New presidents should be well-qualified, assuming office with a smooth transition, and serving with excellence and experience.
Our current system has some big flaws. An elected president may have little or no experience before assuming office. The transition from one administration to another can be jarring.
Serving as Vice President provides an important advantage on becoming president, but under our current system, VP’s are not selected for that purpose. Most VP candidates are selected to “balance the ticket” to help elect the president, not to actually serve as president.
John Kennedy selected Lyndon Johnson as VP, yet the two despised each other. Richard Nixon selected a VP who was in jail before the end of his second term.
Presidents and Vice-Presidents are often motivated by a desire to win re-election, which can compromise their need to “do the right thing” while serving in office.
These problems can be reduced or eliminated by a constitutional amendment that provides that we elect a Vice President, who then becomes president. Every President first serves one term as Vice President, before serving one term as President.
The Vice President is elected with one qualification in mind, to serve as president. The president comes to the office with four years of experience as Vice President.
Transitions are more smooth, because everyone knows, for four years, who will be the next president. No President or Vice-President holds office while running for office. They serve with the pure motivation to do the best job while holding office, with no worry about re-election.
Finally, to assure presidential candidates who are qualified on their own, family members of presidents should be barred from holding office. No parent/child dynasties. No president/spouse tag-teams. Let each candidate seek the office on their own qualifications, rather than family connections. There is no shortage of qualified candidates.
Proposed text below:
JOINT RESOLUTION.Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States regarding Qualifications and Terms of Office of the President/Vice-President.
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, two-thirds of each House concurring therein,
That the following article is proposed as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States:
ARTICLE I
SECTION 1. The President shall be selected by first being elected and serving as Vice President. The Vice President shall become elevated to the position of president at the end of the term of the President, or earlier if the office of President becomes vacant.
SECTION 2. The President shall serve one term of four years. No person shall serve as President more than one full term.
SECTION 3. No member of the family of the President shall ever serve as President or Vice President, or be permitted to hold or work in any position in the administration of the President or Vice President. A family member shall include spouse, parents, grandparents, children, grandchildren, siblings, mothers and fathers-in-law, sons and daughters-in-law, brothers and sisters-in-law, aunts, uncles, nephews and nieces and any person living in the same domicile with the President or Vice President.
SECTION 4. An elected Vice President, who is elevated to President prior to the end of the four-year term of the prior serving President, shall serve the balance of the four-year term of the prior serving President. The elected Vice President shall then complete the full four-year term as President for which the Vice President was originally elected.
SECTION 5. Any person, who becomes appointed Vice President pursuant to §2 pf the 25th Amendment, shall serve in that position only until an election may be held, in the ordinary course, for an elected Vice President. An appointed Vice President may not seek election as elected Vice President.
SECTION 6. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.