Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Game Changing

In researching the Vice Presidency, one thing becomes increasingly evident - that research is, at points, impossible. Even as an office so separated from power that analyzing the social & political environment of the era in which a VP served is occasionally unnecessary, finding some piece of evidence of the office changing is one of those things you dream of.

This is exactly why the office has been the subject of so many comedic books. When they aren't comedic, there's usually some biting criticism of the office and it's uselessness. This is why our book is aimed at using the comedic bent as a tool to see if we can discover something new about the office that this perspective allows us. Rather than looking for something funny to write about, we're treating all history as inherently comedic, to see what then stands out.

Admitting our bias - embracing it, even - aside, our perspectives are pretty clear. In general, we want to see the office become more useful, by law. At any time, no matter how much a Cheney or Biden might change the day-to-day function of the office, that function might just as easily go extinct with whomever holds the office next. Solidifying it by law - even by adding one or two functions beyond the existing one - would add some legitimacy to the office, and hold the Veep accountable for something, so that we could be certain our second-in-command was ready to lead.

What do you think the VP should be required to do, by law? Right now, he breaks tie votes in the Senate. Cheney and Biden have both taken roles of power, in their own way - but we wonder if any of those powers are worth putting in stone. Let us know on Blogger and Facebook - we'll cover your suggestions in a later blog.

On a quick side note, thanks to those who continue to support Fly Me to Fritz, to allow us to complete our Walter Mondale interview in October.

Thanks once again, and good Vice-Presidenting, as always.

-Jason C. Klamm, B.A.

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Fly Me to Fritz

Dear Vice-Presidenters,

We here at Vice-Precedence have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity coming up on October 18th. As Matt previously reported, we will be interviewing former VP Walter "Fritz" Mondale - our first Vice Presidential interview. This is an amazing opportunity for the film, the book and the blog.

As many of you know, this is a project of passion, any expenses being out-of-pocket for the last 4 years. For instance, our sizzle reel for the documentary, which almost sold Vice-Precedence to The History Channel, was produced on less than a shoestring - perhaps the plastic caps at the end - for around $200, which was mostly for a wig and a gun. Needless to say, we do good work on very little money (if we do say so ourselves), but there are some things we can't do entirely on our own.

This is why we're asking you, the Vice-Precedence Fans loyal, to consider a donation to get me out to Minneapolis and to help us pay our minimal crew and to GET THIS DONE RIGHT. When we shot the sizzle reel, for instance, it was all shot on a 24p camera. Gorgeous though that was (and still is), we have to shoot on HD. Our sit-down with our oldest living VP would be wasted if we shot it on anything else.

If you can, please consider donating whatever you can to Fly Me to Fritz. The link is to a secure Paypal page that will prompt you to use whichever payment method you prefer.

As a way of thanking those who can donate, we're offering a number of incentives:
1. A thank you in the book and documentary.
2. A feature article about you and other donors on the blog.
3. We will take your questions for President Mondale and choose the best of the bunch.
4. A free copy of the book, on publication.

We want to thank all of our loyal readers and fans for all of your support, and hope you can see your way to donating just a little bit to helping the first documentary on the Vice Presidency get that much closer to completion.

Thanks again, and good Vice-Presidenting,

Jason C. Klamm, B.A.