I'm feeling unclear about the constitutional scenario... if the Vice President resigns shortly after being elected and sworn in in January, does the new President chose another Vice President? Does the office remain vacant?

I would assume it would work like when Spiro Agnew was impeached for tax evasion, the President picks someone and Congress ratifies his choice,like when Gerald Ford was appointed

Are you looking for a bait and switch? Would not surprise me in the least. The new president could pick anyone he or she chooses... without the vetting process. How convenient would that be? And since the people are really out of the decision making process in the free world, it would save time.

The Vice Presidency is really a dead end career move, they do very little except check daily to see if the President is still alive, do some travelling and meet with dignitaries, maybe cast a few deciding votes in case of a tie in the Senate.

In the case of Gerald Ford ;Nixon nominated him . He went through Judiciary Committee hearings and was appointed with the approval of both houses of Congress.

When Ford became President the same procedure was followed to name Nelson Rockefeller as VP

This is all laid out in the 25th amendment section 2


Section 2. Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the Vice President, the President shall nominate a Vice President who shall take office upon confirmation by a majority vote of both Houses of Congress.


.Before that the Constitution was vague about the succession of the VP.

Excellent, Tom, thanks. I just had a senior moment about the whole thing.

So, if McCain is elected, Sarah Palin can resign, then, McCain could nominate Joe Lieberman for Vice President... and so forth...

Thanks, again,

Lol yes he could... but there would be zero chance Lieberman could get confirmed .

Thank you tom for clearing that up. So the Congress must confirm the selection. Whew! That makes me feel better!

Lol I bet .

Let's see 1st the appointee would have to survive a grilling by Patrick Leahy and his gang in the Senate
United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Senate_Committee_on_the_Judiciary)

And John Conyers and his gang in the House.
United States House Committee on the Judiciary - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_Judiciary_Committee)

Anyone who survives that probably should be disqualified anyway.

Lieberman was a Democrat, and he is very knowledgeable... perhaps, he would sail through confirmation after the Palin fiasco?

The Dems are planning on censoring him beginning next session and perhaps stripping him of his committee responsibilities . They are very upset that he is campaigning for McCain.

I agree on his qualifications . Although I have differences with him on some issues I think he would make an excellent VP .