What happens if McCain doesn't make it to Election Day?

[Independent_Voice]

Let's say McCain has a brain aneurysm, or drowns in his own vomit while sleeping, or something else happens that makes him unable to continue his presidential campaign before Nov. 4 rolls around?

What happens then? What happens to the ticket after McCain and Palin are officially nominated next week?

Would Palin assume the spot at the top of the ticket, and select a new running mate of her own choice for the V.P. slot?

Does the second-runner-up from the Republican primaries (Romney? Huckabee? I can't even remember who it was!) get nominated by the RNC to replace McCain by default, with Palin staying on as the V.P. running mate?

Any insight that anyone could provide would be much appreciated!

[GreenPartyVoter]

1. I have no info, but can I just say

Ack!!!

[Bluerthanblue]

4. worse scenario- what if he made it till the day after Inaug.

and then died or became incapacitated?

I was remembering the day Reagan was shot by Hinkley, it was pretty early on in his presidency, and Bush Sr. took over temporarily. Reagan was younger than McCain is too.


This reality, that Palin needed to be someone who was ready and able to become president on day one, needs to be hammered home. As uncomfortable as it may be for McCain, to acknowledge his age, it IS an issue- and he made a terrible mistake gambling on a VP as un-ready and in experienced as she is. If she had to take over for McCain, she wouldn't have McCain to fall back on.

He made a big mistake.

[tridim]

2. Bush statement: "It's not fair to have the elections in November"

"Therefore the election will be delayed at least 6 months. I will remain President until a date is set by my hand-picked blue-ribbon special committee."

[Bobbieo]

3. That is a damn good question!!!!

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

7. Better Question: What if Sarah doesn't make it to Tuesday?

She hasn't been vetted. She's already got enough skeletons on record to bring her future into question. She's about one accusation from doing a Harriet Miers.

Think of it. Tuesday Morning. A hurricane beating down on New Orleans to remind voters of the incompetence and cronyism of the Bush Administration, and then John McCain's first big decision as a nominee implodes. Mittens and Pawlenty say, "No Thanks, Fuckhead." And there's John McCain hanging out in Minneapolis/St. Paul as political road kill.

[Henny Penny]

5. I wouldn't wish that on anyone however it does raise some interesting

questions in terms of procedure.

Does the VP pick become the presidential candidate? Is it up to the party to select someone else? Or does the withdrawn candidate's name remain on the ballot paper, and if so, what happens if the withdrawn candidate gets the most votes? Is this kind of thing governed by the party's own rules or is it covered by legislation?

[darius15]

6. My guess would be that Palin would get the nod

not sure though.

[Pab Sungenis]

8. Here is the scenario.

As a history and Constitution buff, I pretty much get called upon to restate all this every few months.

IF McCAIN DIES....

BEFORE the nomination, there is an open convention to nominate a different candidate.

BETWEEN the nomination and election day, the RNC picks a replacement candidate, which does NOT have to be Sarah Palin. If Sarah Palin IS chosen to replace McCain as Presidential Candidate, the RNC also nominates a replacement for her as Vice-Presidential Candidate.

BETWEEN Election Day and the voting of the Electors, the RNC will name a replacement candidate and ask McCain Electors to give their votes to the new candidate. This candidate does not have to be Sarah Palin. If she is the choice as replacement Presidential candidate, then they will name a replacement Vice-Presidential candidate as well, and ask McCain Electors to vote for the replacement for Vice-President. This runs afoul of states with Faithless Electors laws, but it's unlikely that Congress would necessarily throw out electors from those states if the Electors voted for the replacement. (There is a precedent for this tactic: Horace Greeley died in 1872 before the Electors could vote).

ALTERNATELY, if McCain would win the Electoral Vote, what the RNC could choose to do if they want Sarah Palin to succeed to the Presidency in his place would be to ask McCain Electors to still vote for McCain. Congress could throw those Electoral Votes out, but it's unlikely they would use a candidate's death to overturn the election. Then on January 20th, Palin would be sworn in as Vice-President, deliver a note to the Speaker and PPT of the Senate that there is a vacancy in the Presidency, then take the oath as President and submit the name of a new VP to Congress for confirmation.

AFTER the Electors vote, but before the inauguration, the alternate scenario above would come into play. Palin is sworn in as VP, the Presidency is vacant, and she is then sworn in as President.

Of course, in all scenarios other than the first above, you can replace "RNC" with "DNC," "McCain" with "Obama," and "Palin" with "Biden," changing gender where needed, to understand the converse.

[Henny Penny]

9. Thank you Pabsungenis.... its always good when a poster

actually knows what they're talking about! ;-)

Furthermore I am now inspired to look up both "Horace Greely" and "Pabsungenis" for further enlightenment purposes...

Edited to add:

Oh dear poor man.... "Not long after the election, Greeley's wife died. He descended into madness and died before the electoral votes could be cast."

And:

Are you really a DJ/Talkshow host, author and cartoonist???

[Pab Sungenis]

12. I have been all four, yes.

DJ at a number of stations (most recently morning man at WVLT, Vineland NJ in 1999), Talk Show Host (WSKR, 1991-1992) and producer (most recently the Don Williams Show at WOND, Atlantic City through 2001), hosted my own syndicated novelty record show, written two novels looking for publishers right now, and cartoonist of "The New Adventures Of Queen Victoria," syndicated by GoComics.com.

Studied history in high school and college, specializing in US history 1787 to the present. It's a hobby, pretty much.

Isn't Horace Greeley's story sad? One of the smartest men (along with Henry Clay, Wendell Willkie, Adlai Stevenson, and Al Gore) to not win the Presidency.

[Henny Penny]

17. Indeed it is.

Imagine losing a child because your wife completely neglected it and preferred to focus instead on another sibling (on the grounds that he was some kind of medium!)

I can see why he spent as little time as possible with her. (Though in her defence the unfortunate woman was clearly mentally ill).


Good luck with all the strings to your bow.

"The New Adventures of Queen Victoria" sounds good. I hope its to be followed by "The Further Adventures of Queen Victoria"!



:toast:

[mwb970]

18. I'm glad to hear you mention Henry Clay!

He is my favorite figure in American history. I wish we had recordings of him speaking, I hear he was a real spellbinder.

[PBS Poll-435]

10. That is fantastic research

Thank you very much!

[Independent_Voice]

16. Thanks for the info

That means I'm still on pins and needles until Inauguration Day 2009.

[Bucky]

11. In theory, the RNC could convene and select a replacement. It would not be Palin.

Smart money would be on Romney, who was the Bush gang's choice.

[and-justice-for-all]

13. They'll put another pathetic piece of shit in his place to run..nt

[dysfunctional press]

14. depending on how close it was to Nov. 5, they'd probably just forfeit.

it's not like they're really trying to win as it is.

[CarbonDate]

20. Nah, they'd throw somebody under the bus to take his place.

"Fuck it -- Condi, get out there."

[WinkyDink]

15. Google is your friend.

[XemaSab]

19. I was asking the same question earlier

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=6827349&mesg_id=6827349