Obama And Hillary Are Doing ‘60 Minutes,’ But Don’t Get Too Excited

Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are sitting down together for their first-ever joint interview this weekend, and it’s sure to be a hot ticket -- just not the kind of ticket some folks may be hoping for.

The U.S. president and the outgoing secretary of state will appear on “60 Minutes” Sunday night, the CBS News magazine said in a press release. Steve Kroft, who has sat down numerous times with Obama, will conduct the interview, which will be the president’s first joint sit-down with a person other than the first lady.

The interview will come just days after Clinton’s emotional exchange with U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., during a hearing on the Sept. 11 attacks in Benghazi, Libya. Clinton lost her patience with Johnson after he repeatedly suggested that she could have gotten to the bottom of the attack on the U.S. consulate that left four Americans dead.

“Was it because of a protest or was it because of guys out for a walk one night who decided they’d go kill some Americans?” Clinton responded in a huff. “What difference, at this point, does it make?”

In addition to centering on the Benghazi controversy, Sunday’s interview -- being taped Friday -- will likely be dominated by talk of Clinton’s political future. Clinton is leaving the office of secretary of state next week as the Senate confirms Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., as her successor. Speculation about whether she will make a presidential bid in 2016 is growing, even as gossip surfaced this week that Vice President Joe Biden had subconsciously hinted about his own presidential ambitions when he inadvertently referred to himself as “president” during an inaugural celebration.

For some hardcore Democrats, seeing Obama and Clinton together in the same interview may evoke wishful reveries of a Clinton-Obama presidential ticket in 2016 -- Clinton for president with Obama as her running mate. It’s not the craziest idea in the world: The two politicos were fierce rivals during the 2008 Democratic primaries, but they’ve since formed a mutually beneficial political bond, and each has an inexorably loyal fan base.

However, the idea of a former two-term president serving as vice president would likely never pass one serious legal hurdle, namely the 12th Amendment, which outlines electoral procedures for the executive offices. Ratified in 1804, the amendment states that “no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of president shall be eligible to that of vice president of the United States.” Obama, as a two-term president, would ineligible for the presidency, and therefore can’t be vice president, according to the amendment’s generally accepted interpretation.

But all hope is not lost. Some scholars have contended the matter is not completely settled, as the provision has never been legally tested, as reported by FactCheck.org, In other words, we may never know whether a former president can serve as vice president until one tries to do so. So keep dreaming, Dems.

The Obama-Clinton “60 Minutes” interview will air on CBS Sunday at 7 p.m. EST.