Jim Choate[SMTP:ravage@einstein.ssz.com] wrote:
What happens if by the day the new president is to take his oath there is still no clear winner? Even if the candidates get together and one is a gracious loser, the trauma won't be lessened. There will be literaly no faith in the president. What would Congress need to do in order to pass an emergency resolution that would allow the current president to stay in office until the issue is resolved. Could this be a new way to get a third term? Would the vice-president (who serves when the president can't) then be the next in line (assume the speaker of the house would be next if memory serves)?
One of the good results of the current stalemate is that many of us are getting crash courses in constitutional law. This is covered by the Presidential Succession Act of 1947. See http://www.greatsource.com/amgov/almanac/documents/key/1947_psa_1.html There would be appointed an acting president, who would stay in office only until the election was settled. The order of sucession goes; President Clinton Vice President Gore Speaker of the House Hastert President pro-tem of the Senate Gore Secretary of State Albright Secretary of the Treasury Secretary of Defense Attorney General Reno Postmaster General Secretary of the Navy Secretary of the Interior Secretary of Agriculture Secretary of Commerce Secretary of Labor I suspect that the upshot would be that Clinton would stay in office for a while. The other alternative is that the already appointed electors vote, leaving out the unappointed Florida electors. This would throw the race to Gore. Peter Trei