*gasp* SCANDAL! John Kerry was transported to the US by a C-17

[exboyfil]

40. That was the first thing that came to mind

but in all seriousness, I understand why the Speaker and Pro Temp were put in line of succession because the Cabinet is not elected, but I think it is a horrible idea. The Sec State would be the logical choice after the VP. That individual should be the most knowledgeable about the current status of the executive branch. The presidency is an executive function - the Speaker and especially the Pro Temp are ill equipped to step into the role during a national emergency. In a sense the SoS and the other Cabinet officials have been elected - they need to go through a confirmation process with the Senate so they have just as much legitimacy as the Speaker and far more than the Pro Temp. Getting to the Pro Temp level could also be a disaster. How many of those folks were bordering on or past senile. At the very least it should be the Majority Leader of the Senate.

It will probably take a Constitutional crisis to change the law though.

Another problem is the shuffling aside of the VP. It is inexcusable that Roosevelt kept Truman out of the information loop prior to his death for example.