What recourse does he have, legal or otherwise? If Clinton really really felt that George W. Bush didn’t deserve to be President–say, in the event that either the Fla. or US congress stepped in to decide the issue–and was willing to take it to whatever extreme necessary . . . what would happen? He’s in charge of the Executive branch, and still holds the keys to the property; is there anything he could do to get his way in this event?
Just curious
I don’t believe that there is anything Bubba could do to stop Dubya from becoming the next president.
The Executive Branch has no such powers that I am aware of.
I suppose he could squat at 1600 Penn and refuse to move out, but that might not do it.
If he had the full support of the military he could stage a coup de ta or however you spell it.
Bill Clinton having the full support of the military? BWAAAAHHHAAAAA!
AFAIK, he never had any support of the military, full or not. It was kind of mutual, from the beginning.
Spelling: coup d’etat.
Are we speaking of fantasy scenarios in which Clinton and a passel of armed fanatics squat in the White House, or what? This isn’t a monarchy–it’s a constitutional republic. Bill Clinton’s last day as President is January 19, 2001, come hell or high water, and he doesn’t have “Boo!” to say about it.
Oblong: FTR, it’s coup d’état.
The Clinton-not-leaving-the-White-House scenario seems to be a favorite among those who dislike Clinton the most. I recall a news story last year where Georgia Rep. Bob Barr (a Republican and staunchly anti-Clinton) was at a public appearance for a Q and A session. Someone asked him if he thought that Clinton would refuse to leave office and try to maintain his presidency after Inaguration Day 2001. Barr said it wouldn’t surprise him if Clinton attempted such a thing.
IMHO this was a highly irresponsible answer. I can’t believe even Bob Barr would seriously think a President would try to do this. For a member of Congress to answer the question that way simply gives the idea legitimacy that is (IMHO) undue.
malden:
You shouldn’t place limits on what you assume Bob Barr is capable of. Barr has essentially replaced Bob Dornan as the House’s resident fascist lunatic.
Ah, yes…Bob “Burn-the-Witches” Barr. He was the one that was shocked (SHOCKED, I tell you!) to find out that Fort Hood catered to the depraved religious appetites of nasty, degenerate pagans. What a maroon…
Oh, and he has a ways to go yet to catch up with “B-1” Bob Dornan. Barr’s not actually crazy…he’s just slimier than a bucket of eels.
I’d LIKE to be able to laugh at Barr, along with DeLay, Armey, Lott, etc. - but, reality-challenged though they may be, they’re the folks that the GOP membership has recently put in CHARGE of the party’s fortunes.
You’ve got to read that Onion article that dzray posted. What a riot.
Speaking of Dornan-I found this to be pretty interesting.
The guy was on MST3K! Ha!
http://www.realchange.org/dornan.htm
Does a term of office have a built in expiration date or is it terminated by the inauguration of a replacement? Let’s say between now and January, there’s a major nuclear war. The Supreme Court and Congress are wiped out along with Washington. Bush and Gore are among the dead (along with Cheney and Lieberman). Bill Clinton is flying above the country in Air Force One.
So what happens on January 20? With no one to swear in as president, does Clinton remain president or does the office automatically become vacant?
Article II of the US Constitution provides that the president “…shall hold his office for the term of four years.” So, Bill is out in January, no matter what. It would go down the chain of succession until they find someone available - hard to imagine that everyone in the chain of succession gets wiped out.
Two words:
King Ralph
It is true that Mr. Clinton ends his term at noon on January 20 (see Amendment 20, Section 1). As is also true, should there be no elected president at that time, then an acting president is named according to the succession rules Congress has set forth. Currently, that would mean going to Mr. Hastert, the Speaker of the House, who has said he would decline the office of Acting President because he would have to resign as a Representative and he doesn’t want to do that. Next in line is Strom Thurmond, President Pro Tempore of the Senate. Expectation is that Mr. Thurmond won’t mind becoming Acting President for whatever time frame might be neccessary if they can’t managed to decide between Mr. Bush and Mr. Gore by then.
After Mr. Thurmond, the list goes through a whole slough of Cabinet members, and no one has yet been able to tell me if those Cabinet members would exist or whether the current Cabinet members all have terms that expire with their President.
As for the original post, would someone please tell me why it is that Republicans continually insist on manufacturing incredibly implausible conspiracy theories on the part of the Clintons? I mean, it can’t ALL be the result of incredible stupidity or out-of-control paranoia, can it? … 
You only think they’re impossible because you have the Clinton mind-control chip implanted in you. It blinds you to the truth.
I would imagine that the Senate might appoint someone different as President Pro Tempore by Jan. 20th. When the new Congress is seated Jan. 3rd, it will be split 50-50, with Al Gore voting to break ties.
I believe Cabinet Officers serve until replaced. Since they are in line for the Presidency in the order their offices were created, and since Madeline Albright is ineligible (not born a US citizen), I would guess that first in line would be the Secretary of the Treasury, Lloyd Bentson.
Don’t underestimate incredible stupidity and out-of-control paranoia. I’ve heard that Rush Limbaugh can sell commercial time on his show at a premium rate because advertisers have found his listeners are especially gullible and prone to believe anything they hear on the radio without critical thought.
As I pointed out in another thread, Clinton could be re-elected President. All it would take is a Constitutional Amendment revoking the 22nd Amendment. When people say this would never happen, I ask “How likely is it that Clinton would get someone to agree to get elected President, force his Vice President to resign, name Clinton as replacement Vice President, and then resign so Clinton can resume office?”
Cabinent members’ terms do not expire at the same time as the administration’s. In the case of the Bush transition in '88, Reagan had to ask some administration members for their resignation twice publically, and for some, a third time, in private.
Traditionally, though, administration members resign in concordance with the changeover in the Oval Office, but that’s not law.