Posted on 04/04/2004 3:37:22 PM PDT by Pokey78
The president fired Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld last week, but more on that later. The day is last Tuesday. The situation: a secret terrorist-attack drill in Washington. Chechen terrorists have seized Russian nukes and fired them at Washington, New York, and Chicago. President Bush is killed. The veep, traveling in Russia, is presumed dead. House Speaker Dennis Hastert, the next in line, balks at the top job, bringing us to Secretary of State Colin Powell, played by a fellow top official. He's helicoptered to a remote location to huddle with others playing Rumsfeld, the attorney general, and the treasury and housing secretaries. After landing, Powell is sworn in as president. He then looks over the 40 other officials in the drill and barks out an order: "My first act is to fire Donald Rumsfeld." Look out, Rummy--we hear that even the Pentagon folks in the drill laughed at that one.
WRONG!
Next in line after Hastert would be Senate President Pro Tem -- Ted Stevens, of Alaska. And what a slap at Hastert, suggesting that in such a time of crisis he would refuse to do his patriotic duty and accept his Constitutional role as the new president.
You are correct in Constitutional order of succession, but read the senerio again, Washington had nukes launched at it. Doubt that Sen. Stephens would have survived that.
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