Wouldn’t the speaker of the house become the VP were the current one to die? Or is only that he becomes president if the president and the vp both die? (I know Nixon somehow appointed a VP, which makes me more confused.) Goverment and Economics class said something about this…
Nixon appointed Gerry Ford after the resignation of Spiro Agnew. There is no provision for a line of succession for the vice-presidency in the U.S. Constitution. The president is empowered to nominate a person for the vice-presidency, should the office become vacant. Congress must then approve the president’s selection.
Right. The 25th Amendment says in part,
According to CNN, Cheney had a wind-powered pacemaker installed.
…powered by Cheney breaking wind.
I don’t think that, at least at this point, his heart condition is serious to warrant his resignation. [Perhaps he ought to resign because he has no heart…But that’s a philosophical/political issue, not a health one. 
]
I’d say by him not following doctor’s orders. They’re just going to have to keep operating on him. That isn’t healthy.
slight hijack, but if Cheney did resign, could Dubya appoint a VP who was not born a US citizen? I know to become Prez, you have to be born a US citizen but what about the Veep? And if this were the case and Dubya somehow managed to kick the bucket in office, who would become Prez (speaker of the house)?
China Guy, the Twelfth Amendment provides: “But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States.” So, any replacement for Cheney would have to be born a U.S. citizen, over 35 years old, and 14 years resident in the U.S. (See Article II, § 2.)
As for your second question, Article II, § 2 also gives Congress the power to create a line of succession to the office if both the Prez and the Veepster are out of commission. Currently, the next in line is the Speaker of the House, then the President Pro Tem of the Senate, then the Cabinet in order of creation of the Cabinet posts.
(There are actually several threads on this latter issue - punch in “Clinton third term” and set it to over a year ago in Great Debates and then General Questions - but for Gawd’s sake, don’t start yet another thread on whether Bill Clinton could serve a third term. :eek: )
I’m sorry, did I use too many pollysyllabic words? Let me try to explain it again:
If “President” Dubya is going to give most of his work to the vice-president, then it is a good idea to have a vice-president who is in good medical condition. Since Dick Cheney seems to be in a (moderately) bad medical condition, I think it would be a good idea to replace him with a vice-president who is more physically fit.
(Geez, what was that about conservatives being dumber than liberals? :rolleyes:)
I am at a loss in comprehending how anyone could make the above statement.
health problems = pregnancy ?
The emphasis is mine
Kniz,
crap, crap, crap…
What I meant was some sort of physical issue in their life. If someone can continue to do their job despite of this issue, there is no reason for them to step down, as many pressured the Governor of Massachusets to do. Sorry that that was so poorly worded.
It might be worth mentioning that, if Swift had resigned, the Massachusetts governorship would have gone to the state Senate president, and thereby switched parties. Always, always, always look for ulterior motives in politics - a kind suggestion is rarely simply that.
Oh, the next best thing from the other party’s viewpoint is for her to do pretty much nothing at all. Which is what’s happening.
Oh, and you have nothing to apologize for, IMHO. Pregnancy (especially with twins, as was Swift) is certainly a debilitating physical condition, as my wife would gladly tell you.
Colin Powell doesn’t want to be VP. If he did, he would already by VP. Colin Powell’s dream job is to be Secretary of State, which he is. He’s not going anywhere.
Rjung: your theory only makes sense if we imagine that the replacement VP would also be a senior advisor who can make the tough decisions that Bush lacks the capacity to make. But where would such a person come from? And if Bush needs such an advisor, then why must they be the VP? They can hold any sort of title, like Jim Baker did for Reagan and Bush Sr.
Cheney’s work as a senior advisor is seperate from his work as VP. He could quit being a senior advisor and still perform the functions of VP. Cheney quitting as VP isn’t going to help the country to find someone to tell Bush what to do. The new VP would have to be some moderate republican non-entity that can pass confirmation by the house. They won’t become a senior advisor to Bush simply by being in the VP slot.
The same Conservative braintrust that hooked up Cheney with Dubya in the first place.
Oh, I know that. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised one iota if Dubya is already receiving daily instructions from various unelected prominent Conservatives. But I interpreted the OP as asking whether or not Cheney should step down/be replaced for publicity reasons. And in that regard, yeah, I think Cheney should be replaced by someone more able-bodied, just so a large number of Americans can go to sleep at night without worrying that they’ll wake up to a United States where (at least momentarily) nobody is holding onto Dubya’s leash…
First, no, they couldn’t replace him with someone who wasn’t born in the U.S.(which is why Madeline Albright was not third in line for President when she was Secretary of State).
Secondly, no, I don’t think he should quit just because he is having some difficulties. He has lost 20-25 lbs. since December(when he had that minor heart attack) and is working out. That report about him not following his excercise program was true, but he has really picked up his act since then.
I think the real question is, will Cheney be vice-president next term if Bush is re-elected? I doubt Bush would win very easily without him on the ticket(some people actually believe Cheney is president- well, enough people believe that to make a difference anyway). Will he live another 7 years? Yikes, that’s tough to tell.
If being at risk for a fatal heart attack had been considered a disqualifier for running for VP in 1960, Lyndon Johnson would have been left off the ticket and might never have become President.
While I wouldn’t lay a large sum of money on Cheney’s fitness to serve for up to the next 7 1/2 years, his condition is probably much better known than it would have been 30 years or more ago. He has the benefit of close monitoring, good antiarrhythmic medications and probably the very latest 900 mhz titanium long-distance pacemaker with remote start and caller ID. He’ll probably do well, and if not, the government is unlikely to totter and fall. (Incidentally, while it may be true that Cheney is the Chief Puppet-Master and works 20 hours a day running the government while Dubya lies around smoking dope, do we really know this or is it just opposition claptrap?
By the way, the Demos should be doing handsprings at the thought of Cheney in the VP job. If Bush Jr. croaks toward the end of his term, Cheney will be a lousy bet to run for Pres. and the remainder of the party will be thrown into disarray. I would think they’d prefer not to have a strong, vibrant leader in the VP slot ready to take over in '04 or '08.
Explain, please, whence this word “joke” arises.
**
The “braintrust” consisted of Cheney himself. Bush put him in charge of selecting a running mate after the 2000 primaries, and isn’t it an amazing coincidence who Cheney decided was best qualified for the job? It is not publicly known who else, if anyone, was on his short list.