Quote:
Originally Posted by mofford
He might have been the next republican in line to temporarily step in after Reagan and Bush, and the most logical person Reagan might have chosen to hold the fort for a couple days until Bush returned, but I think he was actually 5th in line because I think the Senate majority leader and speaker of the house were ahead of him (as stated in the constitution). The reporters specifically asked him about it and he clearly stated "Constitutionaly gentlemen, the order of succession passes from the President, to Vice President and the Secretary of State in that order, I am in charge here pending the return of the VP".
Regardless, he served his country well and his service in Korea was no picnic as he was among the brave troops to fight early on in the mountains of North Korea against the Chinese. Like it or not, in 1974 he kept the government going by executing the duties of president when Nixon had his hands full with Watergate.
I think the movie "The Reagans", tho unpopular among the right wingers at the time of it's release, sheds some light on why Reagan had to let him go.
|
You're right, of course. The order of succession is: VP, Speaker of the House, President Pro Tem of the Senate, then the Secretary of State.
Someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but I seem to remember that the others were out of town at the moment, like Bush who was traveling in Asia. Perhaps they may have even been with him.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
