"Once there were two brothers. One went to sea and the other became Vice President. Neither was heard from again." Vice President Marshall's humorous remark about the Vice-Presidency reflects the neglect the office has been given. Yet, as "a heartbeat away" from the Presidency, the office is the key to smooth transitions. With the growth of the "modern Presidency" the Vice President's role has also grown.
This work is a generic work on the office. It follows a thematic, rather than a biographical approach and includes such topics as considerations in selecting a vice-presidential running mate; the evolving role of the office; the Vice President's role as administration spokesperson; the VP's relationship to presidential staff; the importance of both presidential and vice-presidential personality in defining the role of a particular Vice-President; the question of whether the Vice Presidency is a stepping stone or stumbling block to election to the Presidency.
The work also compares the three instances of succession (Truman; Johnson; Ford) during the time frame under study, pointing out that a Vice President has a one in five chance of moving into the Presidency via succession. Included, too, is a succinct discussion of the Twenty-Fifth Amendment, a delineation of both the Vice President's role during presidential disability as well as the process for filling vacancies in the Vice Presidency.