Monday, March 24, 2008

A Clever Suggestion


Section One of the 25th amendment states that "[i]n case of the removal of the President from office or of his death or resignation, the Vice President shall become President." The amendment resolved once and for all the ambiguities present in Article II regarding Presidential succession. The Vice President assumes the Presidency, with its attendant powers and responsibilities, in the event that the President becomes unwilling or unable to serve. Based on these words, constitutional scholar Akhil Reed Amar has recently put a new twist into our discussions of a co-Presidency. In The Resident Historian’s recent post on the topic, I pointed out that a co-Presidency would probably not be equitable just because two people can’t really occupy the position Constitutionally. Well, not exactly, if we listen to Amar’s logic. Two individuals could, in effect, “take turns” at being President. What does this mean. Well, let’s say hypothetically we end up with the team of Obama-Clinton. Halfway through the term, Barack Obama could cede the Presidency to Clinton, occupant of the vice-Presidency for the first half of the term. The two could then hypothetically perform the same game in 2012. There are still many practical roadblocks to such an arrangement and I’m not entirely sure how desirable it would be (that will largely depend on how bloody this contest ends up becoming, I think) but constitutionally, at least, a co-Presidency may be more feasible than at first glance.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

hmmm....
not sure about that - how can they possibly get along and also, what if one refused to vacate for another?

The Quiet American said...

Yes, perhaps it wouldn't be desirable, but I think Amar's point is that, should worst come to worst, it is possible.