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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
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 OPINION 
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The Vice Presidency Must Go

Founding fathers created institution in very different context

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(Newser) – Few countries have vice presidents, and the US shouldn’t either, Bruce Ackerman writes in the LA Times. The founding fathers established the office as a consolation prize, the Yale law and political science professor explains, and it's morphed into a ticket-balancing slot. "This isn't a question on which the founders deserve any deference," he writes. "They designed their system for a very different political world."

McKinley's and Lincoln's VPs turned out to be the political opposites of their assassinated bosses. To take a more relevant example, "John McCain's surprising choice should lead us to think again,” Ackerman writes. "We should designate the secretary of state to be in charge until a special election can be held to replace a president."

Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., accompanied by his running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, speaks at a rally in Columbus, Ohio, Monday, Sept. 29, 2008.
Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., accompanied by his running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, speaks at a rally in Columbus, Ohio, Monday, Sept. 29, 2008.   (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
"Sarah Palin is the product of a design flaw -- the unintended consequence of the founders' decision to create the vice presidency," Bruce Ackerman writes.   (AP Photo/ Joseph Kaczmarek)
Vice President Dick Cheney ponders a reporter's question during a briefing at the White House in this June 29, 2001 file photo.
Vice President Dick Cheney ponders a reporter's question during a briefing at the White House in this June 29, 2001 file photo.   (AP Photo/Kenneth Lambert, FILE)
Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., speaks at a rally in front of the Detroit Public Library in Detroit, Mich. Sunday, Sept. 28, 2008.
Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., speaks at a rally in front of the Detroit Public Library in Detroit, Mich. Sunday, Sept. 28, 2008.   (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Cheney and Bush are ideologically identical, but historically VPs can differ radically from their presidents, Bruce Ackerman writes.
Cheney and Bush are ideologically identical, but historically VPs can differ radically from their presidents, Bruce Ackerman writes.   (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
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However the race turns out, we should recognize that the founders didn't have the slightest idea that the vice presidency would episodically explode in our face, and it's about time we fixed it. - Bruce Ackerman

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