Was John McCormick the vice-president after LBJ became president?

Everett Fuqua

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May 8, 2012, 8:09:28 PM5/8/12

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For some dumb reason, it just occurred to me that after LBJ ascended to
the presidency, the v.p. position was left vacant. I did a google search,
to find out who became v.p. The information I found indicated that Speak
of the House John McCormick (Dem., Mass) became the "technical vice
president," but not in name.

Anthony Marsh

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May 9, 2012, 8:20:19 AM5/9/12

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Why in the world would we need a Vice-President? That would be like a
Constitutional democracy. The Vice-President of the United States also
presides as President of the Senate and may vote to break a tie.
The Speaker did not become the Vice President. He was just next in the
line of succession.

Hank Sienzant (AKA Joe Zircon)

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May 13, 2012, 7:05:02 PM5/13/12

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He was next in line to be president. But he was still Speaker of the
House, not the vice-president. There was no vice-president in office
until the inauguration of 1964, when Hubert Humphrey took the position
of VP.

Hank

bigdog

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May 13, 2012, 9:55:27 PM5/13/12

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On May 8, 8:09 pm, Everett Fuqua <everett.fu...@gmail.com> wrote:

Until the passage of the 25th Amendment in 1967, there was no provision
for filling a vacancy in the Vice Presidency. The Speaker of the House was
next in line of succession but did not become the Veep. The 25th Amendment
specified that the new President would nominate a successor to become the
new Veep and that choice would have to be ratified by a majority in both
houses of Congress. The assassination of JFK and subsequent vacancy in the
Veep spot was largely responsible for that amendment being ratified.
Gerald Ford was the first Vice President to assume that office under that
provision when he replace Spiro Agnew who resigned in late 1973 after
pleading no contest to income tax evasion. Ford in turn named Nelson
Rockefeller to replace him after he assumed the Presidency following
Nixon's resignation in August 1974. This game of musical chairs resulted
in three different men being the Veep in less than a year.

Another interesting provision of that amendment is that it allows the
President to temporarily turn over the office of President to the Veep if
he becomes incapicitated. If that incapacitation is so severe that the
President is unable to make such a declaration for himself, the Veep and a
majority of cabinet officers can declare to the President pro tempore of
the Senate and the Speaker of the House that the President has been
incapacitated and that the Veep will take over the office until the
President is able to resume his duties. Are you listening, Joe Biden?

Anthony Marsh

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May 14, 2012, 1:24:42 AM5/14/12

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Yes, but even before that amendment Eisenhower turned over his powers to
Nixon for a short time when he had his heart trouble. Nixon was the Acting
President.

Ike's health would continue to be a subject of concern during his second
term, and after Eisenhower suffered a stroke in 1957 he decided that it
was time to set out procedures for how Nixon should proceed if the
president were to become incapacitated. He drafted a letter stating that,
if he were unable to perform his duties, Nixon would serve as "acting
president" until he recovered. Eisenhower would determine when he was
sufficiently able to take control once more. The agreement was strictly
between Eisenhower and Nixon and therefore amounted only to a shaky
precedent (although Kennedy and Johnson copied it later). Not until
passage of the Twenty-fifth Amendment in 1967 was the issue of
presidential incapacity officially dealt with.