PDA

View Full Version : Can a former president be appointed to a cabinet position?

wasteofo2
Aug1-04, 12:36 PM
Just curious, anyone know the legalities of this?
BobG
Aug1-04, 02:05 PM
Of course he can.

He can run for Senate. Run for House of Representatives. Run for City Council.

Well, at least he can provided he didn't commit any felonies in office. :rolleyes:
wasteofo2
Aug1-04, 02:42 PM
Of course he can.

He can run for Senate. Run for House of Representatives. Run for City Council.

:eek:
Why the hell hasn't this been taken advantage of more often? Has every single president just been so sick of politics by the time they were done with office that they decided that the future of their country/state/city/town wasn't worth fighting for?
Janitor
Aug1-04, 02:51 PM
Would such a person, if he had served two terms, be skipped over in the scheme for successorship to the presidency in case both the president and the vice president... and so on, were disabled or killed?
Gokul43201
Aug1-04, 03:12 PM
I think it's more about ego. To move into a lowly position makes you "lose stature". You want to reach the pinnacle, and go out with a bang - it's all about style, baby ! :wink:
BobG
Aug1-04, 03:14 PM
:eek:
Why the hell hasn't this been taken advantage of more often? Has every single president just been so sick of politics by the time they were done with office that they decided that the future of their country/state/city/town wasn't worth fighting for?

A long time ago, before the US was a world power, this was taken advantage of occasionally (yeah, it's before the 2 term limit became official, but it was a tradition so strong that no one would have ever dreamed of breaking it before Roosevelt).

Nowadays, it would be a very anticlimatic ending for someone who was looking at how they would be remembered in history.
Janitor
Aug1-04, 03:16 PM
Nowadays, it would be a very anticlimatic ending for someone who was looking at how they would be remembered in history.

No doubt. If I remember my schoolboy history, Andrew Jackson went back to being a Senator after he had been president.
Gokul43201
Aug1-04, 03:26 PM
Nowadays, it would be a very anticlimatic ending ...

An ending in strong opposition to the weather ? Hey, just pulling your leg ! :biggrin:

I know you meant 'anticlimactic'. :wink:
wasteofo2
Aug1-04, 05:13 PM
Wow, so most of you think it would just be bad for the persons image to try it? I know if I were a politician who actually cared about changing stuff, and I was president for 2 terms, I'd become a Senator or Governor or something so I could keep changing things for the better. Guess most politicians don't care as much as I thought.
Robert Zaleski
Aug1-04, 05:47 PM
:eek:
Why the hell hasn't this been taken advantage of more often? Has every single president just been so sick of politics by the time they were done with office that they decided that the future of their country/state/city/town wasn't worth fighting for?
It's more lucrative for them to write a book and run around the world making speeches. Here's one example: http://money.cnn.com/2004/06/09/news/bubbasbucks/
DarkAnt
Aug1-04, 05:56 PM
"It's more lucrative for them to write a book and run around the world making speeches. Here's one example"

exactly.
and after being president for 4 years you might want to take a break from real politics
BobG
Aug1-04, 06:22 PM
"exactly.
and after being president for 4 years you might want to take a break from real politics

Good point. Reagan and Clinton seemed to really enjoy being president, but that might be because Reagan fell asleep a lot and Clinton ...

Every other president has seemed to age very quickly during their time in office.
JohnDubYa
Aug2-04, 12:19 AM
Just look at recent presidencies, example by example.

Hoover. Succeeded by a Democrat.
FDR. Died in office.
Truman. Succeeded by a Republican. Too old by the time JFK came to power.
JFK. Died in office.
LBJ. Succeeded by a Republican. Died before Carter came to power.
Nixon. Not likely to get a cabinet position after being pardoned.
Ford. Succeeded by a Democrat. Too old by the time Reagan came to power.
Carter. Succeded by a Republican. Too old by the time Clinton came to power.
Reagan. Too old.
Bush. Succeeded by a Democrat. A cabinet position would have been blatant nepotism.
Clinton. Succeeded by a Republican. (May end up with a cabinet position if Kerry wins).