Elected Cabinet Members

[Adlai Stevenson]

What-if like in many states, cabinet members were elected nationally?  It would be odd and interesting to speculate who we would have as opposed to who is actually in office.  I think the elections would take place in the mid-terms so they would obviously be happening this year.  The most important officers are obviously:

SECRETARY OF STATE
SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY
SECRETARY OF DEFENSE
ATTORNEY GENERAL

Cabinet members are limited to two terms in office.

[TommyC1776]

What-if like in many states, cabinet members were elected nationally?  It would be odd and interesting to speculate who we would have as opposed to who is actually in office.  I think the elections would take place in the mid-terms so they would obviously be happening this year.  The most important officers are obviously:

SECRETARY OF STATE
SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY
SECRETARY OF DEFENSE
ATTORNEY GENERAL

Cabinet members are limited to two terms in office.

It would be interesting.  And idk that Cabinet member's can only serve two terms.

[Adlai Stevenson]

Actually I did - right at the bottom.  I think it'd be difficult to see who would run for it, members of Congress mainly I assume. 

[ottermax]

Doesn't this mess up checks and balances?

[12th Doctor]

Doesn't this mess up checks and balances?

Just a bit.  Not to mention that none of these offices is acctually Constitutional... well, the 25th Amendment makes them so de facto which is odd seeing as no where else in the Constitution are they specifically refered to.

[jimrtex]

What-if like in many states, cabinet members were elected nationally?  It would be odd and interesting to speculate who we would have as opposed to who is actually in office.  I think the elections would take place in the mid-terms so they would obviously be happening this year.  The most important officers are obviously:

SECRETARY OF STATE
SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY
SECRETARY OF DEFENSE
ATTORNEY GENERAL

Cabinet members are limited to two terms in office.

How about the judges?  Supreme Court Justices for 6 year terms, elected by thirds.

[Lincoln Republican]

Eleted cabinet members?

Complete and utter chaos.  There would be so many candidates who would be "joke" candidates, one issue candidates, candidates trying to make a "statement," or candidates otherwise completely unqualified for these positions.

No President could tolerate or work with this type of system.  A President has to be free to nominate those he/she can work with.

The President's nominees for cabinet have hearings in Congress, and they can be rejected by Congress if they see fit.  This is the system of checks and balances.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Winfield, you're assuming that a unitary executive is necessary.  Now I'll grant that dividing the authority of the Emperor President this was would give more power to the Congress, but that would be more in line with what the Founding Fathers had intended.  For example, George Washington's original conception of the veto power was that he should use it only if Congress passed what he considered to be an unconstitutional law.  (That is one of the great weaknesses of the Constitution, it never did explicitly provide for how the Constitutionality of laws was to be determined, so you get various ideas floated before it finally became generally accepted that was to be the task of the judiciary.