Last Wednesday night, on the eve of the vice-presidential debate, I gave a talk on the vice presidency at Washington University in St. Louis, the debate site. Toward the end of the program, Steve Smith, who directs the university’s Murray Weidenbaum Center on the Economy, Government, and Public Policy, asked what question I’d like to hear put to the two candidates. I responded, “The Constitution doesn’t say much about the vice presidency, but I’d like to know whether Senator Biden and Governor Palin are familiar with what it does say. So I’d ask a question like, ‘If a serious doubt arose in your mind about whether the president was unable to perform the responsibilities of his office, what would be your role under the Twenty-Fifth Amendment?’ or, ‘How will you carry out your constitutional duty as president of the Senate?’”
Why those questions? Because of Alexander Haig. Haig was Ronald Reagan’s first secretary of state, and when Reagan was shot in March 1981 Haig rushed to the White House briefing room to tell the gathered press that even though Reagan was in surgery and Vice President George Bush was out of town, the country had nothing to fear. “Constitutionally, gentlemen,” said Haig, in a tone dripping with condescension, “you have the President, the Vice President and the Secretary of State in that order . . . As of now, I am in control here.”
Haig’s comment made me realize that he’d never read the Constitution, which says nothing at all about the secretary of state. And it got me wondering how typical Haig was of high public officials in general.
Although she phrased her question to the candidates broadly, debate moderator Gwen Ifill did what I hoped she’d do: asked them about the vice presidency. And both candidates answered as I feared they would, in the Haig tradition. Biden gave it the Full Haig: he was both wrong on substance and condescending in tone. Palin was just wrong on substance.
Criticizing the incumbent vice presidenct, Biden said that Dick Cheney “doesn’t realize that Article I of the Constitution defines the role of the Vice President of the United States, that’s the Executive Branch. He works in the Executive Branch. He should understand that.” Sorry, Senator, but Article I is about the legislative branch, and neither it nor any other part of the Constitution says that the vice president is part of Congress or the executive. Biden added that the vice president presides over the Senate “[o]nly in a time when in fact there’s a tie vote. The Constitution is explicit.” Another howler.
Although Palin spared us Biden’s even-an-idiot-knows-that tone, she didn’t do much better on substance. “I’m thankful,” Palin said, “that the Constitution would allow a bit more authority given to the vice president if that vice president so chose to exercise it in working with the Senate.” Well, no, the Constitution makes the vice president the Senate’s presiding officer, with tie-breaking power, and that’s it.
Candidates are busy people, but please, Senator Biden and Governor Palin, take five minutes and read what the Constitution says about the office that one of you is about to occupy.
