Sarah Palin: What is the Vice-Presidency?
I wish that YouTube began about thirty seconds earlier so I could hear the question asked. If it was simply a request for her to recite some of the stereotypical duties of a vice president then she dropped the ball a bit, I’d say.
A quick Wikipedia look-see offered what Palin was unable to muster off the top of her head.
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vice_President_of_the_United_States
The vice president also serves as the President of the Senate, and may break tie votes in that chamber. He or she may be assigned additional duties by the president but, as the Constitution assigns no executive powers to the vice president, in performing such duties he or she acts only as an agent of the president.
The ultimate goal of vice presidential candidate selection is to help and not hurt the party’s chances of getting elected. An overly dynamic selection can backfire by outshining the presidential candidate.
The formal powers and role of the vice president are limited by the Constitution to becoming President in the event of the death or resignation of the President and acting as the presiding officer of the U.S. Senate. As President of the Senate, the Vice President has two primary duties: to cast a vote in the event of a Senate deadlock and to preside over and certify the official vote count of the U.S. Electoral College. For example, in the first half of 2001, the Senators were divided 50-50 between Republicans and Democrats and Dick Cheney’s tie-breaking vote gave the Republicans the Senate majority.
The informal roles and functions of the Vice President depend on the specific relationship between the President and the Vice President, but often include drafter and spokesperson for the administration’s policy, as an adviser to the president, as Chairman of the Board of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), as a Member of the board of the Smithsonian Institution, and as a symbol of American concern or support.
Their influence in this role depends almost entirely on the characteristics of the particular administration. Cheney, for instance, is widely regarded as one of George W. Bush’s closest confidants. Al Gore was an important advisor to President Bill Clinton on matters of foreign policy and the environment. Often, Vice Presidents will take harder-line stands on issues to ensure the support of the party’s base while deflecting partisan criticism away from the President.
Under the American system the President is both head of state and head of government, and the ceremonial duties of the former position are often delegated to the Vice President. They may meet with other heads of state or attend state funerals in other countries, at times when the administration wishes to demonstrate concern or support but cannot send the President himself.
Not all Vice Presidents are happy in their jobs. John Nance Garner, who served as vice president from 1933 to 1941 under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, famously remarked that the Vice Presidency wasn’t “worth a pitcher of warm piss,” although reporters allegedly changed the spelling of the last word to “spit” for print.
Since 1974, the official residence of the vice president and his family has been Number One Observatory Circle, on the grounds of the United States Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C.
As President of the Senate, the vice president oversees procedural matters and may cast a tie-breaking vote. There is a strong convention within the U.S. Senate that the vice president not use his position as President of the Senate to influence the passage of legislation or act in a partisan manner, except in the case of breaking tie votes.
In modern times, the vice president rarely presides over day-to-day matters in the Senate; in his place, the Senate chooses a President pro tempore (or “president for a time”) to preside in the Vice President’s absence, and the Senate maintains a Duty Roster for the post, normally selecting the longest serving senator in the majority party.
When the President is impeached, the Chief Justice of the United States of America presides over the Senate during the impeachment trial. Otherwise, the Vice President, in his capacity as President of the Senate, or the President pro tempore of the Senate presides.
This may include the impeachment of the Vice President him- or herself, although legal theories suggest that allowing a person to be the judge in the case where he or she was the defendant wouldn’t be permitted. If the Vice President did not preside over an impeachment, the duties would fall to the President Pro Tempore.
One duty required of President of the Senate is presiding over the counting and presentation of the votes of the U.S. Electoral College. This process occurs in the presence of both houses of Congress, on January 6 of the year following a U.S. presidential election. In 2001, Al Gore announced the election of his opponent, George W. Bush.
Vice President John C. Calhoun became the first vice president to resign the office. He believed he would have more power as a senator.
For much of its existence, the office of Vice President was seen as little more than a minor position. John Adams, the first vice president, described it as “the most insignificant office that ever the invention of man contrived or his imagination conceived.” Thomas R. Marshall, the 28th Vice President, lamented: “Once there were two brothers. One went away to sea; the other was elected vice president. And nothing was heard of either of them again.” When the Whig Party was looking for a vice president on Zachary Taylor’s ticket, they approached Daniel Webster, who said of the offer “I do not intend to be buried until I am dead.”
Richard Nixon reinvented the office of vice president. He had the attention of the media and the Republican party, when Eisenhower ordered him to preside at Cabinet meetings in his absence. Nixon was also the first vice president to temporarily assume control of the executive branch; he did so after Eisenhower suffered a heart attack on September 24, 1955; ileitis in June 1956; and a stroke in November 1957.
President Jimmy Carter was the first president to formally give his vice president, Walter Mondale, an office in the West Wing of the White House.
And “Second Lady” is the unofficial title given to the Vice President’s wife. I wonder what they’ll call Todd Palin.
Todd and Sarah Palin
Check out her Alaskan coat. Niiiice!
Is it November yet?
P.S. Obama-Biden or McCain-Palin? I can’t wait for the debates!
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