Mr. Vice President Hastert, please standup?

[eek]

Or would that only be the case if bush *and* cheney resigned?



From the United States Code, Title 3, Chapter 1

Sec. 19. Vacancy in offices of both President and Vice President; officers eligible to act

(a)(1) If, by reason of death, resignation, removal from office, inability, or failure to qualify, there is neither a President nor Vice President to discharge the powers and duties of the office of President, then the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall, upon his resignation as Speaker and as Representative in Congress, act as President.

(2) The same rule shall apply in the case of the death, resignation, removal from office, or inability of an individual acting as President under this subsection.

(b) If, at the time when under subsection (a) of this section a Speaker is to begin the discharge of the powers and duties of the office of President, there is no Speaker, or the Speaker fails to qualify as Acting President, then the President pro tempore of the Senate shall, upon his resignation as President pro tempore and as Senator, act as President.

(c) An individual acting as President under subsection (a) or subsection (b) of this section shall continue to act until the expiration of the then current Presidential term, except that - (1) if his discharge of the powers and duties of the office is founded in whole or in part on the failure of both the President-elect and the Vice-President-elect to qualify, then he shall act only until a President or Vice President qualifies; and (2) if his discharge of the powers and duties of the office is founded in whole or in part on the inability of the President or Vice President, then he shall act only until the removal of the disability of one of such individuals.

(d)(1) If, by reason of death, resignation, removal from office, inability, or failure to qualify, there is no President pro tempore to act as President under subsection (b) of this section, then the officer of the United States who is highest on the following list, and who is not under disability to discharge the powers and duties of the office of President shall act as President: Secretary of State, Secretary of the Treasury, Secretary of Defense, Attorney General, Secretary of the Interior, Secretary of Agriculture, Secretary of Commerce, Secretary of Labor, Secretary of Health and Human Services, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Secretary of Transportation, Secretary of Energy, Secretary of Education, Secretary of Veterans Affairs.

(2) An individual acting as President under this subsection shall continue so to do until the expiration of the then current Presidential term, but not after a qualified and prior-entitled individual is able to act, except that the removal of the disability of an individual higher on the list contained in paragraph (1) of this subsection or the ability to qualify on the part of an individual higher on such list shall not terminate his service. (3) The taking of the oath of office by an individual specified in the list in paragraph (1) of this subsection shall be held to constitute his resignation from the office by virtue of the holding of which he qualifies to act as President.

(e) Subsections (a), (b), and (d) of this section shall apply only to such officers as are eligible to the office of President under the Constitution. Subsection (d) of this section shall apply only to officers appointed, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, prior to the time of the death, resignation, removal from office, inability, or failure to qualify, of the President pro tempore, and only to officers not under impeachment by the House of Representatives at the time the powers and duties of the office of President devolve upon them.

(f) During the period that any individual acts as President under this section, his compensation shall be at the rate then provided by law in the case of the President.

http://html.click2houston.com/sh/election2000/stories/archive/election2000-archive-20001110-135510.html

[tk2kewl]

1. only if both go

otherwise pres appoints replacement

[Moochy]

2. Hastert Hastert Hastert

Oops I may have summoned him.

:evilgrin:

oh wait is that you Senator Hastur?

[uppityperson]

3. If Cheney goes, and Mr.bush gets enough time, he gets to appoint vp

vp Rice?
vp anyone

[Love Bug]

6. I believe congress has to approve the appointment

At least I think that's how it was done when Agnew resigned and Ford replaced him. Nixon choose Ford because he was well liked in congress and would be an easy sell.

[jean]

4. Only if both prez and vp vacate. But if bush appoints Hastert VP, that's

fine. He's stinks of scandal too - let's see him go through the ringer, comfirmation hearings.

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/08/10/134...

Wednesday, August 10th, 2005


Did Speaker Hastert Accept Turkish Bribes to Deny Armenian Genocide and Approve Weapons Sales?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Former FBI translator Sibel Edmonds is accusing the FBI of covering up improper contacts and financial dealings between certain Turkish nationals and the office of House Speaker Dennis Hastert. We speak with Sibel Edmonds and Vanity Fair journalist David Rose.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Former FBI translator turned whistleblower, Sibel Edmonds is now appealing her case to the U.S. Supreme Court. In March 2002, she was fired and she has been fighting now for nearly 3 years to blow the whistle on US government failures prior to 9-11. She has faced fierce opposition from the Bush administration, the FBI and some in Congress. This week, she grabbed headlines again after Vanity Fair published a major story about her. What is making news from that piece are allegations surrounding Illinois congressman and Republican Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert.

Vanity Fair alleges that Hastert may have been the recipient of tens of thousands of dollars of secret payments from Turkish officials in exchange for political favors and information. In the article, titled "An Inconvenient Patriot," Edmonds says that she gave confidential testimony about the payments to congressional staffers, the Inspector General and members of the 9/11 Commission. Edmonds says that she heard of the payments while listening to FBI wiretaps of Turkish officials who were under surveillance by the FBI.

much more at link, including audio of the interview

[eek]

5. Jeezlooweeze! That's one helluva headline!

Did Speaker Hastert Accept Turkish Bribes to Deny Armenian Genocide and Approve Weapons Sales?



Almost Onionesque inits over- the- toppedness.

[wiley]

7. He would have to be approved

Yet another opportunity to expose corruption, greed, and treachery amongst the one party thugs and criminals who run this country.

[dogman]

8. Don't forget, DeLay is to Hastert as Cheney is to Bush.

That might be another reason to call him the "Hammer". It would take the strength of Thor to pull the strings on that big puppet.

[welshTerrier2]

9. The Sergeant's monologue

stand up and put your hands behind your back Mr. Hastert; i'm gonna cuff ya ...

has anyone read you your rights yet?

or did you republicans get rid of that Miranda thing too?

well, it doesn't matter ... go over and stand behind that first fellow ...

what's that? oh, yeah, yeah ... that's what i meant ... i keep getting that wrong ... go over there and stand behind that Frist fellow ...

i should've remembered that ... i like saying that too ... i'm gonna frisk Frist first ... frisk Frist first ... OK ... maybe now i'll remember it ...

how many more of you guys are left up here? seems like you'd be running a little low by now ... you must have done pretty well in the elections last year ... i guess that doesn't matter much now, does it ???

well, good talking with you Mr. Hastert ... see you in 20 years ...

[KBlagburn]

10. In the case of a VP vacancy the Pres. nominates and the senate

and house confirms. The VP stays vacant until congress acts. The speaker of the house only becomes involved if the Pres and VP die. Ford was minority leader at the time he was nominated.


http://www.archives.gov/national-archives-experience/ch...


Section 2.
Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the Vice President, the President shall nominate a Vice President who shall take office upon confirmation by a majority vote of both Houses of Congress.