As anyone who has ever even casually eyeballed this blog knows well, I’m not a fan of George W. Bush or most members of his administration. Be that as it may, I think we ought to seriously consider repealing Amendment XXII to the Constitution that, at least in some measure, weakens his ability to perform his duties effectively.
For the very short moment in which California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s star burned brightly there was talk of amending the Constitution to permit a person born outside the United States to become president. My feelings about Ahhnold are immaterial, but I think that in a land of 250 million native born Americans there is little need for this change.
With regard to sitting presidents, however, I think the twenty-second amendment has caused significant damage to the presidency itself and that we should revisit the issue. Hoary details on the two term limit are unnecessary. Washington set the precedent and all of his successors until Franklin Roosevelt abided by it. Or did they? Actually, they did not, and the threat of a run for a third term by an incumbent or former chief executive was a useful tool in balancing the power between the Executive and Legislative Branches.
The threat of a run was always on the table, and Teddy Roosevelt made a run for his old job in 1912 thus assuring transfer of power from the Republicans to the Democrats. Thus, even in failing to win the job he wielded a big stick. The threat of a run for another term has not been available to any president since Harry Truman left office. While I’ve been a regular critic of the presidency for its constant grasping for more power, second terms since that of Truman have almost always been unhappy for most of the occupants of the Oval Office.
While Eisenhower and Reagan were foreclosed from additional terms, they were quite popular when leaving office and had health permitted and there was some fire left in them they might well have been candidates for retaining the job. In each of these presidencies, the second term was not as successful as the first fours years. Their rivals and even power points within their own parties did not fear the power of lame duck presidents and both parties challenged them without anywhere near the fear of the retaliation available to an incumbent second term president prior to the amendment’s adoption. Thus, with the twenty-second amendment the long second term status of lame duck came into being prior to Inauguration Day instead of when the potential candidate announced that he would not run again.
Thus while Bush twists in the breeze from his failures in Iraq, with Social Security, and for failing in his management of the budget and the economy, he is further weakened by his inability to threaten friend and foe (including other countries) with the possibility that he might run and win another term and thus still wield the clout of the greatest power center in the world.
Lamenting the usual executive power grab of first (and third and fourth) terms and deploring the weakness of presidents under the present two term limitation, should we not at least consider the change? Franklin Roosevelt is beyond another run, so the Republicans need not fear him any more than the Democrats have to worry about the Gipper returning to take a another curtain call. Looking over the rest of the field, it’s likely that Ike would have passed on a run and that Clinton had pretty much worn out his welcome with enough voters that he would have stepped aside. Assuming that Bush 43 will have had his butt kicked enough times between now and election day 2008, he looks like a candidate for the job of permanent brush clearer in Crawford, TX.
Since we now have more than half a century of experience in evaluating the Amendment XXII, would it not be prudent to evaluate whether the country would be better off with or without an amendment adopted in the haste caused by the passing of a political giant, FDR.
I say let’s give repeal a hearing. Don’t worry, Bush can’t get elected dog catcher in Crawford, so think about whether it would be good for the country without worrying about him.
Blog on!
Wild Bill
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