AMERICAN GOVERNMENT

 PRESIDENTIAL SUCCESSION—the scheme by which a presidential vacancy is filled  If the President dies, resigns, or is removed the Vice President succeeds to the office  Original Constitution did not provide for succession  “The powers and duties” of the office—not the office itself—were to transfer to the V-P

 (Presidential succession chart p. 359)  Presidential Succession Act of 1947  Set the order of succession  A cabinet member is to serve only until a Speaker or president pro tem is available and qualified

 Serious gaps in the arrangement for presidential succession  For nearly 180 years, the country played with fate  President Eisenhower suffered 3 serious but temporary illnesses—heart attack(1955), ileitis(1956), mild stroke(1957)  Two other Presidents were disabled for longer periods of time

 James Garfield lingered for 80 days before dying from an assassin’s bullet  Woodrow Wilson suffered a paralytic stroke in 1919 and was an invalid for the rest of his term  He could not meet with the cabinet for seven months  Sections 3 & 4 of the XXVth Amendment address disability in detail.

 Vice President becomes “acting” President if:  1) President informs Congress in writing that he/she is unable to discharge the powers and duties of the office.  2) the V-P and majority of the members of the Cabinet inform Congress in writing that the President is so incapacitated  In both cases the President can resume his duties by telling Congress that no inability exists

TThe V-P and Cabinet can challenge the President about his ability to lead. Congress has 21 days to decide the matter. TTwo instances where power was transferred: 11) 1985—President Reagan transferred power to V-P George H. W. Bush for nearly 8 hours while surgeons removed a tumor from Reagan’s large intestine

 2) President George W. Bush transferred power to V-P Dick Cheney for two hours, while Mr. Bush was anesthetized for a routine medical procedure

 “I am Vice President. In this I am nothing, but I may be everything”—John Adams  2 formal duties—1) President of the Senate (vote to break a tie); 2) help decide the question of presidential disability  The V-P is literally one heartbeat away from the Presidency  Major parties responsible for the low status of the office of V-P

 Each party hand-picks their presidential candidate  The candidate picks someone as their running mate to BALANCE THE TICKET  BALANCE THE TICKET—a person that strengthens the candidate’s chances of winning because of certain ideological, geographic, racial, ethnic, gender or other characteristics

 THE VICE PRESIDENT TODAY  (chart: V-P Succession p. 362)  The office has been reinvented  V-P Dick Chaney is seen as the most influential V-P in US history  He had a impressive resume (p. 363)  No President has been willing to make the V-P a true “Assistant President”

 The major reason: only the V-P is not subject to the ultimate discipline of removal from office by the President  The Vice President CANNOT be fired by the President  VICE PRESIDENTIAL VACANCY  V-P has been vacant 18 times—9 by succession, twice by resignation, 7 times by death

XXXVth Amendment deals with V-P vacancy PPresident will nominate a person subject confirmation by a majority vote in both houses of Congress IIt was first used in 1973 when V-P Spiro Agnew resigned. President Nixon nominated Gerald R. Ford (MI) IIt was used again in 1974 when President Ford nominated Nelson Rockefeller when Nixon resigned and Ford became President TTHE END