USA Politics
- Thread starter Genghis Khan
- Start date
Black Wizard
Pleb Hunter
Regardless of who wins the election?
So, constitutional scholars are torn on this. The 22nd amendment doesn't say that a president who has previously served 2 terms can't be president, it says they can't be elected.
12th amendment says VP can't be someone who isn't eligible to be POTUS.
Black Wizard
Pleb Hunter
Does the 22nd amendment supercede the 12th?
What if Obama stood for House of Representatives and became Speaker, thus making him second in line?
What if Obama stood for House of Representatives and became Speaker, thus making him second in line?
Imo, any of these scenarios would trigger a constitutional crisis leading to the Supreme Court deciding (I suspect the current court would rule against Obama becoming president). An additional amendment to the constitution to clarify the eligibility to president would probably be pushed afterwards.
Thank you, but the 22nd amendment doesn't say that a 2 term president is ineligible to be POTUS, it says they are ineligible to be elected POTUS.
It's the exact same issue. If the 22nd Amendment allows a 2 term president to be appointed to the Presidency via succession, then he would be able to become President. If not, it would go to 3rd in line (the President Pro Tempore of the Senate).
Jer
'Til Tomorrow
I believe @LooseCannon is correct here. Obama could be Biden’s running mate, and could serve as President again via succession, but could never be elected President again.
The problem is that this would immediately be challenged in court, a literal reading on the constitution does suggest that Obama could serve as president again, but recent rulings from SCOTUS tells me that they would vote (likely unanimously) in favor of a reading that respects precedent (we typically don't like presidents serving more than two terms) and interprets the 12th amendment as implying that a two term president is ineligible to be president again and, therefore, is ineligible to be VP, Speaker, or any position that is in the presidential succession.
Edit: Also, as we begin to see younger people running and being elected president, such as Obama, I bet we see this sort of thing discussed more seriously within the next decade or so. Obama in a lot of ways is very early in his political career and I'm certain he will hold some sort of office again. While I don't expect him to go back to congress (some sort of judicial position is more likely), this discussion would have to come up if he was anywhere near a speakership or president pro tempore in the senate.
Edit: Also, as we begin to see younger people running and being elected president, such as Obama, I bet we see this sort of thing discussed more seriously within the next decade or so. Obama in a lot of ways is very early in his political career and I'm certain he will hold some sort of office again. While I don't expect him to go back to congress (some sort of judicial position is more likely), this discussion would have to come up if he was anywhere near a speakership or president pro tempore in the senate.
He's been asked about joining the SCOTUS and he's said he would not be interested. Hard to say if that stays true for the next 10+ years. Only one previous president has joined the SCOTUS.
To be honest, I don't think he could. The Secret Service work alone would be prohibitive. It's SCOTUS or bust for Obama.
Jer
'Til Tomorrow
Yes, he was anti-mask in general, and he went to Trump’s rally in Tulsa where he was surrounded by people in close proximity without masks, and he tested positive for COVID-19 nine (nine, nine) days later. Since he had survived late-stage colon cancer and was in his 70s, he was at very high risk of a bad outcome if he contracted the illness. And apparently that’s exactly what happened.
A useful lesson in objective reality vs. subjective “reality”. Too bad the poor guy had to lose his life in order to learn it.
srfc
Ancient Mariner
I don't want to sound like an asshole but I've been hoping someone like that would catch the virus and die from it. It's the only way anti-vaxxers and conspiracy theorists etc. might start taking this thing seriously if they see one of their own get it.
On the other side I wouldn't be surprised if there's now a "conspiracy" that deep state murdered him.
Very likely. Choose Your Own Reality folks are way to stubborn to consider an alternative point of view.