Can the President just QUIT?

[dilbert firestorm]

Originally Posted by MariaElena

okay, maybe i had too much caffeine or the long drive was getting to me but i suddenly had this thought:

Can the President of the US just quit his job?

you know how us average Joes and Janes can say -- take this job and shove it? lol

i wonder if the Pres can do that? has ever done that?...

hmmmm....okay you history buffs...let's hear it...

a president can quit his job, the vice president will get sworn in and take over from there.

That resigning voluntary has never happened. Nixon was forced to resign, but he was the exception to the rule.

[Munchmasterman]

Originally Posted by MariaElena

okay, maybe i had too much caffeine or the long drive was getting to me but i suddenly had this thought:

Can the President of the US just quit his job?

you know how us average Joes and Janes can say -- take this job and shove it? lol

i wonder if the Pres can do that? has ever done that?...

hmmmm....okay you history buffs...let's hear it...

While not the President (or Vice-President thank God), Ex-Governor Palin resigned her office. Bush also resigned his Governorship but it was to become President. Palin did it for the money.

An excuse everyone who posts on this board should understand.
A "provider" is a "provider".

[Munchmasterman]

Originally Posted by dilbert firestorm

a president can quit his job, the vice president will get sworn in and take over from there.

That resigning voluntary has never happened. Nixon was forced to resign, but he was the exception to the rule.

Forced? Wrong.

You mean choosing between a possible prison sentence and resigning in disgrace?

It looks like Nixon was the first "Pro-Choice" republican President.

[TheDaliLama]

Originally Posted by MariaElena

Can the President of the US just quit his job?

He didn't quit. He just stopped working.

[dilbert firestorm]

Originally Posted by Munchmasterman

Forced? Wrong.

You mean choosing between a possible prison sentence and resigning in disgrace?

It looks like Nixon was the first "Pro-Choice" republican President.

He wasn't facing prison sentence.

What he was facing was impeachment and alot of pressure to resign from members of his party and he didn't want to resign.

[Munchmasterman]

Originally Posted by dilbert firestorm

He wasn't facing prison sentence.

What he was facing was impeachment and alot of pressure to resign from members of his party and he didn't want to resign.

He could have faced obstruction of justice charges (edit: after removed from office), which could have resulted in a prison term. Prosecution by federal court was possible.

[CuteOldGuy]

Nixon was definitely facing prison, many of his appointees served time. I remember the reporter asking John Mitchell what he was thinking as he was being escorted into prison. "It's nice to be back in Alabama."

The choice of Gerald Ford to be VP after Agnew was designed to protect President Nixon. He thought that Congress would never impeach him if an idiot like Ford would replace him. It didn't work, and Ford dutifully pardoned Nixon, so there was never a trial.

We celebrated with cake and ice cream while Nixon gave his speech.

[TexTushHog]

Originally Posted by MariaElena

you are correct -- he was given a choice....RESIGN

or you're impeached....

Nixon was impeached, as was President Clinton. You are impeached in the House and the trial on the articles of impeachment is held in the Senate. Nixon resigned rather than face trial on the article of impeachment and thereby risk conviction. A small distinction, but an important one.

And it's not clear that Nixon "had no choice." He could conceivably been acquitted in the Senate, although I tend to think that he would have been convicted.

And by resigning, he did nothing to lessen his chances of facing prison. That only occurred several months after his resignation when then President Ford pardoned him. At the time, the pardon was very, very unpopular and some would argue that it may well have cost Ford the subsequent 1976 election.

[JD Barleycorn]

Close but no cigar. Any politician can quit at any time for any reason. LBJ announced in March of 1968 that he would not run for another term though he was in the middle of doing just that.
Calvin Coolidge told the press that he would not run for another term though he looked to be a sure thing. The death of his son had a lot to do with his decision.
Other presidents like Andrew Johnson just let the clock run out without doing anything. What we call "Retired on active duty" or R O A D.
Richard Nixon was not impeached. He resigned which is just a fancy word for quitting. Would he have been impeached? The two special prosecutors Cox and Jaworski both said that they didn't have the evidence to get a conviction if the trial was legitimate and not a political Kubuki dance. Nixon was forced out by the GOP. Unlike the democrats, the GOP went down the street to the White House and said we can't support you. It's time to go. http://watergate.info/impeachment/im...articles.shtml This link goes to the articles that passed the committees but was never brought to a vote in the full house. Which is where the impeachment (indictment) takes place. If impeached then the trial occurs in the Senate.

By the way, Gerald Ford was not an idiot as someone said. He was a lawyer, a navy pilot, a member of the Warren Commission, a ranking member of the GOP in Congress, and before he became president a highly respected member of that body.

[Krunkman]

Originally Posted by TexTushHog

Nixon was impeached, as was President Clinton. You are impeached in the House and the trial on the articles of impeachment is held in the Senate. Nixon resigned rather than face trial on the article of impeachment and thereby risk conviction. A small distinction, but an important one.

And it's not clear that Nixon "had no choice." He could conceivably been acquitted in the Senate, although I tend to think that he would have been convicted.

And by resigning, he did nothing to lessen his chances of facing prison. That only occurred several months after his resignation when then President Ford pardoned him. At the time, the pardon was very, very unpopular and some would argue that it may well have cost Ford the subsequent 1976 election.

+1 on that TTH. Most of the analysts of the day agree with that analysis. As I recall, Ford did it because he felt if Nixon had been put on trial it would have caused much more damage politically, not to mention the simple fact that trying an ex-President for a crime in the courts would have put even more strain on people's faith in the government.

We have had a number of presidents impeached by the house, but none have been found Guilty of 'high crimes and misdemeanors' by the Senate. Clinton was the last President to have been impeached by the House and tried by the Senate, but they did not have enough votes to impeach him... and honestly I think it would have set a very bad precedent.

Though one thing that has always intrigued me is that by law the President my pardon any individual for any crime, and that's a get-outa-jail-card forever. To the best of my understanding, the law does not specifically prohibit the President from pardoning himself... So he could, as I understand the laws, commit a crime and pardon himself and thereby make himself immune from civil or criminal prosecution. But by doing so he would almost guarantee being impeached and removed from office... but no pokey time!

[Whirlaway]

A more curious question is "What Would Make You Think That The President Can Not Quit?

Do you think he would face jail time or some criminal prosecution for quitting?

[Fast Gunn]

Ford was a clown of a President and a liar of the first order.

While being considered to succeed Nixon, he was asked point-blank if he would pardon Nixon if he became President.

Do you know what that lying son-of-a-bitch said to the entire world on national television?

He said "I do not think the American people would stand for that".

I can imagine this question was anticipated and a roomful of lawyers came up with a clever response that would not derail his nomination and still allow him to pardon Nixon.
In other words, he did not say NO, but only left a clear impression that he would not pardon Nixon.

. . . If that Ford clown had not pardoned that Nixon crook, he would have surely served a prison term as did several of his top staff members.

Originally Posted by TexTushHog

Nixon was impeached, as was President Clinton. You are impeached in the House and the trial on the articles of impeachment is held in the Senate. Nixon resigned rather than face trial on the article of impeachment and thereby risk conviction. A small distinction, but an important one.

And it's not clear that Nixon "had no choice." He could conceivably been acquitted in the Senate, although I tend to think that he would have been convicted.

And by resigning, he did nothing to lessen his chances of facing prison. That only occurred several months after his resignation when then President Ford pardoned him. At the time, the pardon was very, very unpopular and some would argue that it may well have cost Ford the subsequent 1976 election.

[TheDaliLama]

Nixon was a liar and a crook.

Yet he did the right thing by resigning.

[Whirlaway]

Ford was correct; and your outrage proves it......but where is the lie in this quote? If that is your standard for lying then Bill Clinton certainly is a liar (I did not have sex with that women; and he lost his law license for lying to a grand jury), Obama is a liar (I will close Gitmo as one of the first things I do as President), Biden is a liar (don't pass this bill and rapes will go up), Geitner is a liar, etc,

Originally Posted by Fast Gunn

Ford was a clown of a President and a liar of the first order.

While being considered to succeed Nixon, he was asked point-blank if he would pardon Nixon if he became President.

Do you know what that lying son-of-a-bitch said to the entire world on national television?

He said "I do not think the American people would stand for that".

[LexusLover]

Originally Posted by JD Barleycorn

Richard Nixon was not impeached. He resigned which is just a fancy word for quitting. Would he have been impeached? The two special prosecutors Cox and Jaworski both said that they didn't have the evidence to get a conviction if the trial was legitimate and not a political Kubuki dance.


By the way, Gerald Ford was not an idiot as someone said.

That is my recollection, and consistent with the "Watergate Hearings."

Also, as for Ford, given his manner of getting into office, without a vote, it was better for the country #1 that he do very little in office and do only that necessary for the country to continue moving toward "healing" and #2 the pardon of Nixon was clearly within his authority and a good decision for the country to put the disgusting chapter behind us.

A trial would further damage the country, and serve no useful purpose.