Reasonable minds may disagree on this, but I will tell you my opinion after long and careful thought over the past 12 years or so:
1. The 25th Amendment does not prohibit a two-term president from ever again acting as president, only from ever again being elected president.
2. The 12th Amendment provides that no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of president is eligible to the office of the VP.
3. Given that a two-term president is not constitutionally ineligible to the office of the presidency, he is not constitutionally ineligible to the office of the VP.
4. Since a two-term president is not constitutionally ineligible to the office of the VP, and there is no constitutional provision prohibiting certain persons eligible to serve as VP from being elected VP, a two-term president may be elected VP.
D’oh! I just realized that I referred to the 22nd Amendment (presidential term limits) as the 25th Amendment (appointment of VPs and other succession matters). Please substitute 22md for 25th in my point #1.
Ah I see you may be right. My first thought was that line in 12th amendment would prohibit it.
We don’t know how a court would rule, if I were a judge I’d stick to the plain text of the constitution which does not appear to prohibit this.
I doubt we will ever cross this bridge. I don’t see Hillary wanting Bill as a running mate, with that kind of Imperial type stuff the negatives would outweigh any positives.
I do think she may launch a primary challenger though if Obama looks like a likely loser around the middle of 2011. I think she would wait to pick her running mate until she wins (if she wins). Although Reagan picked his running mate (a RINO Senator) early in his race against Ford. The move didn’t go over well at all, it may have ever hurt Reagan’s chances. 4 years later Teddy Kennedy did not name a running mate in his challenge to Carter.