| The Presidency of Pakistan and General Pervez Musharraf are separated by a single heartbeat. Should he die unexpectedly in office, or be run over by a public vehicle, or be assassinated while watching a military parade, or be toppled in a palace coup by a disgruntled subordinate, the presidency in Islamabad would fall suddenly and dangerously vacant. |
| In the United States, the American Presidency protects itself against such vulnerability. Every elected President is made aware daily (obstructive pretzels notwithstanding) that his physical well-being and continuity in office is of paramount significance, as much in the interest of the nation as to prevent his Vice President from replacing him. The reason for this caution is that the Vice President is elected only indirectly as a running mate and invariably nominated to accommodate some special interest. If the Vice President happens also to be political inept (as Nixon’s Spiro Agnew and Bush Senior’s Dan Quayle were), the system tightens its resolve. It is said that in the case of Vice President Dan Quayle, he was accompanied everywhere by two CIA bodyguards, with instructions to shoot him if anything happened to the President.[EXTRACT] |
Published in DAWN 18 Jan. 2002, and reprinted in WHEN BUSH COMES TO SHOVE & OTHER WRITINGS (2006) |
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