Amendment Twenty Two

Here it is:

“No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of the President more than once. But this article shall not apply to any person holding the office of President when this article was proposed by the Congress, and shall not prevent any person who may be holding the office of President, or acting as President, during the term within which this article becomes operative from holding the office of President or acting as President during the remainder of such term.”

Does this preclude a two term president from being elected as the running mate of a presidential candidate and, if that ticket is elected, serving as vice president, and if the president dies, serving as president?

If this were true, that has the potential of making some eminently electable – but old – Democrats suddenly become viable presidential candidates: like Jerry Brown, Joe Biden and John Kerry.

Having Barack Obama as their running mate would serve two purposes: it would take an already powerful candidate to the winner’s circle and it would give America an assurance of succession competence.

I can’t make the 22nd Amendment say that this is not possible.

But then I can’t make the 2nd Amendment say anything more than that we need the citizens to be free to have an armory where they keep and bear arms in the event of civil unrest.