Monday, September 08, 2008

An irresponsible bit of constitutional speculation

If John McCain is elected president, and dies while he is in office will we have a constitutional crises? I'm no scholar of the constitution, but I have read the thing and I note that Aritcle 2 employs a masculine pronoun when it refers to the president:

  • "He shall hold."
  • "...receive for his Services..."
  • "he shall take the following Oath."
This unambiguous language would appear to disqualify women from the presidency.

[Note: I'm not seriously suggesting that the constitution, as written, excludes women from the highest office of the land. Rather, I'm mocking strict constructionism, the philosophy of judicial interpretation that insists we be subject to the errors, omissions and prejudices of the founding generation.]

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