How the Vice Presidency Has Evolved
How the Vice Presidency Has Evolved
How the Vice Presidency Has Evolved
How the Vice Presidency Has Evolved
CONVENTION, IS ABOUT TO GET UNDERWAY. THE FOUR DAY EVENT IN MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, CULMINATES WITH A SPEECH FROM FORMER PRESIDENT TRUMP OFFICIALLY ACCEPTING THE REPUBLICAN NOMINATION FOR PRESIDENT. LET’S TAKE A MOMENT, THOUGH, TO TALK ABOUT THE OTHER HALF OF THE TICKET. THE VICE PRESIDENCY. IT’S A ROLE THAT OFTEN DOESN’T MAKE HEADLINES, BUT IN RECENT HISTORY, IT’S GROWN AND BEGUN TO PLAY AN INCREASINGLY IMPORTANT ROLE IN THE OVAL OFFICE AND IN GOVERNING AMERICA. JOEL GOLDSTEIN STUDIES THE VICE PRESIDENCY, AND HIS MOST RECENT BOOK IS THE WHITE HOUSE VICE PRESIDENCY THE PATH TO SIGNIFICANCE. MONDALE TO BIDEN, THANK YOU FOR JOINING ME. WHAT HAS BEEN THE ROLE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT HISTORICALLY? FOR MOST OF OUR HISTORY, MOST OF WHAT VICE PRESIDENTS DID WAS PRESIDE OVER THE SENATE, WHICH WASN’T A VERY FULFILLING JOB AFTER THE NEW DEAL. AND WORLD WAR TWO. IS THE PRESIDENCY BECAME MORE IMPORTANT. THE VICE PRESIDENT SORT OF WAS PULLED INTO THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH DURING A NUCLEAR AGE, AND THE COLD WAR. THE PRESIDENT HAD MORE RESPONSIBILITIES, AND IT BECAME MORE IMPORTANT WHO THE VICE PRESIDENT WAS REALLY FOR PURPOSES OF PRESIDENTIAL SUCCESSION. THERE WAS A TIME, CERTAINLY IN MY CHILDHOOD, WHERE IT SEEMED LIKE BEING VICE PRESIDENT WAS KIND OF A JOB. YOU WERE STUCK IN AND ALSO, I HATE TO SAY THIS, BUT KIND OF A LITTLE IRRELEVANT. AM I RIGHT ABOUT THAT? I THINK ABSOLUTELY, IT WAS A JOKE. I MEAN, PEOPLE MADE JOKES ABOUT THE VICE PRESIDENT. EVEN VICE PRESIDENTS DID. BUT I THINK OVER THE PERIOD OF TIME SINCE THE CARTER PRESIDENCY, THE VICE PRESIDENCY REALLY HAS BECOME SIGNIFICANT. THERE IS THIS PARADOX THAT DURING THE PERIOD OF TIME THAT THERE HASN’T BEEN A UNPLANNED PRESIDENTIAL SUCCESSION, THE VICE PRESIDENCY HAS GROWN, BUT IT’S AN OPERATING POSITION. SOMEBODY WHO IS A CLOSE ADVISOR TO THE PRESIDENT, SOMEBODY WHO HAS WHO HAS FREQUENT ACCESS TO THE PRESIDENT, SOMEBODY WHO TAKES ON IMPORTANT ROLES DOMESTICALLY AND INTERNATIONALLY, UM, HELPING THE PRESIDENT DO HIS OR HER JOB AS YOU RESEARCH THE ROLE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT, WHAT DO YOU FIND THAT THE THE PICK TELLS YOU THE CHOICE IS ALWAYS MADE WITH AN EYE TOWARDS THE NOVEMBER ELECTION. SO POLITICS IS ALWAYS A FACTOR. PRESIDENTS ARE TRYING TO COMMUNICATE INFORMATION ABOUT THEMSELVES IN CHOOSING THEIR RUNNING MATES. THEY’RE TRYING TO SHOW THAT THEY MAY MAKE DECISIONS WELL AND THEY’RE TRYING TO SEND MESSAGES ABOUT WHAT THEY VALUE, BOTH POLICY WISE AND IN TERMS OF THE PEOPLE WHO THEY ASSOCIATE WITH IS THERE EVIDENCE THAT SHOWS THAT PEOPLE, VOTERS REALLY CARE ABOUT THE VICE PRESIDENCY ROLE? MOST PEOPLE, I THINK, HAVE REACHED THE CONCLUSION THAT VICE PRESIDENTIAL PICKS ONLY AFFECT THE ELECTION, SORT OF AT THE MARGIN, THAT MOST PEOPLE ARE GOING TO VOTE BASED ON THEIR PREFERENCES FOR THE PERSON AT THE TOP OF THE TICKET. BUT MANY OF OUR RECENT ELECTIONS HAVE BEEN DECIDED AT THE MARGINS. AND OF COURSE, IT’S NOT THE MARGIN OF THE POPULAR VOTE, IT’S THE MARGIN IN THE HALF A DOZEN OR TEN COMPETITIVE STATES. THE OTHER WAY PLACE WHERE VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE IS HOW THEY PERFORM THEIR CAMPAIGN ROLES. ARE THEY ABLE TO SEND MESSAGES ABOUT THE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE THAT HE OR SHE REALLY CARES ABOUT? DIFFERENT GROUPS OR DIFFERENT ISSUES? SO THAT’S WHERE A VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE. AND, YOU KNOW, IF THEY MAKE A DIFFERENCE OF A FEW THOUSAND VOTES IN A STATE THAT’S DECIDED BY THAT MARGIN, THEY MAY HAVE AN ELECTORAL IMPACT. EVEN THOUGH MOST PEOPLE VOTE BASED ON THE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. JOEL GOLDSTEIN IS THE AUTHOR OF THE WHITE HOUSE VICE PRESIDENCY THE PATH TO SIGNIFICANCE. MONDAL
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How the Vice Presidency Has Evolved
How the Vice Presidency Has Evolved
The vice president is the second-highest officer in the executive branch. It's typically a role that doesn’t make headlines, but it’s getting attention now as the Republican ticket for the White House shores up and President Biden confronts calls to not seek reelection. Joel Goldstein is an expert on the vice presidency and says it's a job that's evolved and grown in importance in recent years. He joins Soledad O’Brien to explain how the VP pick could influence voters in November.
The vice president is the second-highest officer in the executive branch. It's typically a role that doesn’t make headlines, but it’s getting attention now as the Republican ticket for the White House shores up and President Biden confronts calls to not seek reelection. Joel Goldstein is an expert on the vice presidency and says it's a job that's evolved and grown in importance in recent years. He joins Soledad O’Brien to explain how the VP pick could influence voters in November.
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