The topic of presidential succession isn’t something thatmost Americans ponder about on a regular basis.
If you were to ask a random person on the street, most wouldcertainly know that the vice president is next in line for the OvalOffice if the president were to die. Beyond that, most Americanswould be incapable of naming the people that are the line ofsuccession beyond Dick Cheney.
In the past, whenever the matter was confronted, anuncomplicated succession generally took place due to thecircumstances. For example, after John Kennedy was assassinated inDallas, Lyndon B. Johnson succeeded him. When Richard Nixonresigned, Gerald Ford moved up to the position of president.
After the realization that the Sept. 11 attacks on the UnitedStates had components that were intended to eliminate thenation’s leadership, many pleas for change emerged.
As it currently stands, if a terrorist attack eliminated anumber of people currently in line of succession, there might comea point where someone incapable of presidential duties assumes theresponsibility. Frankly, nobody ever thought that the odds ofnumerous high-ranking officials dying were possible. That was untilnow.
The legislation, which was presented Thursday by Sen. JohnCornyn, D-Texas, looks to make substantial changes on the currentrules regarding presidential succession. One change that Sen.Cornyn wants to institute would ensure that members of Congressaren’t on the list for presidential succession.
Currently, the speaker of the House, Illinois GOP Rep. DennisHastert, is third in line. Fourth is president pro-tempore of theSenate; today, that’s Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska.
Another important factor influencing Sen. Cornyn’s callfor change has to do with the fact that he wants to ensure that”… a terrorist attack will never decide which politicalparty controls the administration.”
A significant component of the measure would be the elevation ofTom Ridge, secretary of Homeland Security, to be in the positiondirectly following the attorney general in the line of succession.As the line stands today, Ridge is the last man on the list. Onewould expect that the country would be in the best hands if the newleader were capable of reacting to acts of violence and competentlydealing with the threat.
There is of course much more to be said about the topic ofpresidential succession, and there are really no clear solutions.Ed board feels that the current guidelines on presidentialsuccession certainly need to be revised to fit this particularperiod of United States history.
