Drawn from the ranks of high-profile singers, actors, and sports figures, the guest presidents would each serve as leader of the Free World for a one-week term. They would be empowered to veto legislation, pardon felons and name Supreme Court Justices.
Sources familiar with the proposal say that a guest president would not be permitted to declare war, but would be allowed to order bombing strikes on Sadaam Hussein.
Additionally, a guest president would not be expected to do anything about Social Security, crime or homelessness–“just like a real President,” one source says.
While Congressional insiders deny the existence of a short list of celebrities who might be tapped to serve as guest president, the Washington rumor mill placed actor Andy Richter, former sidekick on NBC’s “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” at the top of the list, followed by country singer Faith Hill and Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson.
Moments after news of the guest-president proposal was leaked, the two candidates currently embroiled in the Florida recount offered their reactions.
Vice President Al Gore, speaking in front of a backdrop of American flags, a steaming apple pie, and a live bald eagle, told reporters that “This excellent proposal will help facilitate the most thorough, accurate recount possible, which could take up to ten or fifteen years to complete if you include bathroom breaks.”
Texas Gov. George W. Bush had no official comment, but a spokesman for the Governor said that Mr. Bush was “resting at the Governor’s mansion in Austin, waiting for his skin to clear up.”
