Quite by accident I began watching ’24’ about a month ago.  I found the last 30 minutes of the episode I happened upon addictive, and I have seen every episode since, except one.  The more I watch ’24’ the more I find myself laughing out loud at the obvious hokiness of it all.

 For instance, two weeks ago a former President (on a tether!) meets with his crazy ex-wife in order to get her to place a call to the wife of the president of Russia in an effort to get the Russian president to crack down on the Russian embassy in LA where Jack Bauer is being held.  Long story short – the crazy former First Lady plays with a paring knife which ends up in the chest of her ex-husband – in a room full of Secret Service agents!  LOL! 

Tonight’s episode was more of the same. Jack Bauer’s president is Wayne Palmer.  Five hours ago President Palmer was severely injured by a terrorist planted bomb that exploded in a cassette recorder at a podium where he was standing.  The Vice-President is notified that he will assume the powers of the presidency as acting president.

In tonight’s episode, five hours after being nearly mortally wounded by the terrorist bomb, the president resumes his duties over the objections of the vice-president.  The VP initiates a power play to keep the powers of the presidency for himself by invoking Section 4 of the 25th Amendment to the Constitution, which reads:

Section 4. Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.

Thereafter, when the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that no inability exists, he shall resume the powers and duties of his office unless the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive department or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit within four days to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office. Thereupon Congress shall decide the issue, assembling within forty-eight hours for that purpose if not in session. If the Congress, within twenty-one days after receipt of the latter written declaration, or, if Congress is not in session, within twenty-one days after Congress is required to assemble, determines by two-thirds vote of both Houses that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall continue to discharge the same as Acting President; otherwise, the President shall resume the powers and duties of his office.

As you can see, the process for declaring a president unfit for office is not as simple as taking a vote among the cabinet members, which is precisely what was portrayed on tonight’s episode of ’24’.  The VP gathered the cabinet, and the president’s chief of staff polled the cabinet by raise of hands, which ended in a tie.  The tie was contested by the VP, as one of the cabinet members – the National Security Advisor – had resigned prior to the assassination attempt on the president, but had recinded her resignation after the attempt and before it had been acted on by the president.  The VP challenged her standing as a cabinet member, ruled her vote invalid, and declared that a majority of the cabinet had declared the president unfit for office – by a vote of 7 – 6.

 But the process isn’t that simple.  It literally takes an act of congress to declare the president incapacitated, not merely a vote of the VP and a majority of the cabinet.  The VP and a majority of the cabinet must “transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office” at which time the VP can assume the presidency.

HOWEVER!!  The president may then also communicate to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House his written declaration that no inability exists, and immediately upon doing so he regains the office from the VP.  Then it gets interesting!  If the VP and the president’s cabinet still insist the president is incapacitated, within four days they must communicate that to the congress, at which time the congress has 21 days to decide.

’24’ put the decision solely in the hands of the vice-president, the cabinet, and the Supreme Court, which suggests the writers of tonight’s episode didn’t even bother to READ the 25th Amendment. The Supreme Court is no where to be found in the 25th Amendment.