Replies

Our VPs are one heartbeat away and we've had some real clunkers over the years. For example, LBJ never would have gotten close to the presidency were he not handpicked for JFK in order to win the South. When Nixon got in trouble, there was some fancy footwork required to get Spiro Agnew out of the line of succession.

11 posted on 09/30/2019 2:17:09 PM PDT by SamAdams76

“The Founding Fathers did a close to perfect job with regard to our Constitution. However, I think a weak spot is in regards to how the VP is handled.”

The current selection process for VP is not the one the founders created. We currently select VP’s according the the 12th Amendment, approved in 1804.

The founders defined the selection of President and VP in Article II, Section 1, Clause 3. Under the approach outline in the original Constitution, each member of the Electoral College cast 2 votes for president, with no distinction made between President and VP. The presidential candidate receiving the most votes (assuming the number equaled a majority of votes, became President. The candidate with the second largest vote tally became VP.

Most of the Founders abhorred political parties (factions) so they were comfortable with the candidate with the highest electoral vote tally becoming president and the second Vice President. However by 1800 the formation of political parties was occurring and the danger of having a President and Vice President diametrically opposed to each other became apparent. Imagine today if Trump were the President and Hillary Clinton was VP.

20 posted on 09/30/2019 2:31:16 PM PDT by Soul of the South (The past is gone and cannot be changed. Tomorrow can be a better day if we work on it.)

The Founding Fathers did a close to perfect job with regard to our Constitution. However, I think a weak spot is in regards to how the VP is handled. For all the vetting the presidential candidates get during an election cycle, the running is basically an afterthought and often selected solely for strategic political purposes.

Originally the Constitution did not have the VP selected by POTUS as a ''running mate's. The VP was selected separately by the electoral college in a separate act after the POTUS election. Often the VP was from different party.

31 posted on 09/30/2019 2:43:24 PM PDT by Jackson Brown (Accomplished without a barrier.)

So, you are telling us that Barack was vetted?
Come on now......The bastard was greased, like a pig, and sailed/slipped into the p_residency.
This country should always be shamed for its carelessness!

38 posted on 09/30/2019 2:56:25 PM PDT by BatGuano (Ya don't think I'd go into combat with loose change in my pocket, do Ya?)

Part 2

‘’No mention of an office of vice president was made at the 1787 Constitutional Convention until near the end, when an 11-member committee on “Leftover Business” proposed a method of electing the chief executive (president).[10] Delegates had previously considered the selection of the Senate’s presiding officer, deciding that, “The Senate shall choose its own President,” and had agreed that this official would be designated the executive’s immediate successon.’’

Above from Wikipedia

Also

Originally the Senators were appointed by the State Legislatures. Remember, the country was the United STATES of America...with semi-autonomous sovereign states with a weak Federal Government.

The way it should be now!

40 posted on 09/30/2019 3:08:34 PM PDT by Jackson Brown (Accomplished without a barrier.)

It used to be that the VP was the guy who came in second.

56 posted on 09/30/2019 5:17:16 PM PDT by Mercat

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