Has the Vice Presidency been ruined forever?

[undeterred]

Remember when the role of the VP was to be a "Yes man" and go to funerals? As much as the Presidency has been expanded and distorted by Bush, its worth noting that there has never been a Vice President with as much influence as Cheney, so much that most people assume he is the one who is truly running things. We can't think about removing Bush without removing Cheney too because most of us think he's a thousand times worse! If anything, it seems like the vice president is in a safer position because we can only infer what he is doing and he doesn't feel the least bit accountable to us.

Do we need to have more safeguards in place to protect us from abuse of power by Vice Presidents or is it unlikely that any other person in that office would behave the way Cheney has?

[NoodleBoy]

1. I think the current setup is because of personalities

[BlooInBloo]

2. The VPcy is what it has ALWAYS been: Whatever the Prez says it is....

... I see no problem with that.

There is, however, a BIG problem with the stupid bigoted voters in this country, which RESULTS in the current VP being who he is at the moment.

Change the voters, not the Constitution.

[Flabbergasted]

4. You mean we should start shooting....?

[ashling]

3. No, but I would have No. 1 Observatory Circle

decontaminated

... or at least conduct some sort of mold, slime, and vindictiveness mitigation.

... maybe the ghost busters?


Oh, and the undisclosed location.
:)

[pinto]

5. Cheney couldn't wield the power he has w/out acquiescence from Bush.

Don't forget a recent VP - Spiro T. Agnew, admittedly a run-of-the-mill crook, but an effective domestic hit man for Nixon. Good point, though. Cheney is the nefarious, persistent, and more dangerous of the two federal executives we have in office today.

[Raine]

6. I don't know but the stench

will have to be removed by an exorcist. x(

[nevergiveup]

7. Vice President John Nance Garner

once said the Vice Presidency was not "worth a pitcher of warm piss"........oh my, how times have changed.

[undeterred]

8. Now its an ocean of warm piss.

:banghead:

[DavidDvorkin]

9. Spiro Agnew

The vice presidency survived him, so it must be a sturdier institution than we realize.