Reporter to McClellan: Laura Bush for Prez in 2008 with George as V.P.?

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

Press Briefing by Scott McClellan

May 2, 2005

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/05/20050502-2.html

Q: This is a follow-up on Connie's question, and I assure you there was no collusion. A little bit of a prelude before I get to my question. As you, undoubtedly, have heard, there has been speculation inside the Beltway that if Hillary Rodham Clinton decides to run in 2008 she could possibly choose as a running mate her husband, former President Bill Clinton. And, obviously, after the great boffo performance by the First Lady Saturday night, there is now speculation that she could run, and possibly choose the President to be her running mate. Now, under the 22nd amendment to the Constitution, no President can serve more than two terms. But I think under the 25th, if a President is for any reason incapacitated, the Vice President moves up. Has anybody here addressed this possible conflict --

MR. McCLELLAN: That's quite a scenario you just spun there. But as I said, I think it's too early to talk about the 2006 race, and it's certainly too early to talk about 2008. We've got a lot of important work to do on behalf of the American people, and that's where the President's focus remains.

[w13rd0]

1. Jeff Gannon....

...is getting day passes again?

[Joebert]

2. I was going to ask the same thing.

Who the hell is being paid to be there, by some "news" organization, that asked a question like that?

Edit: One of the two of can't punctuate, and it's not you. :-)

[LiberalFighter]

3. I guess they don't understand it is illegal

[Stand and Fight]

6. It is not illegal.

It is not forbidden in the Constitution at all.

[w4rma]

10. It's illegal because the VP has to be Constitutionally capable of becoming

President.

[Stand and Fight]

11. Yes, and thus you prove my point.

No person may be elected to the office of the president more than twice. The key word here is elected. Take for example Lyndon B. Johnson or Gerald Ford. Both had been called to serve after a specific time. For Johnson, it had been after Kennedy had been in office more than two years. For Ford, it had been when Nixon had been in office for less than two years. Had Johnson decided to run in 1968 he would have served a total of more than two terms as president. However, the same cannot be said of Ford -- if he had been elected after taking over, he could have served no more than one term as the elected president. So, your point is null and void. These are loopholes in Consititutional law that allow a person to be president for more than two terms. If Laura Bush was elected president -- gawd forbid -- and George W. Bush was elected as vice-president, the 25th Amendment does apply because George W. Bush meets the requirements for said position. That is, he is a resident of the United States, is over the age of 35, and is a natural born citizen. Nothing in those requirements prevents him from being appointed -- notice, not ELECTED -- president in the event of the president's -- in this example, Laura Bush -- demise. Furthermore, I will do you one better, if Bush were to take any other position in the line of secession, and it came down to it, he would be president again. Look it up. I am 150% certain that I am correct. Therefore, as I stated previously, it would not be illegal.

[w4rma]

14. That's not the wording of the Constitution. The Constitution does not use

the word "elected".

12th Amendment:
...
"But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States."
http://www.usconstitution.net/const.html#Am12

I don't know how the Constitution could have worded that any more clearly.

[Orangepeel]

16. It's the 22nd that uses the word "elected"

I agree with you, w4rma. I think that the idea that someone who has been elected President twice can be appointed to the position is ridiculous and illegal.

But the argument for such a scenario (which I think is terribly far-fetched) is that Clinton or Bush are not ineligible to the office of President (so they aren't prohibited by the 12th amendment). They are just ineligible to be elected to the office of President (per the 22nd). If they find some other way to get there, it's okay.

[LiberalFighter]

20. It IS in the Constitution

Article II Section 1 Part 2

The electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by ballot for two persons, of whom one at least shall not be an inhabitant of the same State with themselves.

[Crazy Guggenheim]

4. I am dumbfounded by that question. Imagine all on speculation.

Who's this person who followed up to Connie? HAHAHAHA! Is it anyone we should know about? HAHAHAHA!

[elsiesummers]

5. My mother thinks they'll run Laura if it's against Hillary...

No they won't repeal the 22nd. You never know though about Laura. I told my mom I thought the idea is wacky - but then politics - what with the 2000 selection and George the Chimperor has been quite wacky - so anything's possible. Laura would have to retain her little woman personna while still running for prez - but I think they'd manage that.

I do think it's highly likely Hillary will be the Dem nominee - we at DU who wonder if people like Evan Bayh or Mark Warner of VA will run when the rest of the nation has never heard of these guys - well we underestimate star power. I am quite worried about her as nominee - turnout would be high on both sides, IMO (despite her current negatives at DU). I'm worried about the Republican turnout and the Democratic men who might not vote for a woman. I hope the Dems run a white male because I don't think our country is ready to elect a strong woman or an African American - especially if they are a Democrat. I know that's a sad way to think - but I'm not up for taking chances at this desperate point in history.

I think the Republican nominee will be: (1)Jeb Bush (2)Dick Cheney or (3)Bill Frist.

I'm crossing my fingers that it's Bill Frist because he does not have the "guy you want to have a beer with" thing going on, at all, maybe because of the toupé hair and the corpse like demeanor.

[BlueIris]

15. That was my second thought in response to reading the OP.

The first was, "Oh, please." I'm actually more optimistic about Hillary's chances in '08 than I am about Laura. And if you're familiar with my positing history on this site you know I don't believe we'll ever see another President Clinton.

[AntiCoup2K4]

7. So Pickles makes a somewhat funny joke about Dumbass jacking off a horse..

...and she's suddenly qualified to be President??

Thank God the Repukes still have some of the delusional people. :eyes:

[Stand and Fight]

12. Funny how that works, isn't it?

We should put up Jon Stewart if they're going to use that retarded logic.

[burn the bush]

8. the bimbo comes out and says some pre written lines and now she should

be president? Ok, it would be an improvement. However stepford Mrs President, we don't need. I hope they do run her. LOL Has she ever answered a question besides, "I think that's a very important issue, and I know George is working hard on that."

lol Laura for Prezdent! I hope they think it's a good plan.

[pgh_dem]

18. b-but...it was "BOFFO"!

Man...that question just needed a 'divorced from reality' in it somewhere. Who asked it?

[imenja]

9. the Constitution states that the VP must be able to become pres

That means he can't be a former two-term president, under 35 years of age, or born outside of the US. Other than that, anything goes.

[Stand and Fight]

13. Wrong.

See my post up-thread. The VP can in fact be a former president. Look at the cases of LFJ and Ford for historical examples. The Constitution states that no person can be elected president twice. The 25th Amendment does not specifically forbid former presidents in the line of succession. It simply states that they meet the qualifications to be president.

The 22nd Amendment states:

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.

2. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within seven years from the date of its submission to the States by the Congress.

Therefore, if George W. Bush were to take over after the second year of Laura Bush's term he could very well be appointed president. He is not forbidden in the Constitution from assuming the office of president in regards to Article II, which states:

No person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of the United States, at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the office of President; neither shall any person be eligible to that office who shall not have attained to the age of thirty five years, and been fourteen Years a resident within the United States.

[imenja]

19. I think you're wrong/ 12th amendment

First off, I didn't say no former president could be Vice President. What I said is that the vice president must be eligible to become president. If a president has already been elected twice, he is ineligible to become president. Vice President's also run for office and are voted on by Electoral College.

Look at the XII amendment, and the last sentence in particular: "The person having the greatest number of votes as Vice-President, shall be the Vice-President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed, and if no person have a majority, then from the two highest numbers on the list, the Senate shall choose the Vice-President; a quorum for the purpose shall consist of two-thirds of the whole number of Senators, and a majority of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice. But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States."

[Vickers]

17. Progression: librarian ---> mother and wife to drunks ---> President

Gawd bless Murka!