# Will the Constitution be amended so Schwarzenegger can be president? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [December 24, 2006, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-constitution-be-amended-so-schwarzenegger-can-be-president/385460 "2006-12-24T17:43:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2006, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-constitution-be-amended-so-schwarzenegger-can-be-president/385460/1 "2006-12-24T17:43:25Z")
I think the idea is preposterous, but I promised a friend I’d pose the question here. (He’s absolutely convinced Schwarzenegger is going to be on the Pub presidential ticket in 2008, just for his star quality.) ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2006, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-constitution-be-amended-so-schwarzenegger-can-be-president/385460/2 "2006-12-24T17:44:19Z")
No. But he may run for a Senate position. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2006, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-constitution-be-amended-so-schwarzenegger-can-be-president/385460/3 "2006-12-24T17:51:22Z")
(Incidentally, Schwarzenegger broke his right femur yesterday while skiing in Sun Valley.) ---
**Author:** ![tbdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3bc359/32.png) [@tbdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tbdi)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2006, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-constitution-be-amended-so-schwarzenegger-can-be-president/385460/4 "2006-12-24T18:08:20Z")
It won’t happen for 2008 since there isn’t enough time. I’d like to see it changed, not specifically for Arnold, but because it doesn’t make sense to me that somebody could come to the US as a child, grow up in this society and be popular enough and qualified enough to run only to be barred by an otherwise arbitrary statute. A change to specify minimum lengths of residency and of citizenship makes sense to me as does barring dual-citizenship holders. I don’t really expect it to happen since it’s not a big enough issue for most people and the opposition would have a field day stirring up xenophobic reactions if a serious movement did start. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2006, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-constitution-be-amended-so-schwarzenegger-can-be-president/385460/5 "2006-12-24T18:11:20Z")
I can’t imagine it for '08, but I suggest you modify the requirement so anyone who has been a U.S. Citizen for 35 years is eligible. That’ll mean natives can run at age 35, as always, and Schwarzenegger becomes eligible for the 2020 election. It’s the least radical approach. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2006, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-constitution-be-amended-so-schwarzenegger-can-be-president/385460/6 "2006-12-24T18:21:31Z")
The answer is, “No, it won’t ever happen.” We are notoriously unwilling to tinker with our Constitution, except when forced to accept it isn’t working right. Who the hell would want Arnold as President anyway?? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2006, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-constitution-be-amended-so-schwarzenegger-can-be-president/385460/7 "2006-12-24T18:25:45Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] I think the idea is preposterous, but I promised a friend I’d pose the question here. (He’s absolutely convinced Schwarzenegger is going to be on the Pub presidential ticket in 2008, just for his star quality.) [/QUOTE] Offer your friend a wager on that. And cut me in on the action. Ain’t gonna happen. Maybe sometime in the distant future, but not in the next two years. Does your friend know who controls Congress now? And even if the Pubbies still had control, does your friend know that it requires a super-majority vote to pass an amendment and send it on to the states for vote, where it needs a supermajority of states to pass it as well? (Hint: don’t tell him/her the answer until you’ve finalized the bet.) ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2006, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-constitution-be-amended-so-schwarzenegger-can-be-president/385460/8 "2006-12-24T18:31:52Z")
[QUOTE=Johnny L.A.] No. But he may run for a Senate position. [/QUOTE] I don’t think there’s a maybe about it. After his second term is complete, he’ll run for whatever Senate seat is up for grabs that year. I’d love to see him replace Barbara Boxer, who’s incompetent. I want Dianne Feinstein to remain a Senator for quite awhile. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2006, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-constitution-be-amended-so-schwarzenegger-can-be-president/385460/9 "2006-12-24T18:35:45Z")
No. As Atrios would say, this has been another in a series of simple answers to simple questions. ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2006, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-constitution-be-amended-so-schwarzenegger-can-be-president/385460/10 "2006-12-24T19:29:39Z")
The trouble is that most principled people will, I believe, feel that the Constitution ought not to be amended to benefit a single person, and the non-principled will split on party lines. Of course, if it were brought up at a time when there -was- no single person for whom it was clearly being done, why, then it might pass. But who’s going to just propose an amendment in the abstract? In other words, the one situation which would lead to such an amendment being proposed also ensures that it can’t possibly pass. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2006, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-constitution-be-amended-so-schwarzenegger-can-be-president/385460/11 "2006-12-24T19:58:29Z")
How about Giuliani for president and Schwarzenegger for Secretary of State? But does Schwarzenegger even aspire to any position other than Gov. of California? What would happen if he became Speaker of the House and the President and Vice President got killed? Would the presidency pass him and go to the President pro tempore of the Senate? ---
**Author:** ![Blalron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/35a633/32.png) [@Blalron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blalron)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2006, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-constitution-be-amended-so-schwarzenegger-can-be-president/385460/12 "2006-12-24T21:58:50Z")
[QUOTE=Lemur Catta] The trouble is that most principled people will, I believe, feel that the Constitution ought not to be amended to benefit a single person, and the non-principled will split on party lines. Of course, if it were brought up at a time when there -was- no single person for whom it was clearly being done, why, then it might pass. But who’s going to just propose an amendment in the abstract? [/quote] On the flip side, opposing it purely because it could hurt the Democrats Presidential prospects in the short term is an extremely short sighted and unprincipled stand. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2006, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-constitution-be-amended-so-schwarzenegger-can-be-president/385460/13 "2006-12-24T22:13:39Z")
[QUOTE=silenus] I don’t think there’s a maybe about it. After his second term is complete, he’ll run for whatever Senate seat is up for grabs that year. I’d love to see him replace Barbara Boxer, who’s incompetent. I want Dianne Feinstein to remain a Senator for quite awhile. [/QUOTE] Boxer is up in 2010, same as Schwarzenegger. Looking at her Wikipedia entry (which I realize may be unreliable), I see quite a lot of stuff she’s done. Why do you say she’s incompetent? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2006, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-constitution-be-amended-so-schwarzenegger-can-be-president/385460/14 "2006-12-24T22:55:51Z")
[QUOTE=levdrakon] How about Giuliani for president and Schwarzenegger for Secretary of State? But does Schwarzenegger even aspire to any position other than Gov. of California? What would happen if he became Speaker of the House and the President and Vice President got killed? Would the presidency pass him and go to the President pro tempore of the Senate? [/QUOTE] Yes. Just as if the POTUS, Veep, SOTH and PPRPOTS all had died while Kissinger was Secretary of State, he would have been bypassed in the line of succession, and the presidency would have gone to . . . let’s see . . . the [Secretary of the Treasury.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_line_of_succession) At that time, [either George Schultz or William Simon.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Secretary_of_the_Treasury) ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2006, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-constitution-be-amended-so-schwarzenegger-can-be-president/385460/15 "2006-12-24T22:56:56Z")
She pales next to Feinstein, and I disagree with just about every political position Feinstein has. Boxer’s office is notoriously unresponsive to constituents, IME. Feinstein’s office gets on the ball at once, no matter how “trivial” the complaint or need. Boxer’s is always a day late and a dollar short. I feel this is a reflection of the Senators. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2006, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-constitution-be-amended-so-schwarzenegger-can-be-president/385460/16 "2006-12-24T22:57:25Z")
Sorry, that’s PPTOTS – president pro tempore of the Senate – an office that does not come up often enough in political discussions to be easily recognizable by acronym. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2006, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-constitution-be-amended-so-schwarzenegger-can-be-president/385460/17 "2006-12-25T01:58:41Z")
[QUOTE=silenus] She pales next to Feinstein, and I disagree with just about every political position Feinstein has. Boxer’s office is notoriously unresponsive to constituents, IME. Feinstein’s office gets on the ball at once, no matter how “trivial” the complaint or need. Boxer’s is always a day late and a dollar short. I feel this is a reflection of the Senators. [/QUOTE] If you disagree with every political position Di Fei takes, you must really really love Barb baby. I’m guessing you aren’t a liberal; Boxer is about as liberal as they come in the Senate. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2006, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-constitution-be-amended-so-schwarzenegger-can-be-president/385460/18 "2006-12-25T02:38:29Z")
Good guess. Neither represents my political views in any way, but at least Feinstein is serious about doing her job. She does an excellent job of servicing her constituency, no matter what their political affiliation. The bitch. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2006, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-constitution-be-amended-so-schwarzenegger-can-be-president/385460/19 "2006-12-25T03:21:59Z")
_Apropos_ of nothing, watching a terrific movie from mispent youth, \*The Long Goodbye, \* Robert Altman, which has Arnie cast as an overmuscled thug who had no lines. (Elliott Guold, Stewart Granger) And I flashed on being a kid in Texas, watching Ronnie Reagan selling Boraxo on _Death Valley Days_, and how I sneered when people proposed him for President of the most powerful country in human history… Nothing is impossible to power. A peasant in Japan can find Yanamono forbears, if it suits the purposes of power. Don’t like that much, like to change it. But thats a hi-jack. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2006, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-constitution-be-amended-so-schwarzenegger-can-be-president/385460/20 "2006-12-25T06:24:13Z")
[QUOTE=tbdi] A change to specify minimum lengths of residency and of citizenship makes sense to me as does barring dual-citizenship holders. [/QUOTE] I’d be with you on that if it weren’t for the simple fact that some countries do not recognize the right of their citizens to relinquish citizenship. In other words, it may not be the prospective candidate’s choice that another country considers him or her to also be a citizen of another country. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-constitution-be-amended-so-schwarzenegger-can-be-president/385460.md?page=2)