Word: transfers
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Until last weekend, quite a few Americans had probably never heard of polyps. But now that the small growths have made history by causing a temporary transfer of presidential powers, their name has become part of the popular lexicon. Polyps are small growths that generally appear on epithelial tissues, like those that line the intestines. Intestinal polyps are quite common, especially in people over 50, and if detected early they can be treated with minor surgery, usually by being cauterized or snipped off. When the polyps are allowed to grow, however, they not only are more difficult to remove...
...would effectively make George Bush the acting President of the U.S., Ronald Reagan turned to his wife Nancy and quipped from his hospital bed Saturday morning, "This doesn't mean you can become George's [First] Lady." Despite the levity, the President was aware that this temporary but official transfer of presidential power, the first known in U.S. history, was a complicated matter with serious implications for the future. During the several hours that he would be under anesthesia, and possibly for some time thereafter, the President would be unable to make a decision or discharge the powers and duties...
After careful consideration, Reagan became the first President ever to transfer power formally to his Vice President. The one-page letter he signed was originally drafted in longhand by White House Counsel Fred Fielding in consultation with Attorney General Edwin Meese and White House Chief of Staff Donald Regan. Based on the 25th Amendment to the Constitution, the letter was designed to provide an orderly conveyance of power while Reagan was under anesthesia and at the same time avoid causing undue public alarm by invoking the Constitution...
...25th Amendment, which provides a model for presidential succession, was ratified in 1967. But Section 3 of the amendment, providing for transfer of power in the case of presidential disability, has never been used, even following the 1981 shooting, when Reagan was incapacitated for some five hours. The amendment allows a transfer of power when the President is "unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office." It outlines two procedures for doing this. The first calls for the President to write to the president pro tern of the Senate and the Speaker of the House declaring his incapacity...
Methods for dealing publicly with presidential illnesses have changed substantially since then. Bulletins are issued, news conferences are held, and sometimes plans are made for a temporary transfer of power. In 1966, when Lyndon Johnson went to the Bethesda National Naval Hospital for repair of an abdominal hernia, he summoned reporters to his bedside three hours after he left surgery to let them know he was very much in control. Under an informal agreement with Johnson, Vice President Hubert Humphrey had been given permission to exercise the power of the Chief Executive if the President was unable...