Posted by
Ryan S. on Wednesday, August 01, 2007 11:56:18 AM
The
LA Times has a piece wondering whether Bill Clinton is eligible to become vice
president:
The 24th Amendment,
adopted in reaction to Franklin Roosevelt's 1944 election to a fourth term,
declares that "no person shall be elected to the office of the President
more than twice." Although it was not the focus of the amendment, it is
notable that the amendment does not preclude a former two-term president (such
as Clinton) from serving
as vice president. Nor does it preclude a former two-term president's succession
to the presidency for all or part of a third term.
It might seem that the 12th Amendment's dictum that "no person constitutionally
ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of
Vice-President" also ought to doom Clinton's
chances -- but no again: He is ineligible for election to a third term,
but he is constitutionally eligible to succeed to the presidency after election
to the vice presidency.
There is, however, one last constitutional wrinkle. The 12th Amendment declares
that the members of the electoral college "shall meet in their respective
states, and vote by ballot for President and Vice-President, one of whom, at
least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same state with themselves." This
effectively prevents the president and vice president from having the same
state residency, because if running mates shared a home state, the electors from
that state would be unable to vote for both of them. Thus, unless the former
president returns to Arkansas,
"Hill-Bill" or Clinton2 is out.
That leaves only one alternative. You heard it here first, Democrats:
Obama-(Bill) Clinton 2008!
Thanks to Gary for the hat-tip!