Let the Mid-Term Elections Begin.... NOW!

So Cheney is in the news again. More trouble with secrecy, yadda yadda. I frankly don't find this too surprising. Here's my take on what's happening:

I suspect the Democrats wanted to roll this little gem out to the public a little later. Say... this time next year just as the mid-term elections are heating up. But it came out now. What gives?

I see a couple of possibilities:

#1 Democrats know more and want an investigation now to dig up more embarrassing stuff this time next year. So... Democrats leaked to NYT (?)

#2 Republicans know even more than the Democrats and want this trash aired now to clear the air for next year. So... Republicans leaked to NYT (?)

#3 Republicans know so much that they're working behind the curtains to get Democrats to trip up because of an investigation they really want. In this scenario, Republicans would LOVE an investigation that focuses for the next year or more on how much Republicans worked to secure our country and it would simultaneously dig up ways that Democrats were sabotaging these security measures.... Democrats foolishly leaked to NYT (?)

We'll see. It'll be interesting to see the way this story turns. But one thing's for sure: just whisper Cheney and there will be a Democrat eager to talk your ear off about it.

I do have one nagging question about this episode, though: Does Cheney actually have executive authority? I had presumed before that the whole point of VP's was that they didn't have actual executive authority until something happened to the president?