Hail to the President!

"As of now, I am in control here in the White House." -- Alexander Haig, March 30, 1981

You really can't blame Al Haig for being confused. Truth be told, the order of Presidential succession is a convoluted topic at the best of times. Throw in Jodie Foster, Travis Bickel, and an actor playing the President, and it's easy to see why a hardened cold warrior like Haig might seek refuge in the comfortable certainty of a Presidential Succession Act of an earlier, simpler time.

Which I mention by way of introducing this story from today's Washington Post. Here are the key paragraphs:

In a little-noticed action taken nearly four years ago, the House amended its rules dealing with the "continuity of Congress" in emergencies and the succession of speakers. The rule, cited recently in Roll Call, directs the speaker to "deliver to the Clerk a list of Members in the order in which each shall act as Speaker pro tempore . . . in the case of a vacancy in the office of Speaker."

Normally, "speaker pro tempore" is the title given for a few hours at a time to various members of the majority who preside over House sessions. But the rules revision made in January 2003, in response to worries about terrorist strikes that could wipe out large numbers of elected officials, appears to bestow upon a newly named replacement all the powers enjoyed by a full-time speaker elected by his peers.

That would include standing behind only the vice president in the line of presidential succession, said Sally Collins, spokeswoman for House administrators. But other House officials said it is extremely unlikely that a speaker pro tempore could assume the presidency before Congress would reconvene and elect a new speaker.

One thing is certain: The identity of the speaker-in-waiting is a closely held secret. Hastert's office declined to discuss the matter, citing security concerns, and the clerk's office confirmed only that Hastert's list is not made public.

As the article makes clear, there are more than a few legal concerns with this scheme of succession. One that the article doesn't mention, but which occurs to me, is that the President pro tempore of the Senate seems to have a pretty strong claim on the office of the Presidency if the President, VP, and Speaker of the House are all incapacitated. But whatever.

The thing that really bothers me about this is the fact that a part of the line of succession is kept secret. For me, this is one of those bang your head against a wall obvious points: In a democracy, the public has a right to know the laws by which it is governed. Clearly, the line of Presidential succession is a pretty important law, and amorphous paranoid fantasies security concerns ought not to trump the public's right to know its content. And yet, that's exactly what seems to have happened.

Just for giggles, and because I can't figure out how else to wrap up this post, here are the traditional lyrics to Hail to the Chief:

Hail to the Chief we have chosen for the nation,
Hail to the Chief! We salute him, one and all.
Hail to the Chief, as we pledge cooperation
In proud fulfillment of a great, noble call.

Yours is the aim to make this grand country grander,
This you will do, that's our strong, firm belief.
Hail to the one we selected as commander,
Hail to the President! Hail to the Chief! |source|