- Joined
- Jul 20, 2005
- Messages
- 20,688
- Reaction score
- 7,320
- Location
- Washington, DC
- Gender
- Male
- Political Leaning
- Liberal
Does the 22nd Amendment limiting Presidential terms actually hinder the President (in their second term) and make them less effective?
I understand the reasoning behind it, historically, but I don't care for it. One, it limits my choice should we ever actually have a good President.
Two, I think the "lame duck" label is accurate. Even if they're popular, everybody in Congress knows the President will be gone soon, even people in the same party. Why would a Congressperson push a President's agenda when they know a President will soon be gone, and they need to push their own agenda so they can tell their constituents how important and effective they are? Essentially, the Congressperson is always running for re-election. Now, if Congress had the same limits, at least the playing field would be somewhat leveled, but I still wouldn't care for the idea.
And third, I really think the historical fears were overblown. It's rarely been a serious issue. A small handful have tried, but only one actually succeeded.
Only FDR has ever even attempted to run for more than two terms, to the best of my knowledge...and the Constitution was amended shortly after his death to ensure that no one else could do so. I think that Reagan or Clinton could have been elected for a third term if they had been able to run, and I don't see this as a good thing. One only need to look around the world to see that presidents seeking to hold their office for life are usually dictatorships. Even FDR had some authoritarian tendencies...trying to pack the Supreme Court, the Japanese internment, suspending habeas corpus, etc. If he had lived long enough to see the end of World War II, I don't know if he would have continued down this road, but I'm glad we did not find out. 8 years should be plenty of time for any president to leave their mark.
And I would support "leveling the playing field" with the other branches: I favor giving all senators and representatives a single 6-year term, and all Supreme Court justices a single 19-year term.