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Could Clinton Run for VP?

David Newman
Posted Wednesday, July 12, 2000, at 5:43 PM ET

As Al Gore searches for a running mate, various pundits--most recently Thomas Friedman of the New York Times--have facetiously suggested adding Bill Clinton to the ticket. If a Gore-Clinton ticket won, could Clinton legally assume the office of vice president?

Probably so. The 12th Amendment to the Constitution does say that no one who is "constitutionally ineligible to the office of President" can serve as vice president. And clearly Clinton is ineligible to be elected president again: The 22nd Amendment says unequivocally that "no person shall be elected to the office of President more than twice." But a plausible case could be made that a two-termer could regain the presidency via means other than an election--say, becoming vice president then taking over when the president is incapacitated. Clinton could also run for the House and then be elected speaker, which would put him in line for the presidency. Cabinet members are in the line of succession as well. [Editor's note: For more on the possibility of a Clinton vice presidency, see this "Press Box" item.]

The Supreme Court would decide whether to hear any constitutional challenges to a Clinton vice presidency. But the court generally has been reluctant to rule on what it considers political matters, so in the unlikely event that Gore picked Clinton, it might well let the voters decide.

Next question?

Explainer thanks Columbia University history professor Alan Brinkley.

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David Newman is a contributing editor at Legal Affairs.
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Reader Response from The Fray:


There's more to the 22nd Amendment. You note the two-election clause, but there's also the matter of no-one being eligible to serve more than ten years, which would mean that if Clinton took office before the halfway point of the term, he would have to step down before it were over; if he took power after the halfway point, he could serve out the term.

--Jack E.Chambers

(To reply, click here.)


Explainer correctly notes that Bill Clinton could, after serving as president, win election to the House of Representatives and then be chosen Speaker of the House, which would place him after the vice president in the line of presidential succession. True. But Clinton need not be elected to Congress in order to be chosen Speaker. The Constitution says only that "[t]he House of Representatives shall chuse their Speaker and other Officers[.]" Art. I, sec. 2. It does not require that the House choose its speaker from among its own members. Although, historically, the speaker has always been a House member, nothing in the Constitution prevents the House from choosing Clinton as speaker whether he is a Congressman or not.

--Mitch Gordon

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We've been missing the real story: George Bush served only one term as President. Technically, he would be eligible to serve as his son's VP (if only for Dubya's first term)!

--RPM

(To reply, click here.)

(7/14)

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