BobH
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Who knows if Bill Clinton would have beat George W Bush. I know Bush ended his presidency unfavorably (though the title of "worst president ever" still belongs to Woodrow Wilson, hands down) but he was popular in 2000 with conservatives and independents. On the other hand, Clinton's Vice-President Al Gore had to distance himself from his own President during the 2000 campaign. But let's look at why the U.S. imposed term limits on the President in the first place.
It wasn't actually law until 1947. Before that it was just convention. George Washington set that convention by stepping down after two terms. In his farewell speech he indicated that he believed there should be a limit on how long a President holds office to prevent him becoming a dictator. So it was understood to be a convention of office. Jefferson, Madison and Monroe did the same as Washington. It wasn't until FDR that a President did break the two term convention. FDR was elected to a third term and then a fourth but died a year into his fourth term. It became evident, at least to the U.S. congress, that Washington's words were ringing true. FDR, though loved by the people (probably because he introduced the idea of entitlements into a country that previously had to work hard and earn money), was becoming authoritarian to some extent.
FDR tried to pack the supreme court with people who were on his side politically. To effectively control two branches of government. He broke international law and constitutional wartime conventions. He was accused of defying the constitution in other respects (10th amendment, general welfare clause etc.). You know, things that are considered common practice for a U.S. President these days. So the congress, which was controlled by a conservative coalition of the Republican right and Southern Democrats, began to accuse FDR of becoming an authoritarian, somewhat of a tyrant, and a dictator (or as much of a dictator one can be in a democratic country). So when he died in office, the congress pretty much immediately passed a constitutional amendment that would limit Presidents to two terms.
Bill Clinton was a reasonable guy, a moderate, who probably would have remained reasonable and moderate even after four more years as the most powerful man in the world. But someone else, like George W Bush or Barack Obama, might go down the road of FDR if they hold office too long. Imagine if Bush got elected to a third term. He was already defying the constitution, consolidating the powers of the three branches of government, even in his first term. Obama is going the same. I can't imagine what he'll be like if he's elected for a second term. God help us if he got elected for a third term after that. So term limits are good when it comes to the U.S. President. It was understood as far back as Washington that power corrupts and the longer a President remains in office, the more he's likely to turn from a mere public servant to a dictator.
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