Presidential Tenure Quotes

The amendment was pushed by the Republicans in reaction to FDR's four terms, but its practical effect was to limit presidents Eisenhower and Reagan, both Republicans, to 2 terms while they each could have won a third term. Roosevelt had won 4 terms and traumatized the Republicans prompting them to term limit the American Presidency.

The President tends to keep increasing the number of Americans who are opposed to his policies, or felt he did not live up to his promises, or has been sufficiently negatively trashed by his opposition that his negatives are driven up and positives, down. The only exception to this is President William Clinton, who ironically is the only President who was impeached since Andrew Johnson, a terrible President. However, the pettiness and partisanship of the impeachment attack on Clinton caused the Senate to acquit him where the Republicans who controlled the Senate could not even muster a majority, much less the two-thirds necessary, for conviction. Meanwhile, with all the distractions of impeachment, Clinton managed the strongest economy in American history, not only balanced the budget, but created a surplus for the first time in modern history. So Clinton left office, a hero and his popularity was sustained after his presidency as George W. Bush, following a new Republican ideology, squandered the surplus, created very few jobs, and then crashed the world economy triggering the Great Recession of 2008. He left the Presidency as one of the more unpopular Presidents in history. By contrast, Clinton’s accomplishments were even more appreciated as Bush was his foil.

Hamilton thought that the Executive Branch should be co-equal with the Judicial Branch and lifetime tenure should apply to both. This quotation is very important as we consider developing countries and emerging democracies. Some in the third world have Presidents for Life—a concept that most democracies scoff at. But the stability and the independence was important enough to some of the Founding Fathers was actually advocated and considered as we formed the American Democracy.

In the original constitution there was no limit to the number of 4 year terms the President could serve. By the 1840’s there was much concern that a President could even serve 2 terms and there was a movement to limit the presidency to one term of which Harrison was a leading proponent. His death and short time in office, ended that initiative. . There was an “unwritten” rule that presidents would only serve at most two terms until TR tried for a 3rd but failed only because of a rigged Republican convention. After FDR was elected to 4 consecutive terms, the Republicans pushed through the 22nd Amendment limiting the President to two terms. The irony was that the first president that was affected by the new standard was Republican Eisenhower who probably could have won a 3rd term. Then Ronald Reagan could probably have won a third term even though he was already suffering from Alzheimer’s disease in his second term. Democrat William Clinton could also have likely won a third term were it not for the 22nd Amendment.