Same Term for VP

                    The topic of discussion for this Constitution Monday comes from Article II, Section 1, Clause 1:  "… President … and the Vice President chosen for the same Term, be elected …."  This clause clearly shows that the President and Vice President will be in office for the same period of time, thus making a smooth transition if anything happens to the President.

                    "With the passing of time, the office of Vice President has become increasingly important.  1) He must have all of the same qualifications as the President in order to meet the requirements of the Twelfth Amendment.  2) He often represents a segment of the population where the President is not as politically strong as he would wish to be.  3) The Vice President is one of the President's most prestigious ambassadors of goodwill as he travels among foreign nations.  4) As presiding officer in the Senate, he is the only member of the executive branch who is allowed to officially function as part of the legislative branch" (W. Cleon Skousen in The Making of America - The Substance and Meaning of the Constitution, p. 518).

                    "The primary constitutional role of the Vice President was to be available to become President (or Acting President) should the office become vacant, or should a contingent election of a President fail in the House of Representatives….

                    "The other constitutional duty of the Vice President (see Article I, Section 3, Clause 4), [is] to be President of the Senate….

                    "Nine Vice Presidents have filled the presidency upon the death or resignation of the President:  John Tyler, Millard Fillmore, Andrew Johnson, Chester A. Arthur, Theodore Roosevelt, Calvin Coolidge, Harry S. Truman, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Gerald R. Ford (Roosevelt, Coolidge, Truman, and Lyndon Johnson were subsequently reelected as President).  Five other Vice Presidents have attained the presidency by election in their own right:  John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Martin Van Buren, Richard M. Nixon, and George H. W. Bush.  Thus, although a candidate for President often chooses a running mate for electoral reasons, the person elected as Vice President has a significant chance to become President" (David F. Forte in The Heritage Guide to the Constitution, pp. 183-184