Bill Clinton in '08! (For Vice President?! Or Arnold?)

The Los Angeles Times ^ | July 31, 2007 | Brian E. Gray

[2ndDivisionVet]

It is one of the ironies of the 2008 campaign that probably the most popular Democrat and the most electable Republican are both ineligible to run for the presidency. The 22nd Amendment bars Bill Clinton from a third election to the office of president, while the original Constitution renders Arnold Schwarzenegger ineligible for the presidency because he is a naturalized rather than a "natural-born" citizen.

But what about the second position on the national tickets? Could the Republicans and Democrats avail themselves of the charisma and experience of these two leaders by nominating them for the vicepresidency? (Please e-mail your clever double-entendres to the address below.)

Let's start with Gov. Schwarzenegger. Fearful of foreign influence over the new nation, the framers of the Constitution included in Article II, Section 1 the directive that "no person except a natural born Citizen ... shall be eligible to the Office of President." They said nothing about the citizenship of the vice president. Thus, under the original Constitution, Schwarzenegger could have been elected vice president, but he could not have ascended to the top job on the death or removal of the president.

This anomaly was but part of the framers' incomplete explication of the vice presidency -- a failing that has manifested itself in a variety of forms, from John Adams' lament that the Constitution created "the most insignificant office that ever the invention of man contrived" to Dick Cheney's assertion that he occupies an office that stands apart from the three branches of U.S. government.

[Goreknowshowtocheat]

It does not seem to be a problem since several men from Ohio became President although Ohio was never officially admitted Ohio to the union until 1952. (There were problems with the original petition for statehood so they tabled it until someone discovered the admission was never done). This is a great trivia question. What was the 48th state admitted to the union?

[Goreknowshowtocheat]

extra Ohio..bummer.

[okie01]

This dumb ass thinks he's a constitutional scholar

"This dumb ass", as you so delicately put it, can't be bothered to read or understand the Constitution.

Gray is truly and demonstrably a "dumb ass". He should be deeply embarrassed by his public display of stupidity and bias. But, like most "dumb asses", he is incapable of realizing it.

This is a perfect example of the pathetic trade journalism has become.

[AuH2ORepublican]

Bill Clinton is not ineligible to serve as President, he is merely ineligible to be *elected* President. Read the 22nd Am. carefully and see how Congress screwed up in the final drafting of the amendment, thus opening up a loophole that would allow Bill Clinton to accede to the White House if the President died, resigned or was removed and Bill Clinton was next in line.

And the 12th Am merely says that persons ineligible to serve as President are also ineligible to serve as VP, so since the 22nd Am doesn’t declare Bill Clinton ineligible to *serve* as President then he is not ineligible to serve as VP (or be elected VP, for that matter).

So if we want to keep Bill Clinton from serving as President again, we need to make sure he is not elected VP (or Speaker of the House or President Pro Tempore of the Senate, or get confirmed as a member of a Cabinet).

Same thing applies to George W. Bush, by the way.

[finnman69]

Gray is truly and demonstrably a "dumb ass". He should be deeply embarrassed by his public display of stupidity and bias. But, like most "dumb asses", he is incapable of realizing it. This is a perfect example of the pathetic trade journalism has become.

It's worse. he appears to be an envirormental law professor.Oh, and he went to Berkeley.

http://www.uchastings.edu/?pid=983

Expertise: Environmental Law.

Brian Gray received his B.A., cum laude, in economics from Pomona College in 1976. He continued his education at UC Berkeley, receiving his J.D. from Boalt Hall in 1979. While attending Boalt, he was editor-in-chief of the California Law Review. Professor Gray served as a law clerk to Judge Arlin M. Adams of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit during the 1979-80 term. He went on to practice at Howard, Rice, Nemerovski, Canady, Robertson & Falk in San Francisco. Professor Gray has served on the Board of Directors of the Berkeley Law Foundation and the Natural Heritage Institute, has chaired the California State Bar Committee on the Environment, and has served as a consultant to the California Law Revision Commission. He has represented a variety of environmental organizations as appellate counsel and recently served as an expert witness in the PG&E bankruptcy. Professor Gray also appeared as an expert on the law of property in the litigation over title to Barry Bonds' 73rd home run. A case involving protection of water quality and endangered species in the Bay-Delta Estuary is currently before the California Supreme Court. Professor Gray teaches Environmental Law as a first-year elective, California Water Resources, Federal and Interstate Water Resources, and seminars on Property Rights and Environmental Regulation and on the American West. He was appointed to the Harry and Lillian Hastings Research Chair for the 1999-2000 academic year. Professor Gray also is the recipient of the Hastings Outstanding Professor award and most recently the William Rutter Award for Excellence in Teaching. Professor Gray's wife, Susan, is a former Assistant United States Attorney. They have two children, Sam and Will.

[finnman69]

I dont read it that way.

12th Amendment text:

“But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States.”

That means you CANNOT be VP if you are not eligible to be President. Clinton cannot be elected President again. There fore he is INELIGIBLE to be President again. And therefore, he cannot be VP.

The 12th requirement keeps anyone out who is ineligible to be President. That means two termers.

[hinckley buzzard]

Has the writer of this article ever read the Constitution? This is junk journalism.

He's a "law professor" and makes it manifestly clear that like most lawyers he has no regard for the Constitution all the way through. Junk journalism, junk law, it's all turning to sh*t thanks to the perversion of the academy.

[finnman69]

And the 12th Am merely says that persons ineligible to serve as President are also ineligible to serve as VP, so since the 22nd Am doesn’t declare Bill Clinton ineligible to *serve* as President then he is not ineligible to serve as VP (or be elected VP, for that matter).

The 22nd amendment say nothing about serving as President. BUt the 12th precludes those who are ineligible candiates from being VP, thus Clinton could not constitutionally be in a position to 'serve'.

[hinckley buzzard]

Now Hillary could pick Jimmy Carter as a VP!

Yep. Cahtah is eligible, and could serve another four years as president if events so ordain. But even Hillary is not so eeevil as to elevate the simpering pussilanimous pr*ck from Plains.

[missnry]

I'M TELLIN' YA, THIS GUY IS A MEATHEAD!!

[Jim Noble]

But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice President of the United States.

William J. Clinton is most certainly not "Constitutionally ineligible to the office".

He's attained the age of 35 years.

He was born in Arkansas, while it was a State in the Union.

And he's maintained a legal residence within the US for the past fourteen years.

How is he "Constitutionally ineligible"?

He cannot attain the office by election, that's true.

But by succession? It would have been easy to bar this when XXII was drafted, but that was not done.

[Jim Noble]

Clinton cannot be elected President again. There fore he is INELIGIBLE to be President again.

Suppose George W. Bush were elected to the House, and after a long and distinguished legislative career was elected Speaker.

Then suppose the Presidency were to devolve on the Speaker beacuse of a terrorist attack or natural disaster.

Do you contend that, because Mr. Bush could not be chosen again by the Electoral College that he would not succeed to the office?

Of course he would.

The XXII Amendment does not bar elevation to the Presidency by succession, and there is no way to construe that it does.

Because this is true, the XII Amendment bar does not apply.

[AuH2ORepublican]

The first thing one must consider is whether Bill Clinton is indeed ineligible to serve as President again. Due to the shoddy drafting of the 22nd Am., I believe that the answer is clearly in the negative. While Bill Clinton clearly could not be elected president more than twice (and had he initially served over 2 years of another president’s term, he could not have been elected president more than once), the 22nd Amendment does not prohibit him from serving as president after having served two terms as president.

If you disagree with the prior paragraph, then we must agree to disagree. If, however, you agree that the 22nd Am. merely disqualifies Bill Clinton from being *elected* president again, then it would be difficult to argue that he may not be elected VP when the 12th Am. only disqualifies from the vice presidency those who are not qualified to *serve* as president (not those who are not qualified from *being elected* president).

The key distinction is between a person ineligible to be *be elected* president and a person ineligible to *serve as* president. Arnold Schwarzenegger is ineligible to *serve as* president, since he’s not a natural-born citizen; by virtue of the 12th Am., he may not serve as Vp, either. Schwarzenegger could constitutionally become Speaker or Secretary of State, though, and if the succession statute made him next in line to the presidency they would have to skip him, as he would not be eligible to serve as president no matter what. I believe that the 22nd Am.’s disqualification is wholly different, and that someone like Bill Clinton or George W. Bush would not need to be skipped over if they were next in line for the presidency, and that similarly they would not be prohibited from being elected VP.

[finnman69]

in your example, W would be able to serve as Pres for the resto fo the appointed term and be allowed to run for one elected term. It’s very clear in the 22nd.

Clinton is constitutionally inelgible to be President because he cannot be elected again. The 22nd amendment two term limitation makes Clinton inelgible, by the constitution. This is not hard to understand.

[okie01]

I.e., Gray is a well-educated idiot.

[Islander7]

BiLl is the logical choice for VP. No other democrat knows more about vice.

[finnman69]

I read the combination of the 12th and 22nd to add having served two terms to the list of dequalifying limits originally specified in Art II: US borne, 35years or older, 14 year resident.

I believe the terms limits in the 22nd are constitutional limits that produce an ineligibility.

[AuH2ORepublican]

“I read the combination of the 12th and 22nd to add having served two terms to the list of dequalifying limits originally specified in Art II: US borne, 35years or older, 14 year resident.

I believe the terms limits in the 22nd are constitutional limits that produce an ineligibility.”

---

Well, we disagree on that.

[finnman69]

this comes up every year

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/19/AR2006101901572.html
VP Bill? Depends on Meaning of ‘Elected’

[Technogeeb]

he is merely ineligible to be *elected* President.

Which means he can't be president. The word elected does not mean what you think it does.