Take Me To Post Comment Form Bill Clinton, back in the White House.

Far-fetched, you say?

Impossible, I hear?

Did someone say never in a million years?

Hold your horses - it's "possible" ... if you take a literal interpretation of the 22nd Amendment.

As with anything legal, very little is truly absolute. A law without a loophole is like having a child who never dirties his or her pampers.

Can Bill Clinton run for President? As any good lawyer would say, it depends.

On the one hand, we have the 12th Amendment. It says:

"[N]o person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States."

On the other hand, we have the 22nd Amendment, which states:

"No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice ...."

Clinton was elected twice, meaning he is ineligible to run for President under the 22nd Amendment.

Does that also make him ineligible under the 12th Amendment?

One argument says the answer is yes. If he cannot run for president, then he cannot run for Vice-President. The requirements for both offices are theoretically the same.

Yet another argument says the answer is no, playing on the word "elected."

A literal interpretation says that Clinton is ineligible to be a candidate for the Presidency, though that does not mean he cannot SERVE as President.

This would be the loophole around the 12th and 22nd Amendments.

The 22nd Amendment only prohibits being ELECTED twice to the White House. It does not limit being elected to the Vice-Presidency.

So, if Bill Clinton is elected Vice-President, and Hillary Clinton (presumably) is elected President yet somehow incapacitated (i.e. dead or otherwise unable to function), then Billy could elevate to No. 1. After all, he wasn't "elected" to the Presidency, which is all the 22nd Amendment appears to prohibit.

The real question, beyond literal translation, is whether "eligible" means "elected."

Or, in constitutional terms, does "constitutionally barred from being elected U.S. President" mean the same as "constitutionally barred from being eligible for the Presidency."

Again, there is no definitive answer, other than he absolutely cannot be elected to a third term without repealing the 22nd Amendment.

Yet, one thing I do know for sure:
While Bill Clinton is not eligible to run for election to the Presidency, Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush (aka the first George), are still eligible to run for President.