How hard would it be

[quakerboy]

to change the date for the inauguration?

I understand it was moved up once before. I don't know about anyone else, but it seems like 3 months is a ridiculously long time to be stuck with a completely lame duck president.

[iceman66]

1. Especially THIS lame duck president!

I know it won't happen. but why can't the change the date to 11/5?

[TheKentuckian]

2. Little to no chance

The shrub will unfortunately get his full tenure.

[Diamonique]

3. I would think the president elect needs some time to transition.

[ddeclue]

4. =Constitutional Amendment n/t

[Bucky]

5. They decided to move the inauguration up in 1932. It moved up in 1937.

It took a Constitutional amendment. In theory it could be done by a simple law from Congress. But Bush would have to sign that law.

[quakerboy]

8. Theres the historic precedent

i was hoping someone could help me with.

So, I know this is terribly low on the pile of issues to be dealt with, but perhaps they could do something about this by 2016. Does it strike anyone else that in our modern age this is still a ridiculously long time for turnover? I would think that very late December/very early January would be superior.

[Bucky]

10. It's a big government and we don't have the "shadow cabinet" tradition

It's true in many countries it takes less than a week to go from election to transition. But it takes much longer in the US system for a new administration to staff up after an election. If you moved it up more than three weeks, you'd be fucking with the new president's Christmas vacation.

[Motown_Johnny]

6. 20 th amendment

Section 1. The terms of the President and Vice President shall end at noon on the 20th day of January, and the terms of Senators and Representatives at noon on the 3d day of January, of the years in which such terms would have ended if this article had not been ratified; and the terms of their successors shall then begin.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twentieth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution

[quakerboy]

9. Somehow

I didn't pick up on that. Despite that I reread the whole constitution not 2 weeks ago. Course, I was more focused on other parts, but I read the whole thing for good measure. Not as long as I thought it would be. And somehow I was never once required to read it for any civics class.

This all came up in my mind when my father was sheepishly admitting he was going to vote Obama, and mentioned that it was going to be a long wait, and that it had been moved up once before.

[moondust]

7. As long as "we're" shredding other parts of the Constitution

I don't see why we can't shred the inauguration dates when it would do the world a world of good. :shrug: