A third term for Joe Biden?

The Takeaway
Updated on
U.S. Vice President Biden arrives to make announcement in the White House Rose Garden in Washington

In the chaos of the 2016 campaign, would a vice president for life, or at least for a third term, be a fixture of stability for the United States?

Decades ago the vice president was little more than a ceremonial position, cut out from discussions in the Oval Office, and a dead-end political appointment. As Vice President Joe Biden famously told Steven Colbert, "there is no inherent power in the vice presidency." 

People should make jokes about the office, said Biden, who has had nice cameos alongside Amy Poehler in "Parks and Recreation:" and Julia Louis Dreyfus in her "Veep" role.

Then things started to change. Vice presidents ran for the highest office in the land. Dick Cheney cultivated the position into a shadow presidency, wielding far more power than his predecessors. People started listening to what they had to say, including the president.

In his seven-plus years serving President Barack Obama, Biden has gained more than a few fans for his honesty and candor. He's told reporters he's having a good time, so some are asking, why not stick around? 

Following his decision not to run for president this election cycle, some Biden backers are calling for the vice president to consider another option — an unprecedented third term as VP. His foreign policy experience might be a strong plus if the Democrats pick someone like Bernie Sanders, who hasn't made that a priority.

And ... be still your heart ... there is no constitutional amendment that prevents a vice president from serving more than two terms.

Ronald Feinman is among those calling for another term for Biden. Feinman, author of "Assassinations, Threats and the American Presidency: From Andrew Jackson to Barack Obama," says Biden is a natural candidate for the job, again.

"He has loads of experience. He's in his 44th year in government now," says Feinman, a Florida Atlantic University historian who is leading a small "Draft Biden" movement.

And? 

"There's almost nobody better at campaigning than Joe Biden," Feinman says. "And his foreign policy ideas make a lot of sense."

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