HY 357 Lecture Notes - Lecture 14: Spiro Agnew, Nelson Rockefeller, Lyndon B. Johnson
6 Jun 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
The Vice President and Presidential Succession
Under the Constitution, the vice president serves as the president of the Senate (voting only to
break ties) and succeeds the president in the event of death, resignation, or the inability of the
president to discharge duties. The process of presidential succession was changed through the
Twenty-fifth Amendment, which was a response to the transition following the assassination of
President John F. Kennedy in 1963. The orderly transition of power in the executive branch is
one of the hallmarks of U.S. constitutional government.
The selection of the vice president
Although the vice president is only "a heartbeat away from the presidency," politics influences
this individual's selection more than any qualifications to hold the highest office. President
Kennedy chose Lyndon Johnson as his running mate primarily because Johnson was a
Southerner who could help carry the key state of Texas; that Johnson was the powerful majority
leader of the Senate was less important. Walter Mondale's background in the Senate, on the other
hand, made him a logical vice president for Jimmy Carter, who was the governor of Georgia and
running as a Washington outsider. In the case of Dick Cheney, George W. Bush's vice president,
experience was likely key; while the president had been a two-term governor of Texas, Cheney
served in Congress, as White House chief of staff, and secretary of defense.
The role of the vice president
Because of a limited constitutionally defined function, the role that a vice president plays is
determined by the president. While Harry Truman was vice president, he was kept in the dark
about many key issues. He did not learn about the atomic bomb, for example, until after he
became president following the death of Franklin Roosevelt. Since 1960, however, the
responsibilities of the vice president have expanded. Lyndon Johnson led the nation's space
program under Kennedy. Al Gore was heavily involved in the Clinton administration's policies,
especially in areas such as foreign policy, the environment, and streamlining government. Dick
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
