Op/Ed
What About Term Limits
for Co-Presidents?
A Conservative Blog
by Ed Donath
Perhaps you remember the last co-presidency? Despite campaigning on the promise that his novice spouse, "the most intelligent woman in the world" would, in effect, have equal input to the creation and execution of executive policy, Bill Clinton somehow got elected president anyway.
As the First Lady in Chief's first major initiative, the unworkable Hillary Rodham Clinton Health Care Plan failed to gain congressional approval.
During the remainder of her two terms in office there was an investigation of Hillary's impropriety known as Travelgate and a series of scandals revolving around her involvement in questionable fundraising, business deals and law practice records. There was also that inconvenient group of close Clinton associates who somehow ended up dead or in prison while Bill and Hill co-ran the White House.
While it may be unfair to hold her husband's improprieties against the co-president, the very feminists who lauded candidate Clinton for promising to include his strong, invincible genius wife in the decision-making process have, nonetheless, continued to criticize Hillary for standing by her man instead of dropping him like a bad habit once he finally admitted to adulterous Oval Office shenanigans.
Incidentally, those would be the same feminists who voted both Clintons into office twice despite their certainty that Bill was, at best, a male chauvinist pig while serving as the governor of Arkansas and that he might actually have been the perpetrator of sex crimes. But misery must love company because in 1996 the co-prez became the only First Lady to be subpoenaed to testify before a federal grand jury as a consequence of the couple's Whitewater involvement.
Now, on the weight of that unique body of experience plus a carpet-bagging stepping stone stint in the Senate and the lengthiest-ever unsuccessful presidential primary campaign behind her, the First Lady of Pants Suits is eager to begin her third co-presidency just as soon as a congressional thumbs-up allows her to assume the role of Secretary of State.
"President-elect Barack Obama's transition team and Secretary of State-designate Hillary Clinton are reportedly planning to enhance the funding, staffing, and missions of the State Department," the opening line of a recent Boston Globe report reads. In other words, they're beefing up the scope and power of the Secretary of State's office. That, of course, emits the scent of a co-presidency to many political bloodhounds.
There are only three possible reasons for any president, including Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, to make allowances for a co-president.
In any case, we can be happy enough with a president to re-elect him, but after serving a second term we lock him out of the White House for good. Had Hillary Clinton been elected instead of Barack Obama there would be a hue and cry over Bill Clinton getting a free pass for a de facto third term.
The same term limits, hues and cries should also apply to co-presidents.
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Reader Comments:
Sure...as long as we have term limits for "family dynasties" so, for example, if you're father was President it doesn't necessarily mean you're qualified to be President! We all know how well that went the last time we elected some guy just because his father had the job!
BroadwayBill
(from Asbury Park, NJ Press)
[We covered that one last week, BB. -ED]
Oh....I thought you were going to be talking about the current co-presidency, featuring Dick and George!
hooli
(from St. Cloud, MN Times )
[Nah, I'm talking about people who never got elected. -ED]
Hillary was a disaster as a first lady, a disaster as a senator and will be even worse as a Secretary of State. The tactic obama is using to try to eliminate her as a threat in 2012 shows his lack of patriotism. To put someone so unqualified in charge of anything is a poke in the eye to all of us. The constitution does not provide for a co president and to many of the voters are to uneducated to know otherwise. I fear for our republic...
deserttrek
(from Palm Springs, CA Desert Sun )
what a blog!! you certainly must have a quite a memory to back to the clinton's in the 90's. i just remember how nice bill left everything to george bush. george bush had everything screwed up within a yr. ohh i see in the ragg mag's ole george is contemplating divorce too (like he doesn't screw around, just hasn't gotton caught yet) you seem to be a lot like bill o'reilly in the "no spin zone", actually it's a misnomer you guys spin real good....george could have used a wife with some intelligence to help keep him grounded....cheney couldn't watch him every second. but since she is brainless,(i heard she killed an old b/fin a car accident-geez) with hilary you get bill. with bill hilary. at least they have a grasp at some intelligence, and can read. crayon's left for george to write or draw his memoir's.
vnufall
(from Detroit, MI Free Press )
[See how you remembered everyone but Al Gore who actually got elected twice and came close to winning on his own? L8R...gotta go turn on the a/c and shovel some more sand. -ED]
So you are saying the spouse of the person elected president should just shut up and say or do nothing? Are you married eddobloggo? I suppose you think women shouldn't vote or hold public office? Or if a woman is elected her husband should shut up and do or say nothing? Obviously only the elected person can make decisions, sign or veto bills, etc. Is this just another rant about Hillary (Rodham) Clinton? You do know that Bill Clinton is no longer president. Right?
quackquack76
Too bad the average American isn't as clever as you, huh Ed. http://primetimetv.suite101.com/article.cfm/hillary_clinton_is_most_admired_woman_of_2008
Craig51
(from Des Mines, IA Register )
[Sarah Palin came in second after being around for like five minutes by comparison to the ever-present First Lady of Pants Suits. Are Americans clever for choosing her over Oprah? What's my point? What's your point? -ED]
please continue your blogging eddobloggo*!!!
IMwithSTUPID
(from St. Cloud, MN Times)
[I'm with you*!!! - ED]
I'm in agreement on one issue for sure. When a Presidential spouse has political aspirations of their own, should the term limit rule apply to them also? It is very clear that if Hillary were elected, Bill would have significant influence over political decisions, as Hillary did when Bill was President. This would have been a landmark election had Hillary won. One could surmise that after a President has served an 8 year term, the spouse could be elected regardless of qualification, to allow the outgoing President to keep reasonable executive power for another 8 years. Should the current term limit rule apply to spouses?
packman20
(from Wausau Daily Herald)
There are the people who would claim that McCain would have been 4 more years of Bush. I wonder if those same people would accept this as 4 more years of Clinton, by that same argument?
GLer56304
The only problem with your thesis is that there is NO official office of a "co-President"; but then, you know that. A "co-President" exists ONLY in the imagination. I seriously doubt she will have anywhere near the influence on Obama that she did on Bill. He's appointing her Sec. State to co-opt her from running against him in 2012, or at least he hopes it will. Time will tell.
Anonymous
[While the office of co-prez may exist "only in the imagination" it is the FLOPS' imagination we've got to worry about -- not mine. -ED]
© Copyright Ed Donath
Op/Ed & eddobloggo
December 26, 2008
All rights reserved.
