American Presidency: Why is One-Term a Must (Version 4)?

Written by Frank Li

President Trump is being impeached, for having committed a “crime” all of his predecessors did: getting re-elected ad nauseam! What’s the difference this time? He was stupidly bold and got caught!

While all “crimes” like this must be punished, it’s time to fix the system: the American Presidency must be limited to one term!

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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 the American Presidency to two terms.

What was the trigger for that amendment? FDR managed to get himself elected to the American Presidency four times! Before FDR, no American President served for more than eight years, thanks to the excellent example set by George Washington!

It has become obvious that two terms are one term too many. Why? Because most Presidents have been too self-serving, causing untold damage to America throughout their first terms!

In other words, too many Presidents have caused too much damage to America throughout their first terms, thanks to a “fatal” flaw in our political system: getting re-elected ad nauseam!

2. The accountability of the American Presidency

Few American Presidents, so far, have been accountable to America (vs. to themselves) throughout their first terms! Two main reasons:

1. The President, by human nature, is self-serving first, which simply means that throughout the first term, his main goal is to get himself re-elected ad nauseam, even if it means destroying America in the long-run!
2. Unless America’s best interests happen to be aligned with the American President’s personal interests, no President can ever be expected to do what’s best for America (vs. for himself) 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

All American Presidents, after reaching the pinnacle of power, work for one purpose only: legacy, of which one key criterion has been to get re-elected, at any price for most, if not all!

In a previous post (Diagnosis for America (Version 4)), I highlighted three examples: JFK, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama, in terms of getting re-elected ad nauseam.

More bad news for America: These three Presidents represent the “rules”, not the exceptions – They have just been the worst, so far!

Any doubt? Let me highlight all of the post-WWII American Presidents, in terms of getting re-elected ad nauseam:

1. 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 in history (History 2.0). He chose not to run for re-election in 1952 for several reasons (e.g. China’s fall to communism in 1949 and the Korean War). Note that Truman’s inherited term from FDR was exempted from the 22nd Amendment as his Presidency started before the amendment.
2. Dwight D. Eisenhower: He is perhaps best known for his farewell speech (Eisenhower’s Farewell Address), in which he explicitly warned us against the MIC (Military-Industrial Complex). Unfortunately, as the only general elected to the Presidency in the 20th century, he significantly contributed to the growth of the MIC in the first place, especially throughout his first term. For example, he started the Vietnam War on November 1, 1955, one year before his re-election in 1956! By the time his conscience kicked in at the end of his Presidency, the MIC was already way out of control!
3. John F. Kennedy: By signing Executive Order 10988 on January 17, 1962, which allows public-sector unions, 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 decade, at least! For more, read: Correctly Assessing President John F. Kennedy.
4. Lyndon B. Johnson: He chose not to run for re-election in 1968, but the destruction he perpetrated on America with his Great Society is still hurting America and will eventually bankrupt the nation!
5. Richard Nixon: He did everything possible for his re-election 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 (Repealing the Twenty-Sixth Amendment!), as two wrongs do not make one right: the Vietnam War was wrong! Yes, sending our 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 Stupid Voters, pushing the country further to the left, perpetually! He resigned after the Watergate scandal, which, in hindsight, was not really necessary, as he won by landslide in 1972. But he did it anyway to maximize his chance!
6. Gerald Ford: He became the President after Nixon’s resignation, and lost his only Presidential bid in 1976.
7. Jimmy Carter: He failed to be re-elected in 1980, but the damage to America was done by then, such as the CRA (Community Reinvestment Act), which was the real underlying cause behind the housing bubble that burst in 2008!
8. Ronald Reagan: He was, overall, the best President after WWII! Unfortunately, the MIC grew amok under him and he received too much credit for ending the Cold War. For more, read: Correctly Assessing President Ronald Reagan.
9. George H. W. Bush: He tried his best for re-election, including breaking his promise of “read my lips – no new taxes”, but lost largely because of Ross Perot’s 3rd-party candidacy that diluted the Republican vote.
10. Bill Clinton: He amended the CRA (Community Reinvestment Act) to its current, lethal form, which was the real cause behind the housing bubble that burst in 2008! For more, read: The Myth of The Bill Clinton Presidency.
11. George W. Bush: He recklessly launched the Iraq War in March 2003, at least partially for the sake of his re-election in 2004! For more, read: Three Worst American Terrorists: JFK, GWB, and BHO!
12. Barack Obama: He played both the Iraq War and the war in Afghanistan for his re-election in 2012! For more, read: Three Worst American Terrorists: JFK, GWB, and BHO!

Now, enter President Trump …

4. President Trump

Unlike his predecessors, President Trump was explicitly warned about the fatal trap of our political system: getting re-elected ad nauseam (President Trump Must Be One-Term, Voluntarily!).

Unfortunately for America, instead of avoiding the trap, President Trump knowingly dove into it on his first day in the White House (Donald Trump Filed for Re-election 5 Hours After He Was Sworn In to Office)! Consequentially, he failed to dedicate one single day to governing, but has, instead, spent every day in the White House on campaigning for his re-election in 2020, so stupidly bold that it has resulted in the impeachment!

For more, read: Defending the Indefensible against President Trump.

5. Discussion

As you may have noticed already, the actions taken by the American Presidents for the sole purpose of getting re-elected have become more apparent and much more destructive to America over time, with even starting or perpetuating foreign wars among the tactics being used by Presidents George W. Bush and Obama!

In this sense alone, President Trump is actually better – He has yet to use war as a tool like his two immediate predecessors did.

Unfortunately, President Trump boldly and stupidly solicited help from foreign powers for his re-election and got caught …

Now, why is “getting re-elected ad nauseam” getting worse and becoming more apparent?

The rise of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) as formidable economic competitors to the West! Because of that, America is no longer the 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 and more apparent and ominous!

In short, it’s time to amend the 22nd Amendment with another amendment, limiting the American Presidency to one term, preferably six years!

For more, read the image (made in 2017) at the end of this post.

6. Closing

America, reform our failing political system as I have suggested (American Democracy – Why is it failing & how to fix it?), or become an also-ran, second to China!