American Political System: Difference between revisions

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Actually, ''all'' elections are held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in the month of the election. This has historical reasons: the founding fathers didn't want the election to fall on the first of the month, and (depending on who you ask) they either (a) didn't want elections on Monday because most people would be too hungover from weekend binge drinking to be able to vote properly; or (b) because you had to go to the county seat to vote (which could take a day or two in rural areas), and you couldn't have it be a Monday (because that would entail leaving on Sunday) or Wednesday (which was a market day in many parts of the country and people would be too busy to vote).

Historically, the president is a White Protestant, though not always. [[John F. Kennedy]] was Catholic, which was a big deal, and current president [[Barack Obama]] has an African father, which is an even ''bigger'' deal. Historically, the President has also always been male, though fiction has delighted in depicting female presidents and the possibility is considered more-or-less inevitable by now. Both these generalizations apply equally well to the vice president (twice a woman has been a major party's nomination for veep, the Democrats first picking Geraldine Ferraro in 1984, and the Republicans picking Sarah Palin in 2008; Joe Biden is the first Catholic VP; and [[Herbert Hoover]]'s VP Charles Curtis was 3/8ths Native American).

Historically, the president is a White Protestant, though not always. [[John F. Kennedy]] was Catholic, which was a big deal, and current president [[Barack Obama]] has an African father, which is an even ''bigger'' deal. Historically, the President has also always been male, though fiction has delighted in depicting female presidents and the possibility is considered more-or-less inevitable by now... even more so, given that as of this writing the Democratic front-runner for the nomination is Hillary Clinton. Both these generalizations apply equally well to the vice president (twice a woman has been a major party's nomination for veep, the Democrats first picking Geraldine Ferraro in 1984, and the Republicans picking Sarah Palin in 2008; Joe Biden is the first Catholic VP; and [[Herbert Hoover]]'s VP Charles Curtis was 3/8ths Native American).

Article 2, clause 5 of the Constitution doesn't really go into race or gender, probably because in 1787 it was assumed that candidates would always be white men, but it does have some qualifications: