John Dean on Thom Hartmann: Why Palin Falls Short of Constitutional Qualifications For VPs

[Swamp Rat]

This bears repeating, non-stop until the election.



http://www.thomhartmann.com

The Sarah Palin Selection: Why McCain's Inexperienced Running Mate Falls Short of Meeting the Implicit Constitutional Qualifications For Vice Presidents
By JOHN W. DEAN
Friday, Sept. 05, 2008

In truth, the Vice President of the United States is important for only one reason: He or she will become President of the United States upon the death, incapacity or resignation of the President. Nine times in our history, vice presidents have succeeded to the presidency: John Tyler (1841), Millard Fillmore (1850), Andrew Johnson (1865), Chester A. Arthur (1881), Theodore Roosevelt (1901), Calvin Coolidge (1923), Harry Truman (1945), Lyndon Johnson (1963), and Gerald Ford (1974). Of course, the vice president also has a significant secondary role: It is he or she, acting with a majority of the Cabinet, who can declare the president incapable of carrying out the duties of the office, and then take charge - until the action is either ratified or rejected by a majority of the Congress. So far in our history, however, this has never occurred.


Given the fact that the 2008 GOP standard-bearer John McCain is seventy-two years of age, his selection of an inexperienced Vice Presidential running mate, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, has again focused attention on the process and procedures for selecting vice presidents - or, to put it more bluntly, the utter lack of process or procedures in selecting the person who is a heartbeat away from the presidency. McCain, not unlike others before him, selected a less than fully vetted running mate for political reasons. That is surely a concern for voters to think over in the upcoming election - but it raises a systemic concern, too, for the long run.

Consider this parallel: Does anyone believe that if John McCain were president and had selected Governor Sarah Palin under the Twenty-fifth Amendment to fill a vacancy in the vice presidency, Congress would have confirmed her? Not likely. In fact, it is even less likely that McCain would have even attempted to do so, for he would have embarrassed himself.

While the Constitution does not expressly set forth qualifications for the vice-presidency, it strongly implies them --- and Palin falls short.

(snip)

http://writ.news.findlaw.com/dean/20080905.html

[Liberal_in_LA]

1. McCain..thanks for picking Palin.

[Swamp Rat]

2. Yes indeed! Thank you McCraps!!!

:woohoo:

[HCE SuiGeneris]

3. k n r

[livetohike]

4. K & R

:kick:

[Swamp Rat]

5. kick

[fascisthunter]

6. Palin's IQ is Slightly Above Her Youngest Child's IQ

[hfojvt]

7. inexperience does not bother me

someone like Eric Alterman is inexperienced too, but at least he's educated and smart and could answer honestly and coherently things like "what newspapers have you read?" or "what are the duties of the Vice President?" Many history professors or economics professors would have even less experience than Palin in any government office, but would still know more or be easily able to learn more about being President. If experience was all that mattered, or was most important, then wouldn't Bush or Cheney be better than Obama, since they have more experience?