When I was in kindergarden a schoomate came to school one day chanting "we want Nixon,we want Nixon, Nixon for president." When my mother picked me up from school I asked her who Nixon was. She explained to me about Nixon and Kennedy and the presidental election and about Democrats and Rebulicans. When I asked her what we were she said that her and dad and all of our family were Democrats. The next day I went to school chanting "we want Kennedy." I have been a Democrat ever since. We are truly a big tent party. But our diversity is both our greatest strength and our greatest weakness. My party is now split into two factions. There is more bad blood between us each day. I'm worried about this party I love. We need unity. Maybe the only way to heal this rift between us is the dreamticket
I would like to see Obama become the first African American president and also for Clinton to become the first woman president. To me it's only a matter of who goes first. That's what this arguement is all about, who's on the top of the ticket. And since whoever that is would almost certainly run for a second term in 2012, whoever is in the vp slot would have to wait 8 years to get his/her chance. Or not. Let's see what the XXII Ammendment to the Constitution actually says.
Amendment XXII (February 27, 1951)
Section 1. No person shall be elected to the office of the
President more than twice, and no person who has held the
office of President, or acted as President, for more than
two years of a term to which some other person was elected
President shall be elected to the office of the President
more than once. But this Article shall not apply to any person
holding the office of President when this article was proposed
by the Congress, and shall not prevent any person who may be
holding the office of President, or acting as President, during
the term within which this Article becomes operative from
holding the office of President or acting as President during
the remainder of such term.
Section 2. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall
have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the
legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within seven
years from the date of its submission to the States by the Congress.
Now then, although the Constitution limits a president to two terms, there is no requirement for those terms to be consectutive. So theoratically at least, whoever was at the top of the ticket could agree not put his/her name on the ticket during the next presidental primaries and let the other one have a turn. Then the other can have their second turn ect. We go long for a 16 year Democratic ticket. Of course all of this would depend upon an unenforcable lady/gentleman areement which is the first of the 1001 reasons that it wouldn't be a practical plan. The second is that it might already be too late for us to come togeher. I know it's just a fantasy. But I'm grasping at straws here. I just don't want to see the nomination decided by fistfights on the convention floor. I want to lay my cards on the table and say that I voted for Obama on Feb 5 and of course I would prefer my guy to go first. But I would be willing to compromise if the alternative is for the Democratic party to fracture allowing BIG BAD JOHN to win in November. If he only had to wait four more years rather than eight to have his turn. I wouldn't like it, but I could live with it for the sake of party unity. Of course since Obama has the upper hand in the delegate count and will most likely win the nomination, I think Hillary should be the one to wait four more years, but I'm willing to bend a little for the sake of party unity so we can all be friends again. Being second on the ticket might be easier for the candidates themselves to swallow if they only had to wait four years for their turn instead of eight. Just a crazy idea.