Libby Guilty, Is Cheney Next?

NYT - Questions About Cheney Remain

In legal terms, the jury has spoken in the Libby case. In political terms, Dick Cheney is still awaiting a judgment.

[. . .]

With Tuesday’s verdict on Mr. Libby — guilty on four of five counts, including perjury and obstruction of justice — Mr. Cheney’s critics, and even some of his supporters, said the vice president had been diminished.

I'm sure it is true that his reputation has been damaged by the trial, and history will remember his role in the case, but what exact political judgement the article is referring to, I'm not sure. It's not like Cheney was planning a 2008 bid for President or anything. I can't imagine he was planning to run for any elected office again. And, as the article points out, it hasn't diminished him in the area that matters most:

Ms. Matalin said Mr. Cheney remained as influential as ever where it counts — with Mr. Bush.

Of course there is always the impeachment talk:

Still, liberal critics of the administration had a field day with the trial. They are hoping the Democrats who now control Congress will use the case to investigate Mr. Cheney’s role further. Mr. Schumer, who was among the first to call for a special prosecutor in the case, suggested in an interview that they might.

“I think there is a view in the public that Libby was the fall guy,” Mr. Schumer said, “and I do think we will look at how the case shows the misuse of intelligence both before and after the war in Iraq.”

But I can't see that happening, not even with the Democrats in control of Congress. Even if they do bring charges against him, I can't see how they could get enough votes to remove him from office. If they can't remove him, it's just a waste of time and money to go through the motions.