# Could Barack Obama Serve as Joe Biden's Running Mate (VP)? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 25, 2015, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-barack-obama-serve-as-joe-bidens-running-mate-vp/728800 "2015-08-25T02:22:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2015, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-barack-obama-serve-as-joe-bidens-running-mate-vp/728800/1 "2015-08-25T02:22:57Z")
Not a serious question in that I know it would never happen, but from a Constitutional perspective, is it possible and legal for him to do so in 2016? Don’t feel like researching it, and I’m sure someone here knows the answer. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2015, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-barack-obama-serve-as-joe-bidens-running-mate-vp/728800/2 "2015-08-25T02:29:37Z")
I don’t think there’s a definite answer. The 12th Amendment says “no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President” but the 22nd Amendment just says Obama is ineligible to be _elected_ president. Whether this is enough ineligibility to make someone ineligible to be the VP has never been hashed out fully and probably never will be. ---
**Author:** ![Mnemnosyne](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mnemnosyne/32/3347_2.png) [@Mnemnosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mnemnosyne)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2015, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-barack-obama-serve-as-joe-bidens-running-mate-vp/728800/3 "2015-08-25T02:32:42Z")
The 22nd amendment specifies that no person shall be **elected** to the office of president more than twice, or more than once if they served two or more years of a term they weren’t elected to. It doesn’t, however, say anything about the other way around, and makes no mention of the vice-presidency, so as far as I’m aware, yes, a former two-term president could be vice president. And could serve a third term as president if the president they’re elected under dies or is otherwise removed from office. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2015, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-barack-obama-serve-as-joe-bidens-running-mate-vp/728800/4 "2015-08-25T04:10:55Z")
Again with this question? Seriously? Previously (but with Bill Clinton): > **[Could Bill Clinton Run As Vice President?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=333302)** > > Just wondering…not that he has suggested it or that he would even want to, but could he run as Vice President in the next election? I know the rule is you cannot run for President for a third term, but assuming he ran as Vice President, and even if... > **[Vice President Bill Clinton](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=33709)** > > I was wondering if hypothetically, Bill Clinton could run as Vice Presidential candidate under Al Gore. Never mind the political issues, would it be constitutional to re-elect Clinton as a Vice President? He would be in line to possibly serve a third... > **[Can Bill Clinton or George W. Bush become President again? \[edited title\]](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=652566)** > > The thread about what would happen if somebody were to discover in a middle of a President’s term that the President wasn’t Constitutionally qualified reminded me of an on-again, off-again discussion I have been having with various people over the... > **[Can Bill Clinton be elected Vice-President?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=243679)** > > This is definitely being posed as a hypothetical question, as I sincerely doubt that John Kerry would pick Bill Clinton, but I was interested in whether there is anything in the constitution or laws that would expressly forbid Bill Clinton from being... > **[Will Bill Clinton be Vice-President?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=46747)** > > Scenario: The Forces of Light prevail over the Towers of Mordor, Gore is elected “President”. But what about the Sentate? Ahh, but the Senate, which is likely to be tied or very close. (Can you hear Jesse Helms heartbeat? Neither can he.) If Gore... > **[can a former President who has served two terms run for Vice President](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=591163)** > > my friend wants to know > **[Can Clinton be president again?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=13240)** > > I heard some talk radio guys joking about this scenario. Could it happen?: Al Gore is nominated for President and chooses Bill Clinton as his Vice-President nominee. Gore wins and resigns. Clinton is President again! Now, I know someone can only be... > **[Could Clinton become VP?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=165801)** > > I originally asked this question of my high school government teacher (using Richard Nixon as an example). He was unable to tell me with 100% certainty, so I ask you: Could a former president, say Bill Clinton, who has been elected president to two... ---
**Author:** ![boytyperanma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@boytyperanma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boytyperanma)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2015, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-barack-obama-serve-as-joe-bidens-running-mate-vp/728800/5 "2015-08-25T07:25:16Z")
nm, answered before me. ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2015, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-barack-obama-serve-as-joe-bidens-running-mate-vp/728800/6 "2015-08-25T12:42:57Z")
> [@Mnemnosyne](#): > > The 22nd amendment specifies that no person shall be **elected** to the office of president more than twice, or more than once if they served two or more years of a term they weren’t elected to. It doesn’t, however, say anything about the other way around, and makes no mention of the vice-presidency, so as far as I’m aware, yes, a former two-term president could be vice president. And could serve a third term as president if the president they’re elected under dies or is otherwise removed from office. I think “elected” is the key word. That’s why Lyndon Johnson was able to become president upon Kennedy’s death, be elected to a full turn, and contemplate a run for another term, even though he decided not to run. I’ve never read that there was any controversy about this. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2015, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-barack-obama-serve-as-joe-bidens-running-mate-vp/728800/7 "2015-08-25T12:51:02Z")
“No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of the President more than once.” Johnson served only one year of Kennedy’s term, so he was eligible to be elected twice. Had he succeeded to the office in, say, late 1961, he would only have been able to be elected once more. I think that, if it came down to it, the Supreme Court would hold that Obama would not be eligible to be elected Vice President after serving two terms as President. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2015, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-barack-obama-serve-as-joe-bidens-running-mate-vp/728800/8 "2015-08-25T13:00:44Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > I think that, if it came down to it, the Supreme Court would hold that Obama would not be eligible to be elected Vice President after serving two terms as President. Exactly, you can try to weasel on the exact wording all you want, but this scenario very clearly violates the _intent_ of the 12th Ammendment, so I’d think the tendency for any sane court would be to rule such an attempt unconstitutional. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2015, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-barack-obama-serve-as-joe-bidens-running-mate-vp/728800/9 "2015-08-25T13:51:37Z")
And regardless of what the Supreme Court said, the Court of Public Opinion would almost certainly disallow it. It’d look like shenanigans, and the voters don’t like shenanigans. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2015, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-barack-obama-serve-as-joe-bidens-running-mate-vp/728800/10 "2015-08-25T14:36:15Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > And regardless of what the Supreme Court said, the Court of Public Opinion would almost certainly disallow it. It’d look like shenanigans, and the voters don’t like shenanigans. Agreed. Under the unlikely circumstances that the public would accept such an arrangement I think the Supreme Court wouldn’t or couldn’t interfere, but those improbable circumstances would also readily allow an amendment to clarify the matter anyway. Just not going to happen in any political environment where electing a president matters anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2015, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-barack-obama-serve-as-joe-bidens-running-mate-vp/728800/11 "2015-08-25T15:11:14Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > And regardless of what the Supreme Court said, the Court of Public Opinion would almost certainly disallow it. It’d look like shenanigans, and the voters don’t like shenanigans. Explain Trump. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2015, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-barack-obama-serve-as-joe-bidens-running-mate-vp/728800/12 "2015-08-25T15:52:55Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Explain Trump. People love clowns. But they hate cheaters. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2015, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-barack-obama-serve-as-joe-bidens-running-mate-vp/728800/13 "2015-08-25T16:02:06Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Explain Trump. Nobody’s voted for him yet. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2015, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-barack-obama-serve-as-joe-bidens-running-mate-vp/728800/14 "2015-08-25T16:05:33Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Explain Trump. > [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > People love clowns. But they hate cheaters. > [@Ethilrist](#): > > Nobody’s voted for him yet. [Moderating] Let’s not sidetrack this into a discussion of Trump, or other political issues unrelated to the OP. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2015, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-barack-obama-serve-as-joe-bidens-running-mate-vp/728800/15 "2015-08-25T16:26:34Z")
> [@Diceman](#): > > Exactly, you can try to weasel on the exact wording all you want, but this scenario very clearly violates the _intent_ of the 12th Ammendment, so I’d think the tendency for any sane court would be to rule such an attempt unconstitutional. Under rules of statutory construction, you only look to the intent of the drafters if the language is ambiguous. IMHO, the language is not ambiguous. A person may not be “elected” President more than twice. It says nothing of becoming President or acting as President by other means such as through death or resignation of a person higher in the line of succession. Therefore, Obama is not “constitutionally ineligible to the office of President” under the 12th amendment, so he is eligible to be elected Vice-President. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2015, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-barack-obama-serve-as-joe-bidens-running-mate-vp/728800/16 "2015-08-25T16:41:36Z")
But is he eligible to be president if he’s not eligible to be elected president? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2015, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-barack-obama-serve-as-joe-bidens-running-mate-vp/728800/17 "2015-08-25T17:09:48Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > Under rules of statutory construction, you only look to the intent of the drafters if the language is ambiguous. IMHO, the language is not ambiguous. At least the way I understand it, the Supreme Court took the opposite approach in the recent decision on the Affordable Care Act. They interpreted it according to the intent of the drafters of the law, rather than its precise phrasing. At any rate, considering how often this issue gets raised, I would say that it’s unambiguous that the language is ambiguous.😉 ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2015, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-barack-obama-serve-as-joe-bidens-running-mate-vp/728800/18 "2015-08-25T17:37:21Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > But is he eligible to be president if he’s not eligible to be elected president? We do sorta have precident. The Presidential Succession Act skips anybody who would not be eligable to become president (I remember this coming up when Madeline Albright was Sec. of State). I’d say that this _prima fascia_ recognition of ineligability outweighs any ridiculous attempts to find a loophole for someone who is already term-limited out of office. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2015, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-barack-obama-serve-as-joe-bidens-running-mate-vp/728800/19 "2015-08-25T17:45:31Z")
> [@Diceman](#): > > We do sorta have precident. The Presidential Succession Act skips anybody who would not be eligable to become president (I remember this coming up when Madeline Albright was Sec. of State). I’d say that this _prima fascia_ recognition of ineligability outweighs any ridiculous attempts to find a loophole for someone who is already term-limited out of office. Are you saying: (a) He would be ineligible to be Vice President because if the President got kidnapped by space aliens, he couldn’t ascend to the Presidency, or (b) He would be eligible, because the Act specifies that people such as him would be skipped (and he would be, therefore, the exception that proves the rule)? See: Kissinger et al. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2015, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-barack-obama-serve-as-joe-bidens-running-mate-vp/728800/20 "2015-08-25T18:30:57Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > Are you saying: > > (a) He would be ineligible to be Vice President because if the President got kidnapped by space aliens, he couldn’t ascend to the Presidency, or > > (b) He would be eligible, because the Act specifies that people such as him would be skipped (and he would be, therefore, the exception that proves the rule)? See: Kissinger et al. Well, the whole point of the VP is to be eligible to become president. That is literally the only reason the position exists. The business about presiding over Senate sessions is just so that Congress doesn’t mistake him for some lost tourist, and have security escort him out 😉 . A VP who is not eligible to be president would be a spectacularly useless thing, so I’m going with choice (a). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-barack-obama-serve-as-joe-bidens-running-mate-vp/728800.md?page=2)