Vice-President Bill Clinton?

[calteacherguy]

Poll question: Vice-President Bill Clinton?

The 12th Amendment states that anybody who is eligible for the presidency under Article II of the Constitution (a natural-born citizen age 35 or older) is eligible for the vice presidency. Clinton is a natural-born citizen over 35, so he qualifies. The putative roadblock to a Clinton vice presidency--the 22nd Amendment--doesn't apply. This hastily worded and passed amendment, designed to block another multi-multi-term presidency such as FDR's, only bars the election of a president to more than two terms in that office. It doesn't prevent a two-term president from running for the vice presidency.

Nothing in the Constitution would prevent Vice President Clinton from becoming president via succession.

http://www.slate.com/id/1006013/

Clinton/Clinton 08'?

[napi21]

1. I think there's another IMPLIED requirement, and that is that

a VP MUST be able to assume the Pressidency in the event the President cannot fufill his/her duty. I don't believe BC fits that catagory becasue of already having served his 2 terms.

There's another point I'd like to make too. I DON'T even want to open that door AT ALL! You and I might think BC would make a good VP, but, lets say you're right and he IS eligible, do you REALLY want to see VP Shrub?????

[rfranklin]

2. By then Bush will have been convicted of war crimes...

and unable to serve as anything other than convicted felon.

[calteacherguy]

3. He could serve as President if something happened to Hillary, but he could not run for re-election.

as President.

Section 1. No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of the President more than once. But this article shall not apply to any person holding the office of President when this article was proposed by the Congress, and shall not prevent any person who may be holding the office of President, or acting as President, during the term within which this article becomes operative from holding the office of President or acting as President during the remainder of such term.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twenty-second_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution

[Warpy]

4. No kidding!

Plus I don't want to see another dynasty presidency at all, most especially one that is nepotism of the worst sort at the highest level.

Oh, I'll vote for Hillary Clinton if it's decided by the booboisie that only she will do because she's pro choice and far better than any pubbie alive in the country at this time. I would just prefer someone outside the two families in control of the executive.

Senator Clinton can be Majority Leader. Her husband would make a fine Ambassador to the UN. Just keep the two of them out of the White House. Enough is enough.

[iamahaingttta]

5. Sorry... he's not eligible

You're just being silly.
Not even worth voting...

[calteacherguy]

6. Yes he is.

The 22nd ammendment only bars a person from being elected as President more than twice. There is nothing to prevent Bill Clinton from serving as VP, or assuming the office of the Presidency as the acting VP.

[CTLawGuy]

7. thus rendering said person INELIGIBLE to be president

and therefore, ineligible to be vice president.

[calteacherguy]

8. No...read the ammendment. You are wrong.

I posted the ammendment above. Bill Clinton is only inelgible from being elected President, he is not ineligible to serve as President.

[iamahaingttta]

9. Oh, stop it, will you?

He's served, two terms, he's not eligible, and it's not going to happen.
So quit it!

[calteacherguy]

He is eligible. There is nothing to prevent Hillary from choosing him as VP.

I agree it's unlikely to happen, but it's an interesting hypothetical...and yes it is constitutionally possible.

[CTLawGuy]

10. no you are wrong

Amendment XII:

"... But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States."

No article II distinction is made that would nullify the effect of the 22nd amendment. Bill can't be vice-president.

[calteacherguy]

11. Nope, sorry, you're wrong! He's not constitutionally ineligible to be President.

Clinton is over 35 years of age and a natural-born citizen. He IS ineligible to be elected to the office of President, but he is not ineliglbe to the office (to serve) as President.

[CTLawGuy]

12. but the portion of the 12th amendment I quoted

said that you must be eligible to become president in order to become vice president. Since Bill Clinton is NOT eligible to be president via the 22nd amendment he is not eligible to be vice president.

In fact it says that clear as day...

[calteacherguy]

13. He is eligible to become President.

He is simply not eligible to be elected President.

[CTLawGuy]

14. are you saying

that there are different requirements for being ELECTED president as there are for BECOMING president???

[MonkeyFunk]

15. yes, that seems to be the case

due to the wording of the amendments involved.

But it's a purely academic argument - he would never run for VP, nor would any other former President.

[calteacherguy]

17. Indeed...depends on what the definition of "elected" is...

As the former President might say. ;-)

Here's an interesting article from the Washington Post....

Kathleen M. Sullivan, director of the Stanford Constitutional Law Center, said the 22nd Amendment, "as I read it, does not preclude a Clinton-Clinton ticket." She added: "Bill, if elected VP, could become president in the event that President Hillary became incapacitated; he just could not run for reelection from that successor post."

more....http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/19/AR2006101901572.html

[CTLawGuy]

20. I think in the end it is unclear

whether a twice elected president could become vice president, it depends on what the drafters of the 22nd amendment intended. To me it looks like they wanted to limit the amount of time a president could be in office, to facilitate change, rather than keeping a de facto king.

How do you explain why they have the rules for election for a president who takes over in the middle of a previous president's term, if it is all about not being elected more than twice?

If you interpret it the way I do, there is no way a twice elected president could assume the office again in any way, and it would explain why they created the rule for presidents who assume office in the middle of the previous one's term.


Also, if you intepret the amendment the way you do, then nothing could stop a twice elected president from effectively running for president (except in the VP shot) behind a guy who is nominally on the ballot as president, but who agrees to resign once the ticket is elected. The "president" might do almost no campaigning while the "vice president" essentially campaigns for president.

I don't think the founders intended to leave this giant loophole...

[CTLawGuy]

18. I doubt it would be interpreted that way

is there evidence that the crafters of the amendment intended to create such a distinction?

[MonkeyFunk]

19. well

intentions can't count for as much as the actual wording, which doesn't seem to preclude it.

[CTLawGuy]

21. in law it does

unless the wording is crystal clear...

[Forkboy]

16. Is this going to end up with over 400 replies too?

:)

[DKRC]

22. Bill will be an excellent ambassador, but I can't see him as anyone's VP. nt

[applegrove]

23. There was a law enacted after Bobby Kennedy was AG that family

cannot be part of the cabinet.

[youngdem]

24. I'd like to see Bill Clinton at the UN, Sec. of State or the World Bank.

No to veep.

[StudentsMustUniteNow]

25. NAFTA Part Two? Welfare Reform? No thanks.

I'd like to keep Bill Clinton, whom I consider to be a womanizing neoliberal, out of office for good. And I can tell him "Thanks" for turning the Democratic Party far to the right.

[MadHound]

26. Oh HELL no!

The corporate marriage from hell now enshrined in the WH? Hell no!

My only consolation is that this has absolutely 0 chance of happening, for Hillary's handlers know that if they bring back Bill it will be the final kiss of death on her campaign.

[IndianaGreen]

27. Sure, let's put the American version of the Borgias and the Perons in power

Sorry, but your proposal does not pass the Constitution smell test.

[tammywammy]

28. No

And they both reside in the same state

[doggyboy]

30. Bill could pull a Cheney

and get residency in another state, but that is a good catch

[tammywammy]

31. Yeah, and that wouldn't go over too well either

Imagine a married couple saying they live in separate states in order to be Pres and VP. Wow, I can imagine the fireworks already. :)

[Phredicles]

29. Has he expressed the slightest interest?

I'm not aware that he has.

Besides, while I sure don't agree with everything he did, his political instincts are pretty good. And he has be be aware, then, that it would look fishy: Even if he's technically eligible, I have to think BClinton's running for VP would no be in keeping with the spirit of our current eligibilty requirements.

Finally, I don't like the precedent it would set. I'm especially thinking of rfranklin's point about a VP shrub.:scared:

PS - edited to read "slghtest", not "slighted" - D'oh!

[ElizabethDC]

32. No, he hasn't

and, IIRC, he's said that, while there are varying views on whether or not a former, two-term President can legally run for VP, he has said he doesn't believe that it would be constitutional, since the VP is first in line to the presidency, and he's not eligible to serve as president again.

[jakem]

33. Obama & Bill? ok! nt

[mitchum]

34. Fuck no!

[illinoisprogressive]

35. end this dysfunctional era. no more Clintons or Bushs ever!

[windbreeze]

36. Absolutely NOT...

he could not take over the presidency, because he has already served two terms...so he's out...and I wouldn't want to see the two of them in, in any case...
wb