(no subject)

[tinyjo]

I just have to check this with my American friends, after I haven't seen it being as roundly mocked as it seems obvious it deserves. I see from the internet that Bush said the following:

You can't be the president and the head of the military at the same time

Now correct me if I'm wrong, but in that case can we campaign for Bush to resign one of his positions as well? I'm only going by the West Wing, but I suspect he may have missed something here!

Comments

[vinaigrettegirl.livejournal.com]

You can if your constitution says you can, but assuming both offices de facto without a legal mandate doesn't tend to work very well, either structurally or in more abstract terms.

So, no, no campaign for Bush to resign as CiC because it is written into the US constitution that the president shall be the CiC: those powers can't be separated. However, the role of the presidency dominates that of CiC; the chair of the JCS doesn't become the president of the United States, and the balance of powers is such that a military coup, Pakistan-style, would be most unlikely.

[tinyjo.livejournal.com]

Musharaf has been elected now, albeit in an election which was boycotted by some parties (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakistani_presidential_election%2C_2007). Would a general be allowed to stand in your presidential election while general?

Also, the funny bit seems to me to be that Bush's quote kind of elides over the constitutionality or not of it and just says "but no, you should never do this!" while he's actually doing it :)

[touchwonder.livejournal.com]

I suspect that, technically, a general could run for president while still on active status, but I don't think they would. The retired sort have done so and won- Ulysses Grant comes to mind, and I think Andrew Jackson had a military rank.

Bush is such a 'tard. Eurgh.

[vinaigrettegirl.livejournal.com]

No, a general couldn't run for president whilst on active duty because it would be in violation of his (or, her) contractual terms of service. Members of the armed forces have to stand in readiness to get combat-ready in short order as long as they are on active duty. My father's response time depended on his postings but ran from 2 minutes to 24 hours. Even if it was contractually possible, which it isn't, it would also be impossible for a general to reconcile their military duties with a candidature.