Politics: The New President Is Who?

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Politics The New President Is Who? Putting a random old senator in line to become president amid a national emergency is a terrible idea. By Matthew Yglesias Posted Tuesday, Dec 18, 2012, at 03:56 PM ET Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), who passed away on Monday, was many things—a war hero, a civil rights pioneer, an old bull of the Senate, a tireless fighter for Hawaii, a committee chairman, and both last and least, he was president pro tempore of the United States Senate. It's a title that sounds impressive—it has both "president" and Latin in it—but in fact it's meaningless. Inouye made a run to lead the Democratic caucus way back in 1989 but lost to then Sen. George Mitchell of Maine. The pro tempore designation is just an honorific routinely bestowed on the most senior member of the majority caucus. Before Inouye, it was Robert Byrd's gig. Before him came Ted Stevens. Before that it bounced back and forth between Byrd and Strom Thurmond. Nobody really needs to care about this as anything other than a trivia question answer except that a thoughtless provision of the Presidential Succession Act of 1947 puts its holder in line for the presidency. And not just some random place in line. Close to the front. Imagine some disastrous scenario—a terrorist attack most likely—that simultaneously kills or disabled the president, vice president, and House speaker all at once while they're negotiating the latest budget crisis. Who's next in line? The president pro tempore of the United States Senate, someone nobody intended to put in any kind of position of national leadership. Indeed, it is almost invariably someone his colleagues have ... To continue reading, click here. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES Also In Slate The New President Is Who? How the NRA Defeats National Tragedies Why Did Nancy Lanza Love Guns?	Advertisement
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