, the Jewish Merlin Joe Lieberman. It's his halo. The selection of this morally fastidious man, the first Democrat to criticise President Clinton in the Lewinsky affair, jump-started Gore's ascent in the polls. It squashed the Republican tactic of making a central issue of Clinton's character, and Gore's association with him. But Lieberman has a chink in his moral armour that the Republicans have not yet exploited for their own good reasons. It lies in his insistence on running in two elections, one for the vice-presidency in the national poll and one in Connecticut, where he is a shoo-in for a six-year term in the Senate. Since even Holy Joe does not have the saintly gift of bi-location, a victory in the national race would mean that he would have to relinquish his seat in the Senate.
So what? So this: the vacancy would be filled by the governor of Connecticut nominating a two-year senator. And the governor, John G Rowland, is a Republican who has made it clear that he will name a Republican, maybe himself. The elections for the Senate are likely to result in a razor-thin majority for one side or the other, so the loss of Lieberman's Democratic seat to a nominated Republican might make all the difference. If Lieberman were to quit now, the three-term attorney general, Richard Blumenthal, would easily win for the Democrats.
Why should Lieberman hang in when he knows what another Republican Senate would mean for the social reforms dear to his heart on campaign finance, gun control, environmental protections and federal judgeships?
There is no excuse in precedent. In the 1960 Kennedy-Nixon race, Kennedy's running mate, Senator Lyndon Johnson, also stood for the vice-presidency and his Senate seat for Texas. But in Texas it was clear Johnson would be replaced in the Senate by a Democrat and that the Senate would stay Democratic.
The only explanation for Lieberman's stubbornness is that he fears the Gore- Lieberman ticket will fail and he wants to keep his Connecticut seat warm. That is hardly a ringing battle cry to the party faithful or an encouragement to the independent voters, and it corrodes his halo as a selfless public servant. Cheney could have some fun with this next Thursday when he and Lieberman debate.
I think Bush will do better against Gore in Tuesday's debate than the cognoscenti predict, if for no other reason than that the Republicans have already won the expectations game. Gore can't do better than he is expected to do on substance. And the big boost Bush has enjoyed since he schmoozed with Oprah indicates that there is a market for his brand of genial blather.
Conversely, while everyone is expecting Lieberman to slaughter Cheney, it is Lieberman who may be put on the defensive. Cheney also has something to prove - that rumours of his death are greatly exaggerated.