Four More Years, if We Could?

Interesting question posed over at Red State-if we were allowed to take away the two-term limit on presidents, would you support President Bush in the 2008 primaries for a third term? I would be inclined to, given the major GOP alternatives aren't as good as he is on the issues, that Bush has experience in the job and is young enough to serve a third term well.

Bush wasn't my first choice in 2000; I liked Forbes and Keyes better than Dubya, and would have voted for Keyes in the Michigan primary were it not winner-take-all per congressional district. Given that the two choices that had a chance of getting delegates were Bush and McCain, Bush was the better choice.

The same would be true in an 22nd-Amendment-free alternative-universe 2008. I like Huckabee and Brownback better than Bush, but neither of them can break double digits in polls. If the choice is between Allen, Romney, McCain and Giuliani and Bush, Bush is the clear choice. Only Allen could be seen to be to Bush's right in areas where that is an improvement, and he doesn't seem to have as clear of a vision than Bush does.

Since the passage of the 22nd Amendment, we really haven't seen a president who realistically could have run for a third term. Eisenhower was a bit too old for a third term, as was Reagan, and Clinton was coming off of his Monica problems and would have been easier to beat than Gore.

However, if Iraq improves in the next year and a half and the economy digests the high oil prices, Bush will look fairly good come primary time in 2008. Don't be too surprised if candidates start running on Bush's legacy rather than running away from him.

Of course, that could be just whistling past the graveyard and that there would be a market for a conservative anti-Bush. We'll see.

Comments

[MarcV]

I wouldn't want to wish a 3rd term on Pres. Bush. As with other presidents, you can see the aging effect the office has had on him. We all see the hate and bile constantly flung at him. While he may be the most "electable", he's served his country. We'll let history determine how well.

It's also a good idea limiting the presidential terms to keep the country "nimble". Fresh faces in the executive branch will hopefully bring fresh ideas. I just hope they don't end up as Hillary-liberal ones.

And speaking of Clinton, he's just slick enough where he could have found a way to win a 3rd term back in 2000, particularly as the economy was still robust. Gore (as well as Kerry) just did not have the charisma to appeal to the masses.