Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Repeal the 22nd Amendment?

There are many convincing articles both for and against repealing the 22nd Amendment. Since I will be arguing for the amendment's repeal tomorrow, I appreciated this article by the New York Times. The article "No More Second Term Blues" blames the 22nd Amendment and its two term limit for the malodies many presidents seem to face during their second term. The article makes its claim by explaining the effects that being essentially "fired" in four years has on a second term president. Second term presidents lose power because everyone knows they won't be around for much longer and they lose sway over their part as other members of the party begin to carve out voter bases for the upcoming election. The possibility of being able to run for as many terms as possible means that presidents are always working hard and the people can help choose who is able to lead, not simply the Constitution. Therefore, repealing the twenty-second amendment would prevent "second term blues" and maintain that presidents never lose their sense of responsibility to the nation because their future presidential career is never ended without being caused by some action or decision of their own.

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