new way to vote for prez

[larrwhit]

ive been thinking for a while about the way we elect our presicent here in the usa. i think instead of picking a vice prez, whoever came in second should get the job. could this work? why or why not please enlighten me peeps

[vass0922]

ummm
the person coming in 2nd would always be an opposing party...
Chances are he came in 2nd (usually out of 2) because the public didn't want him in office as much as the other guy (with few exceptions where the elected president did not win teh popular vote, but only the electoral vote)

[Theophylact]

whoever came in second should get the job.

That was the way the US Constitution originally had it. But the problem was that the guy who came in second usually would have policies opposed to those of the winner. If I were voting for a hawk (say), why would I want a dove to succeed him if he croaked?

[glohworm]

Theo,

You're right about the real old days. Whowever came in second in the popular vote automatically became vice-president, and rightfully so in my book. Let's say 51% voted for the current President/49% for the vice-President of another party, we all know that the runnerup has no influence in the winner's approach to the job. If the main man dies, who better than the 49% representative take over the job?!

[vass0922]

hmmm

Pres: George Bush
VP: Al Gore

Hmmm...

no
hehe

nothing would ever get done, they'd be too busy arguing

[originel]

i think that in certain situations that would be a good thing...but not always. what about in situations where one candidate got 75% of the votes and the other only %25. personally what i would like to see is pres and vp races separated...that way whoever was the president and vp would both be those that the population wanted as each. i think that this would also not affect a candidate who might otherwise be good but has a bad running mate. there would be times where you would have opposing parties...but only on certain occasions where, more than likely, the two candidates are a lot more alike than normal anyway.