The Skinny
How Strom
Thurmond Could Become
Our Next President
Let's say the uncertainty and legal wrangling over the election in Florida drags on through January. If a new president or vice president is not selected by Inauguration Day, the Presidential Succession Act would kick in. First in line would be the speaker of the House of Representatives, Dennis Hastert. The veteran Congressman, however, might be reluctant to temporarily take the reins of power because he would have to resign from Congress to do so.
In that case, the mantle would fall to none other than Sen. Strom Thurmond, the president pro tempore of the Senate. Thurmond, who turns 98 in December, would gladly assume the position. He's had his eye on the presidency since 1948, when, at a sprightly 45, he ran against Harry Truman and received 39 electoral votes.
Stranger things have happened.
