In The Absence Of Real Information...

...people will make up their own. Otherwise known as gossip. Take for instance:

"Steve, just heard from trusted friend that McCain was approached about serving as VP if Cheney has "health problems" or otherwise steps down.
Beyond that, speculation that Miers will step down to be replaced by a Bork-like sub (even better, Bork himself...). In other words, Cheney takes a bullet, a titanic battle over SCOTUS ensued to change the subject. You didn't hear this from me, but feel free to pass on such unsubstantiated rumors."

From Steve Clemons' site.

That's the problem with everyone losing their mind all at once. It makes rumors like the above seem plausible. Go figure. At this point, anything is possible.