The Vice President POWERS AND RESPONSIBILITIES Selection Vice
The Vice President POWERS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Selection Vice Presidents are chosen by the party’s presidential candidate The announcement is made at, or just before, the party’s National Convention The VP appears on a ‘joint ticket’ with the President (eg Obama/Biden) Often presidential candidates try to achieve a ‘balanced ticket’: eg Obama (relative newcomer to Washington, young)/Biden an insider, in the Senate from the mid-70 s, older; MCCain (insider)/Palin (female outsider); Bush (outsider; Cheney insider). Since 25 th Amendment (1967) VPs can be appointed rather than elected if a vacancy occurs (Spiro Agnew/Ford, 1973).
The job There is no job description Main purpose: “just a heartbeat away” from the presidency: Johnson/Kennedy; Ford/Nixon; Cheney twice which Bush anesthetised. Presides over the Senate (but rarely attends – the President pro-temporare, Orrin Hatch, presides in his absence) Has the casting vote in Senate deadlock: Cheney used this 8 times. Counts and announces Electoral College results Diplomatic and ceremonial duties
The job (cont’d) Undertake projects on behalf of the president: Gore ‘Reinventing Government’ – Clinton Increasingly important with the growth of government Spokesperson for the administration Since Nixon all have been members of the Cabinet Has a residence (an Admiralty house) near the White House.
Example: Dick Cheney Washington joke: “If Cheney were assassinated, Bush would have to become president!” Insider to Bush’s outsider Seen as the ‘brains’ behind the Bush administration Former member of the Ho. R and Chief of Staff (under Ford) The man in the bunker in 9/11: recommended Bush to authorise shooting of terrorist controlled aircraft Planned for the ‘War on Terror’: put in place the military commissions to question Guantanamo detainees. Influenced Bush in Roberts nomination as Chief Justice (2005)
Example: Joe Biden 47 th Vice President of the USA (first Roman Catholic) Elected to Senate in 1972 (aged 30) Long serving member of Senate Foreign Relations Committee Unsuccessfully sought Democratic Presidential nomination in 1988 and 2008 (dropped out early on both occasions) As Obama’s VP he has headed the White House Task Force on Working Families (economic well-being of middle class) Distanced himself from the Cheney-style power-base in the White House Adjudicated disputes between Obama’s ‘Cabinet of rivals’. Headed Obama’s ‘Gun Violence Task Force’ after Sandy Hook school shooting (2012).
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