27 April 2006

If You're Gonna Set Up A Joke, DO SOME FACT CHECKING!!

Darrell Hammond on Conan O'Brien, to set up a joke about Former Pres. Bush running on a ticket with Former Pres. Clinton stated that Pres. Bush only ran for one term, so he's still eligible to run for President again, and his good buddy Bill could run for his Vice President.

Don't look to late night talk shows for accuracy in political reporting.

(anyone paying attention at all should have remembered that Pres. Bush served for one term, ran for two)

Here's Amendment XXII

Section 1. 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.

Section 2. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several states within seven years from the date of its submission to the states by the Congress.

Amendment XII screws up the whole former two term President for Vice President idea, however (as pointed out in the comments to this post from the Smirking Chimp site from way back when people were speculating who would be Kerry's Veep)

But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States.

The joke was fine, just a slight inaccuracy in the set-up. Hammond went on about the possibility of a First Husband Bill, that would be comedy gold if it does happen.

Guess folks won't get to print up those Clinton-Clinton '08 bumper stickers, afterall.

(not that Hillary would ever pick Bill anyway, plus I don't think Democrats will pick Hil in the primaries)

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