What happens if no presidential candidate gets 270 Electoral votes?

In an extremely close presidential election it is possible that no candidate could get the needed majority of 270 Electoral votes. The Constitution of the United States makes provision for this scenario.

The Twelfth Amendment (ratified June 15, 1804):

This states in layman’s language that if no one presidential candidate gets the required majority, than the House of Representatives would choose immediately, by ballot, the President. However, it is important to note the vote would be by states, the representation from each state would have one vote. So each Representative does not get one vote, rather each state represented in the House gets one vote.

Again if no one vice-presidential candidate gets a majority of Electoral votes, then the Senate would choose the Vice-President from the two candidates with the most Electoral votes.

This system raises an interesting scenario. If both the presidential and the vice-presidential candidate did not receive a majority of Electoral votes, both would be elected by Congress, the House of Representatives the President, and the Senate, the Vice-President. This election if the Senate stays Democratic and the House stays Republican as expected then the likely scenario in this rare case would be President Romney and Vice-President Biden for the next four years.

What an interesting administration those would be. History consists of what-if scenarios. Some come true and others don’t. Watch closely to see what happens here.

Kennedy Sworn in as President – 50 yrs Ago Today

President Kennedy - official White House photo

 Fifty years ago today John Fitzgerald Kennedy took the oath of office at exactly 12:00 p.m. Eastern time in Washington, DC.

Kennedy’s inauguration signaled a new generation ascending to power. His predecessor, President Eisenhower was of a previous generation and had served 8 years, since 1954-1961.

Kennedy, or JFK as he was affectionally known, was the youngest man ever elected president at age 43. Teddy Roosevelt was younger when he became president, but he became president after McKinley’s assassination.

Kennedy was also the first person of the Roman Catholic faith to be elected to the office.

The other fascination for people was his young family and his war service. He exuded personality and vigor. New ideas and renewed energy brought hope to young people.

When he was elected it was the height of the Cold War. The United States and the USSR had enough nuclear tipped missiles targeted at each other to destroy the world several times over. This wasn’t just an American or a Soviet issue, but a world living in the shadow of destruction. In fact the official policy of both nations was Mutually Assured Destruction or M.A.D. for short. Simply put if one country attacked the other it was assured both would be destroyed. Sounds crazy, but it was a fact that all of us lived with during that period. No wonder people were looking for new ideas and fresh hope.

Although his presidency was short-lived Kennedy began the dialogue with the Soviet Union on disarmament signing the Test Ban Treaty. This was a first step towards reducing nuclear arsenals.

I remember President Kennedy today for those steps he initiated towards reduction of nuclear tensions.

eBook Published – Near Miss: Attempted Assassination of JFK

My book has now been ePublished  and so far is available at the following sites.

Check it out, http://tinyurl.com/2432nrz Amazon, and http://tinyurl.com/24jlqrc Barnes and Noble.

If this interests you please consider purchasing it at the low price stated.

It will soon be available at Borders.com and Kobobooks.com

John Kennedy Wins Nomination – 50 years ago

JFK and Caroline in August 1963-White House photo

I can’t let this anniversary pass. On this day in 1960, Senator John F. Kennedy won the Democratic nomination for president at their convention in Los Angeles, California.

Of course, he went on to win the general election in November 1960 by the slimmest of margins to become president-elect. On January 20, 1961 he was sworn in as the 35th president of the United States. He was also the youngest elected president to take office and the first person of the Roman Catholic faith to become president.

Tragically, he became the youngest president (46 years of age) to die in office when he was assassinated on November 22, 1963 while riding in a motorcade through downtown Dallas, Texas.

Visiting Dealey Plaza

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My entire adult life an eerie fascination has drawn me to the Kennedy Assassination and the events of November 22 – 25, 1963. Over the years I have absorbed everything written on the subject. Now as I wander Dealey Plaza for the first time my brain releases remembrances of that era. I feel at home in a surreal way, not because it is a good place, but rather a familiar one. Memories of the 1960’s and my formative years flood my being.

The first major historical event in my lifetime riveted me at the time and has gripped me since. Historical and political awareness awoke in my young mind over those terrible four days in November 1963.

Forty-six years later like a moth to light, this place attracts me. The Plaza holds no mystery for me. I know every nook and cranny, every conspiracy theory and every person associated with those days.

The Grassy Knoll, the Texas School Book Depository, the Sixth Floor, the Triple Underpass, Stemmons Freeway, Zapruder, Oswald, and the forever young President John Fitzgerald Kennedy flood my mental vision as I wander Dealey.

Dealey Plaza is not an imposing place. It is a small park in the middle of the West End Historic District of downtown Dallas, Texas. The curious come here in a regular flow. They wander, some knowing the tale, others having only read about it. All attempt in some small way to recapture some of the Kennedy mystique.

            The story is the saga of youth lost and what might have been. Like all the others I wonder why and lament the potential killed that day. I think in some small way visiting this site is a way to get closure after all these years, to get my mind to accept that yes, it did really happen.

Theodore Roosevelt: 150th Anniversary of His Birth

TR and John Muir at Yosemite

Roosevelt was born October 27, 1858. This year marks the 150th anniversary of his birth. The 26th President of the United States is remembered for elevating the power of the presidency to new heights. Here are twelve interesting facts about his life and his presidency: 

• First American to be awarded the Nobel Prize, winning the Peace Prize in 1906, for negotiating the peace in the Russo-Japanese War.
• Only president to win his country’s highest military honor. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions at the Battle of San Juan Hill in the Spanish-American War. His oldest son, Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions on the Normandy beaches during D-Day, June 6, 1944.
• Although he was affectionately called “Teddy” by the public, he preferred to be called TR by his friends and family.
• He had a photographic memory and could read and comprehend several books in a day.
• TR was ahead of his time in that he multi-tasked with ease. He could be dictating letters to one secretary and a memo to another, while browsing through a new book.
• He was a prolific author. One of his books published on The Naval War of 1812 remains an essential reference to this conflict and continues to be reprinted to this day.
• TR was the youngest person to assume the presidency at age 42. (John F. Kennedy was the youngest to be elected at age 43)
• He was the fifth Vice President to succeed to the office of President, but the first to win election in his own right.
• He promised not to run again after his election even though he was eligible. He later regretted this because he was forced to leave the presidency at the young age of fifty and the height of his popularity
• First president to be involved in an automobile accident. One of the Secret Service agents guarding him was killed in the incident. He became the first agent killed while on duty (more on this gentleman in another posting).
• First president to fly in an airplane and ride in a submarine
• The “teddy bear” was created and named after him when he refused to shoot an orphaned black bear while on a hunting trip.

Aftermath: Democracy at Its Best

Transition (AP/White House photo)

Americans – Republicans, Democrats or Independents should be proud. Government is transitioning in an organized and peaceful way.

Many governments only change through coups, bloody or bloodless. The people don’t take part in those changes.

I commend President Bush for his and his staff’s cooperation in this process. Sure there are many differences, but in the end all involved are Americans first and foremost.

Thomas E. Dewey: The Impossible Dream

Presidential Candidate Thomas E. Dewey

Several unsuccessful presidential nominees have in fact been renominated by their parties for another try. Most have not succeeded on the second attempt either.

One of these, Republican Thomas Dewey, ran against President Franklin Roosevelt,and President Harry Truman of the Democrats, an unenviable task for any man. Thomas Dewey was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, but he was an interesting man. If he had a weakness as a presidential candidate it was his foreign policy, but that evolved and in his second attempt he was much more of an internationalist.

The Republican Party made him their nominee to run against sitting presidents twice. Once in 1944 against FDR and again in 1948 against Harry Truman.

Dewey was a leader of the liberal wing of the Republican party. He fought the conservative faction lead by Robert Taft.

He was born March 24, 1902 in Owosso, Michigan. Dewey aspired to a professional singing career and had an excellent baritone voice. He had throat problems and decided instead to become a lawyer. Dewey served for many years as a prosecutor and District Attorney in New York City. His nickname was “Gangbuster” for his work against organized crime in the 1930s.

Dewey’s reputation carried him to the governorship of New York state in 1942 and he was elected three times in total. He was a strong supporter of the death penalty while governor. During his 12 years as governor over 90 people were electrocuted under New York state authority.

At age 36, in 1940, he ran for the Republican presidential nomination against Wendell Wilkie who went on to lose to FDR.

Dewey won the nomination in 1944, but was defeated by FDR. He was the first presidential candidate to be born in the 20th century, and also the youngest man to ever win the Republican presidential nomination. Had the public known about the true state of FDR’s declining health, Dewey might well have won the election. However, that’s another story.

The famous headline being held up by Truman

In the 1948 election against FDR’s successor Harry Truman, he was almost unanimously projected to be the winner by all the so-called experts. The Chicago Daily Tribue actually printed several hundred copies declaring “DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN” before election returns showed Truman had won.

Dewey didn’t run for president again, but in 1952 he played a major role in securing the nomination for Dwight Eisenhower.

Thomas Dewey is the only Republican to be nominated for president twice and lose both times. He is also the last presidential candidate to wear permanent facial hair, in his case a moustache.

His last term as Governor of New York expired in 1955. After this he returned to his law practice. He died suddenly of a heart attack on March 16, 1971 while vacationing in Florida. He was 68 years old.

Further Reading:
Thomas Dewey and His Times, Smith, Richard Norton, Simon & Schuster, New York, 1982
Truman Defeats Dewey, Donaldson, Gary A., University Press of Kentucky, 1999