1. Term limit for the American Presidency
There was no term limit for the American Presidency until 1947, when Congress passed the Twenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution, limiting it to two terms.
What was the trigger for this amendment?
FDR managed to get himself elected to the American Presidency four times! Before FDR, no American President served for more than two terms, thanks to the excellent example set by George Washington!
Now, it has become obvious that two terms are one term too many.
Why?
Because most Presidents have been too self-serving throughout their first terms.
More specifically, too many Presidents have caused too much damage to America throughout their first terms, thanks to “getting re-elected ad nauseam”!
2. The accountability of the American Presidency
Few American Presidents have been accountable for America (vs. for themselves) throughout their first terms. Two main reasons:
- The President, by human nature, is self-serving, meaning simply that throughout the first term, his (or her) main goal is to get re-elected, even if it means destroying America in the long-run.
- Unless America’s best interests are aligned with the American President’s personal interests, no President can ever be expected to do what is the best for America (vs. himself/herself) throughout the first term.
One obvious way to align these two interests is to eliminate the second term from the American Presidency.
Any doubt?
Just look at the damage “getting re-elected ad nauseam” has done to America by the American Presidents.
3. Getting re-elected ad nauseam by American Presidents
Let me highlight all the post-WWII American Presidents, in terms of getting re-elected ad nauseam.
- Harry S. Truman: After succeeding FDR in 1945, he did everything possible to win his first Presidential bid in 1948, including the introduction of the Truman Doctrine in 1947, which should have been, and will surely be, more questioned by historians in the future. He chose not to run for re-election in 1952 for several obvious reasons (e.g., China’s fall to communism in 1949 and the Korean War).
- Dwight D. Eisenhower: He is perhaps best known for his farewell speech (Eisenhower’s Farewell Address), in which he explicitly warned America against the MIC. Unfortunately, as the only general elected to be the President in the 20th century, he significantly contributed to the growth of the MIC in the first place for many reasons, of which his 1956 re-election bid was one.
- John F. Kennedy: By signing Executive Order 10988 on January 17, 1962, allowing public-sector workers to unionize against the people of the USA, JFK maximized his chance of re-election in 1964, at the expense of America’s future: a spectacular failure down the road, city by city and state by state, as we have been experiencing over the past two decades, at least. JFK was not re-elected, as he was assassinated in 1963.
- Lyndon B. Johnson: LBJ inherited his first term after JFK’s assassination. He rushed several important bills through Congress (e.g., Civil Rights Act of 1964) before his re-election bid in 1964. He then did everything possible (e.g., escalating the Vietnam War and creating the Great Society) for his 1968 re-election bid before giving it all up, as they backfired, especially the war in Vietnam.
- Richard Nixon: He did everything possible for his re-election bid in 1972, including signing, timely in 1971, the Twenty-sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution, lowering the voting age from 21 to 18. This amendment must be repealed, as two wrongs do not make one right: the Vietnam War was wrong (and hence sending the 18-year-old kids to Vietnam was wrong), but so was lowering the voting age from 21 to 18 because it significantly enhanced the pool of immature voters, pushing the country further to the left, perpetually.
- Gerald Ford: He became the President after Nixon’s resignation and lost his only Presidential bid in 1976 without even trying very hard. So, he did not damage America like all the other first-term Presidents did.
- Jimmy Carter: He failed to be re-elected in 1980. One key reason: he was too honest!
- Ronald Reagan: He did everything possible for his re-election bid in 1984, from being very tough on the USSR (thus good for the MIC) to hugely growing the government, in terms of both the size and the debt/deficit.
- George H. W. Bush: He tried his best for re-election but lost largely because of Ross Perot’s 3rd-party candidacy that diluted the Republican vote.
- Bill Clinton: He expanded NATO and bombed Yugoslavia, with profound implications for decades to come (NATO is the new Nazi!).
- George W. Bush: He recklessly launched the Iraq War in March 2003, at least partially for the sake of his re-election bid in 2004.
- Barack Obama: He played with both the Iraq War and the war in Afghanistan for his re-election bid in 2012.
- Donald Trump (45): Read Donald Trump Filed for Re-election 5 Hours After He Was Sworn In to Office. So, he never dedicated even one single day to governing. Instead, he campaigned for re-election throughout his entire Presidency without success.
- Joe Biden: He did everything possible for his re-election bid in 2024, even though he was 82 by then and had been incapable of functioning in full capacity for quite a while.
- Donald Trump (47): Without any re-election ahead, hopefully he would be dedicated to governing, including political reforms.
4. Discussion
As you may have noticed already, the steps taken by the American Presidents for the sole purpose of getting re-elected have, over time, become more apparent and much more destructive to America. For example, since the beginning of the 21st century, some have even started or perpetuated foreign wars as a strategy to get re-elected!
Why is that?
When the economy was good, there was more room for maneuvering, both domestically and internationally.
But when the economy became bad, the only thing left at the President’s disposal was foreign policy, including starting or perpetuating foreign wars as a re-election strategy explicitly used by both Presidents Bush II and Obama throughout their first terms.
Why and how did the economy become bad?
Thanks to China’s comeback, chiefly!
China became a formidable economic competitor to the West at the turn of the 21st century, having become even more so since then.
Because of that, America is no longer the virtual economic monopoly in the world, as it was throughout the second half of the 20th century. As a result, the flaws of our political system have become more apparent and ominous.
5. More discussion
What is the difference between campaigning and governing?
Read the image below!
6. Is the American Presidency a threat to the world?
Yes!
Read the image below and think.
Two notes:
- Donald Trump is the first antiwar American President since Jimmy Carter.
- Bush II is the world’s #1 war criminal this century (Desmond Tutu calls for Blair and Bush to be tried over Iraq).
7. Closing
It is time to limit the American Presidency to one term (four or six years)!
Why six years?
Read History 2.0 – China’s Comeback vs. America’s Decline.
