The 2008 Presidential Election - 18th Century Style

Imagine if John McCain won the presidential election and by default, Barack Obama was slated to be his vice president for the next four years. Likewise, picture a newly elected Obama, with all his liberal views, with the conservative McCain as his right-hand man.

Both of which seem like impossible scenarios, correct?

Before the establishment of the 12th Amendment of the Constitution, however, this was a reality. In the early days of the nation it was declared that the runner-up for president would become the vice-president in a seemingly more democratic fashion.

Conflicting candidates were opponents one day and partners the next in what was a giant mesh of opposing ideologies and views. Let us not forget that George Washington and John Adams, the first President and Vice-President, respectively, ran against each other in the inaugural election of 1789.

The Amendment in 1804 changed all that, forcing the VP selection to be part of the overall presidential package on the ballot.

This ended the era of unusual duos, a system of closer democracy, and any hope of a McCain-Obama white house in 2009.

But what if that old system was still intact today? In a hypothetical setting, what would happen if the 2008 Presidential ballot featured McCain, Obama, Sarah Palin, and Joe Biden?

Here are a few possible outcomes:

1. Obama wins the presidency and second-place McCain comes grabs the vice position. A charismatic leader gives the nation a sense of change while the gutsy sidekick headlines all foreign policy matters. Hmmm…both seem to offset the other candidate's weakness. This seems too good to be true. According to recent polling data on USAToday.com, this is the most likely scenario since Obama holds a slim lead.

2. McCain picks up the pace in the final week to nab the top spot while Obama settles for VP. People have been questioning McCain’s age, but perhaps four years at the helm will be enough to get things rolling, giving Obama just enough experience to take over when the Maverick turns age 76.

3. In a stunning turn of events, Palin roars to the top of the polls on Election Day to become the first female President of the United States while Obama comes in second to become the first African-American VP. If change is what the American people want, this will surely be enough.

4. McCain wins the top position but Biden gets enough votes to become second in command. Maybe America is not quite ready for change after all…a couple of old white guys are once again running the country.

Schieffer Debate Notes

McCain's debate notes

Lost remote

I thought this was a pretty interesting and helpful article concerning the upcoming election. It talks about a new google mashup for voter information.

The process is rather simple and helpful. Just enter your home address into the box and, with the help of google maps, all your relevant voting information is outlined. This includes everything from how many days left you have left to register by mail to future polling locations. Personally, since this will be my first time voting in a presidential election, I found this information easy to use and extremely helpful. I also liked the connection with google maps which is always a great tool.