A Precedent for the President

Amendment XXV

     A little interesting piece of trivia: on this day, July 13 back in 1985, George H.W. Bush became the Acting President of the United States for one day when President Ronald Regan had to undergo colonoscopy.  Regan thought about invoking Section 3 of Amendment XXV which deals with the Vice President becoming President in the event of the President's resignation, injury, or death.  While Regan wished to transfer power to Bush, he did not want to set a precedent binding his successor.  As a result, Regan drafted and processed a letter that authorized the transfer of power but left out any reference to Section 3 of Amendment XXV. 
     This actually makes a lot of sense as the President Elect is usually a middle-aged man in his late 30s to 50's, which around the age when a man is encouraged to have a colonoscopy to remove any polyps or masses.
     Another cool point is that Section 4 of Amendment XXV states that should the Vice President and the majority members of the Cabinet deem the President incapacitated, they could then transfer the Presidential powers to the Vice President on a temporary condition.  This is the only section never to have been invoked.  Its nice to know that Congress has contingencies.