SHE'LL DO ANYTHING TO BEAT TRUMP, BUT SHE WON'T DO THAT

HuffPost tells us that Liz Cheney is determined to keep Donald Trump out of the White House -- but when she was asked whether she'll run for president herself, she gave an answer that was pure weasel words:

Former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) on Tuesday said she will avoid taking any steps that could help former President Donald Trump in his quest to return to the White House....

Cheney, a fierce Trump critic who has been floated as a likely 2024 presidential hopeful after she failed to win reelection in Wyoming last November, was interviewed on the stage of the Aspen Ideas Festival by NBC News’ Lester Holt. Asked if she would pursue a presidential bid as a third-party candidate, Cheney replied: ”I’m not going to do anything that helps Donald Trump.”

Here's a fuller version of the quote:

“I’m not going to do anything that helps Donald Trump, and I think that I’ll make a decision about what I do and what comes next later this year,” she told NBC Nightly News’ Lester Holt during the Aspen Ideas Festival....

“I’m not announcing anything here today, Lester,” she said. “But the way I’m thinking about where we are and what has to be done is much less about what should I do in terms of am I going to be a candidate or not and much more about stopping Donald Trump whatever that takes. But also helping elect other good candidates down-ballot.”

If Cheney wants to do "whatever [it] takes" to beat Trump, she could have taken a big step right now by saying unambiguously that she won't run against him. She has to know that an August 2022 YouGov poll showed that her presence in the race turned a 4-point Joe Biden lead into an 8-point Trump lead. She also could have denounced, or at least questioned, the entire No Labels third-party effort, which could help Trump win regardless of the candidate. Cheney has credibility among anti-Trumpers across the political spectrum. If she weighed in on No Labels, she'd be taken seriously.

I think Cheney is sincere in her opposition to Trump. But she's an insider politician, and also the daughter of an insider politician. I think she's more likely to give the hacks at No Labels the benefit of the doubt than you and I are. I'm sure she doesn't want to burn bridges to No Labels -- or, more precisely, to its donors, whom she might pursue in a future campaign for some office or other.

I hope Cheney will rule out a run and endorse Biden eventually. I understand that it's probably too soon for her to do that. But she could at least weigh in now on a very bad and very well funded scheme that could make Trump's election more likely.