I realize any actual change would require a change to the Constitution. But for the sake of discussion, and regardless of what you think about the current President, do you think there should be a change to the duration and number of terms a President should be able to serve?
While I do think 4 years is a little on the short side, I don’t think a President should be wasting any of his or her time running for reelection. I think a decent rule would be that the POTUS should serve a single 6-year term and no more.
What say you?
I agree with your idea and it should also apply to the members of the Senate and the House of Representatives. I used to believe there should be
"NO" term limits and that American people should have the freedom to keep a good representative in office as long as they wanted.
Unfortunately, I had to go back to the drawing board when I analyzed the facts on the ground.
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2010 - In the House of Representatives,
87% of the incumbents who stood for election were re-elected. This is slightly below the historical trend over the last several decades, and lower than the re-election rate in 1994, 2006, and 2008:
In the Senate,
84% of the incumbents who stood for re-election were successful. Again, this is fairly consistent with the historical rate over the past forty years or so:
Incumbent Re-Election Rates In The 2010 Mid-Terms
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Voters say they want to "Throw the Bums out," but not their representatives because of all the era-marked pork barrel bribes. Seeing human nature on display proves
voters aren't capable of replacing bad representatives.
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G.O.P. Questions Obama’s Travel Accounting
April 25, 2012
By PETER BAKER
As President Obama returned to Washington on Wednesday after a two-day tour of crucial battleground states, the Republican National Committee requested an investigation into whether he was
using taxpayer money for what amounted to campaign events.
Republicans Say Obama's Trips Were Political, Not Official - NYTimes.com
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Politicians spend too much time
raising money for re-elections to office. They can say they are doing a good job for their constituents but look how much time is wasted on raising money and campaigning for re-elections.
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Obama has held more re-election fundraisers than previous five Presidents combined as he visits key swing states on 'permanent campaign'
By Toby Harnden
Barack Obama has already held more re-election fundraising events than every elected president since Richard Nixon combined, according to figures to be published in a new book.
Obama is also the only president in the past 35 years to visit every electoral battleground state in his first year of office.
Obama has held more fundraisers than previous five Presidents combined as he visits key swing states on 'permanent campaign' | Mail Online
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There is no doubt about it – politicians need money. The average Congressional campaign cost just over
$1 million in 2002. The average Senate campaign cost over
$3 million.
IEEE-USA: Building Careers & Shaping Public Policy
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In 2008, Barack Obama spent
$730 million in his election campaign, and John McCain spent
$333 million.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campaign_finance_in_the_United_States
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Obama Campaign Aims to Collect $1 Billion While GOP Relies on Super PACs
by Laura Colarusso Feb 5, 2012
Obama Campaign Aims to Collect $1 Billion While GOP Relies on Super PACs - The Daily Beast
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Do you know how much money
$1 billion is? During a 4-year presidential term, Obama needs to raise
$684,931.50 every single day.
Can a man or woman who we elect to "REPRESENT" us and perform in a specific "important" job raise
$684,931.50 seven days-a-week, for
1460 straight days - while doing a good job for us?
I'm with you
Sarcogito, it's time for term limits. Keeping a good representative in office isn't worth the absolute nightmare that re-elections cost in dollars and in distraction from the job we elect the representative to do.