Much of the political chatter in the air of late has focused on presumptive Democratic nominee John Kerry tapping Bill Clinton as his vice presidential running mate in November.

The discussion has largely centered on whether Clinton can legally hold the position in light of the 22nd Amendment's two-term limit for election to the presidency. This question focuses on how the Constitution and its amendments define the term “eligible.”

Some law professors argue that the two-term limit makes a former maxed-out president ineligible to be elected vice president, since he would not be eligible to be elected president. According to the 12th amendment, the ability to be elected to the presidency is one of the requirements to run for the vice presidency.

Other commentators, like law professor Stephen Gillers, say that the language of the 22nd Amendment refers only to the office of the presidency, and therefore Clinton should be able to run and serve.

What has been completely ignored is the fact that a similar situation almost happened twenty-four years ago. And just as in the former case, it's not likely to happen now.

The last time this occurred the two-term limit rule was not a concern. The stage was the 1980 Republican convention, and Ronald Reagan came very close to selecting former president Gerald Ford as his running mate. Reagan had run as the conservative firebrand against Ford in 1976, and nearly succeeded in taking the nomination. Ford lost the election of 1976 and decided not to run for the presidency in 1980. After some earlier primary troubles against George H.W. Bush, Reagan became the Republican standard bearer against President Jimmy Carter.

In addition to a candidate who could balance Reagan's strident conservative message, Reagan wanted a running mate who could immediately be accepted by the public. Ford was a natural choice. As both the former president and as a longtime popular member of the House, Ford had a reputation as a steady, moderately conservative Midwesterner, with a name recognition that could not be beat. It looked like Reagan was going to make Ford his choice. And then, it all fell apart.

According to Jules Witcover's book, Crapshoot: Rolling the Dice on the Vice President, Ford did not discount the possibility. In an interview at the start of the Republican convention, Ford said he would not be a "figurehead vice president," and did not immediately dispute Walter Cronkite's use of the phrase "co-presidency." Reagan realized that his ability to govern would be compromised by serving with a co-president. Reagan, who was concerned about the potential for a draft Ford movement developing in the convention, put Ford on the spot for a decision. Ford declined, and a relieved Reagan chose Bush.

For Kerry, the problem of choosing a former commander in chief would be magnified. As a master of the electoral process, whose spouse is a senator with presidential aspirations, Clinton would naturally overshadow Kerry. Other elected officials, the media and the public would be looking to Clinton for leadership whenever questions arose about Kerry's leadership style. From an electoral standpoint, a choice of Clinton would highlight potential policy discrepancies between the Clinton presidency and the Kerry campaign. In addition, Kerry, who is already being attacked for a perceived willingness to be on both sides of issues, would now have that issue tied around his neck with a running mate who was once nicknamed "Slick Willie."

From a public perception, there would also be questions over what compromises Kerry must have made in order to get Clinton to join the ticket.
With commentators dying to wave the Hillary flag, any discussion of the former president could unleash calls of a corrupt bargain, specifically whether Kerry has agreed to provide support for a later Hillary Clinton nomination.

In general, choosing a vice presidential running mate does not decide an election, but rather serves to balance shortcomings of the presidential candidate. However, a choice of a former president such as Bill Clinton may boomerang and highlight questions about the John Kerry's candidacy. From a practical point of view, Kerry would probably recognize the same problems that Ronald Reagan saw: There can be only one president.