One should always have a copy fo the Constituion handy, a careful reading reveals that:
Yes Clinton can run as a VP, be elected as a VP, and even serve as President again.
Article II specifies who is eligible for the Office of the President:
You must be a natural born citizen, be at least 35 yrs. old, and resided in the US for at least 14 yrs. Amendment XII adds one more requirement: the Presidential and Vice President may not reside in the same state. Clearly Clinton meets these requirements and is therefor eligible to serve as President. Amendment XII also adds a limitation for the VP, no one constitutionally ineligible for the office of President may serve as Vice President, this means the VP must meet the same criteria above as the President, which Clinton would so he can serve as a VP
Amendment XXII puts limitations on who can be elected to the Presidency, but does not change who is eligible to be President. The only limitation for election is that no Person can be elected to the Presidency more than twice. Thus Clinton can not be elected to the Presidency again. But this amendment places no limitation on the times once can serve as President.
In addition to running as Kerry's VP and eventually serving again as President, if Kerry left office, Clinton could also be appointed to the VP if that office became vacant and then ascend to the Presidency (like Ford), or Clinton could run for Congress, become Speaker, and then become President if both the President and VP left office.
That's kind of a loophole, no? Someone popular could just run as VP time after time, and have the number one person resign directly after inauguration day. Someone who's really popular could almost certainly pull this off.
And expect a backlash at the next election.
In the early 1970's Minnesota had a fantastically popular governor named Wendell Anderson. He won reelection overwhelmingly in 1974 and graced the cover of Time in fishing gear as a person to watch on the national stage. In 1976 Sen. Mondale became VP and completely by the book Anderson resigned the governorship and his successor, Lt. Gov. Perpich, appointed him to the open Senate seat.
Minnesotans were so taken aback by this that in 1978, Anderson could not even win the Democratic primary to hold the Senate seat. In a stunning turnaround, reliably Democratic Minnesota elected a Republican Governor (Quie) and two Republican Senators (Durenburger and Boschwitz). The second Seamte opening was due to the 1977 death of Hubert Humphrey and appointment of his wife Muriel to the open seat.
A politician must consider more than the merely lawful, but also what the public perceives is the proper path to a particular office.
