I haven't often thought of the 22nd amendment to the US Constitution, adopted in 1951. The 22nd amendment states that no president be elected more than twice, effectively limiting presidents to two terms of office. Barack Obama said recently, "“I actually think I’m a pretty good president. I think if I ran, I could win. But I can’t. So there’s a lot that I’d like to do to keep America moving, but the law is the law.”
We have more than one able candidate for the presidency in 2016. All of those whose policies I admire (no surprise) are Democrats. The Republicans, in large measure, remind me of a bevy of clowns emerging from a VW Beetle at the circus. But I've found myself wondering about that comment of President Obama, especially when he said there's a lot he'd like to do to keep America moving. Following the example of Jimmy Carter, he'll be able to work to that end as a remarkably young ex-president. I think I reimagine the 22nd amendment not because there is a ghost of a chance to change it, nor that I think it should be changed, but because I believe there is impressive evidence that Obama is really coming into his own in the second half of his second term.
Rather than argue the case, I can refer the reader to an earlier post on Reckonings, "Barack Obama's Long Game," a fine essay by Todd S. Purdum that appeared first in Politico magazine. But to make the case in his own words, I can think of nothing better than Obama's letter to the editor of The New York Times on the subject of voting rights, published today and reprinted below.
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BARACK OBAMA'S LETTER TO THE EDITOR
August 12, 2015
I was inspired to read about unsung American heroes like Rosanell Eaton in Jim Rutenberg’s ‘‘A Dream Undone: Inside the 50-year campaign to roll back the Voting Rights Act.’’
‘‘We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union. ...’’ It’s a cruel irony that the words that set our democracy in motion were used as part of the so-called literacy test designed to deny Rosanell and so many other African-Americans the right to vote. Yet more than 70 years ago, as she defiantly delivered the Preamble to our Constitution, Rosanell also reaffirmed its fundamental truth. What makes our country great is not that we are perfect, but that with time, courage and effort, we can become more perfect. What makes America special is our capacity to change.
Nearly three decades after Rosanell testified to her unbroken faith in this country, that faith was vindicated. The Voting Rights Act put an end to literacy tests and other forms of discrimination, helping to close the gap between our promise that all of us are created equal and our long history of denying some of us the right to vote. The impact was immediate, and profound — the percentage of African-Americans registered to vote skyrocketed in the years after the Voting Rights Act was passed.
But as Rutenberg chronicles, from the moment the ink was dry on the Voting Rights Act, there has been a concentrated effort to undermine this historic law and turn back the clock on its progress. His article puts the recent push to restrict Americans’ voting rights in its proper context. These efforts are not a sign that we have moved past the shameful history that led to the Voting Rights Act. Too often, they are rooted in that history. They remind us that progress does not come easy, but that it must be vigorously defended and built upon for ourselves and future generations.
I am where I am today only because men and women like Rosanell Eaton refused to accept anything less than a full measure of equality. Their efforts made our country a better place. It is now up to us to continue those efforts. Congress must restore the Voting Rights Act. Our state leaders and legislatures must make it easier — not harder — for more Americans to have their voices heard. Above all, we must exercise our right as citizens to vote, for the truth is that too often we disenfranchise ourselves.
Rosanell is now 94 years old. She has not given up. She’s still marching. She’s still fighting to make real the promise of America. She still believes that We the People have the awesome power to make our union more perfect. And if we join her, we, too, can reaffirm the fundamental truth of the words Rosanell recited.
President Barack Obama, Washington