   acting president of the united states is a reference to a person who legitimately exercises presidential powers even though that person does not hold the office of the president of the united states in their own right. ==origin of the position: constitution (1787)== article ii, section 1 of the constitution, appears to establish the position of acting president:  article i, section 3 of the constitution, providing for the election of officers of the senate, appears to assume that the vice president succeeds to the office of the president rather than merely discharging the duties thereof:  ===questions raised=== the above texts raised many questions regarding the status of a vice president upon the death or resignation of the elected president, and whether he would be an "acting president," which raised the following questions: * did the phrase "the same shall devolve upon the vice president" refer to the office of president or simply its powers and responsibilities? if it meant the office, then a disabled president had no legal method of returning to power. * what specific conditions would install the vice president (or another officer) as acting president? what was the procedure necessary to declare the incapacity of the president? would congressional action be necessary to declare a president disabled, or could he declare himself incapacitated? ===presidential succession precedent=== since a strict adherence to either of the two sections of 
United_States_presidential_succession Vice_Presidency_of_the_United_States