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Wed 3 Mar 2004 0:58
by Kevin McGehee
in Coweta County, GA
[Wackadoodle]
[blogoSFERICS]
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Bill Clinton Could Be Just the Ticket for Kerry
Stephen Gillers
With John Kerry’s success in Tuesday’s primaries, the race for the Democratic nomination for president is all but over—and speculation about his choice for vice president can now begin in earnest.
John Edwards, Kerry’s closest rival [and who is expected to officially withdraw from the race today], is a proven campaigner and could attract Southern voters. Govs. Evan Bayh of Indiana and Bill Richardson of New Mexico have both regional appeal and executive experience. Dark-horse candidates include former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin and former Sen. Sam Nunn of Georgia.
Amid this conjecture, however, one name is conspicuously absent: Bill Clinton.
Clinton’s strengths would compensate for Kerry’s weaknesses almost perfectly. Not only is Clinton the most talented campaigner of his generation, but he is also a Southerner—and since 1948, when Harry S. Truman chose Sen. Alben Barkley of Kentucky as his running mate, every successful Democratic ticket has included a citizen of a Southern state.
Besides, people might even pay to watch Bill Clinton debate Dick Cheney. So why not?
The first objection, the constitutional one, can be disposed of easily. The Constitution does not prevent Clinton from running for vice president. The 22nd Amendment, which became effective in 1951, begins: “No person shall be elected to the office of the president more than twice.“
No problem. Bill Clinton would be running for vice president, not president. Scholars and judges can debate how loosely constitutional language should be interpreted, but one need not be a strict constructionist to find this language clear beyond dispute. Bill Clinton cannot be elected president, but nothing stops him from being elected vice president.
True, if Clinton were vice president he would be in line for the presidency. But Clinton would succeed Kerry not by election, which the amendment forbids, but through Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution, which provides that if a president dies, resigns or is removed from office, his powers “shall devolve on the vice president.“ The 22nd Amendment would not prevent this succession.
So much for the constitutional obstacles.
» Read the rest.
No, Prof. Gillers. As a law professor you should know better than this. If I were the head of your law school you would find someone else teaching your classes the day after this article runs.
In your perusal of the Constitution, you didn’t cover all of the relevant provisions. The 12th Amendment includes the following: “But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States.“ Any reasonable person would interpret this, in conjunction with the 22nd Amendment, as meaning that since Bill Clinton has been elected twice to the presidency, and is therefore constitutionally ineligible to be elected to the presidency again, he is also constitutionally ineligible to be elected Vice President.
But I suppose where Clinton’s concerned, reasonable interpretations of the law are ruled out by definition.
Go sit in the corner, Professor. Don’t forget your dunce cap.
Comments:
How about Hillary Clinton for Kerry’s vice President? Funny that no one has thought of that.
A.R. Yngve (IP: 81.191.0.37) Mar 4, 2004 5:45 AM
Hillary and Teresa. What a catfight that would be.
McGehee (IP: 24.240.149.67) Mar 4, 2004 7:56 AM
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