Selecting the Vice President

Perhaps the most important task of a U.S. President is staffing the cabinet.  That action begins with selecting a vice president. The American political system today has it all wrong about choosing a vice president. Here are some indications:

1. The act of choosing a vice president is without requirements and standards.
2. Of course, there are no acceptable standards for selecting a U.S. president either.
3. Voters have little or no say in the matter. Unlike some states that put the election of lieutenant governor to a vote, the system is uneven. The VP pick is an executive choice, even before voters elect the top executive.

I write about the selection of the vice president in my forthcoming book, How to Select an American President by James George and James Rodger (c) 2016 Archway Publishing.

Many times in history, something happens to the president and the vice president must fill the shoes. Many times in history, the selection of a vice president is political tomfoolery and not a more responsible act.

From the viewpoint of a forward-looking political party, the vice president should be equal to or greater than the president. The vice president should be one generation behind the president such that there is room to grow and to extend the incumbency.

That isn't the way that the process has been done in the past. Improving the process will take much deliberate effort with pressure from voters to make it better. That is a long-term proposition.

“This Is What the US Vice President Actually Does — and How the Job Has Changed 

Jon Levine 

May 27, 2016 

With the final round of the presidential race almost certain to pit Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton in contest for the ultimate prize, arm-chair analysts and other peanut gallery stalwarts are now speculating about an almost equally intriguing question: who the presumptive nominees will select as their running mates.  

Will Trump pick an insider like Newt Gingrich, or another brash outsider like himself? Will Hillary Clinton try to eat away at Trump's white, male voter base by tapping, say, Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, or will she roll the dice on an all-woman ticket with Massachusetts' Elizabeth Warren?" 

https://www.yahoo.com/news/us-vice-president-actually-does-153300449.html?nhp=1

Many believe that Lyndon Johnson was America's best Vice President.