# Heard a new one about Obama and the Constitution

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heard-a-new-one-about-obama-and-the-constitution/640855>\
**Category:** Politics & Elections\
**Created:** [November 13, 2012, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heard-a-new-one-about-obama-and-the-constitution/640855 "2012-11-13T03:05:53Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 11\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![drew870mitchell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drew870mitchell/32/3946_2.png) [@drew870mitchell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drew870mitchell)\
**Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heard-a-new-one-about-obama-and-the-constitution/640855/41 "2012-11-13T20:17:01Z")

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> [@RickJay](#):
>
> Wait… **so what’s wrong with this?**
> 
> Maybe he does want to change the Constitution to allow for a third term. In fact, I think it seems like a reasonable thing for him to want. He is still a relatively young man for a President - when elected he was the fourth youngest person to ever hold the office - and will be just 55 when his second term ends, which is younger than about half of the Presidents have been when they first took office. He’s energetic, ambitious, and seems to genuinely believe he can serve his nation well. So why would he not want to serve a third term?
> 
> If in fact he could get the 22nd Amendment repealed, well, good for him. There’s not a chance in hell it will happen, but if he earns that kind of political capital in the next few years he’ll have earned that third term.

I don’t know. The idea that the Democrats sweep 3/4 of state legislatures, and are all unified so tightly behind Obama, implies utter collapse in the Republican Party. Not just the hot air that pundits yapped about for the past week, either, but offices being evicted, huge crackdowns on fraud, some nationally disgraceful event.

What I’m trying to say is, that if the 22d Amendment is repealed by 2016, the odds are \<1% that we still have a legitimate democratic political process running the show.

Besides, for whatever it’s worth, Obama said before the election that this was his last campaign. I am curious to see where he will go after January 2017.

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**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\
**Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heard-a-new-one-about-obama-and-the-constitution/640855/42 "2012-11-13T20:18:54Z")

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> [@Smapti](#):
>
> What I always wonder is why these conspiracy theories always assume the president will wait until his _second_ term to abolish democracy and make himself Emperor of Americastan.

If he did it in his first term and then lost the next election, he’d look pretty silly.

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**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\
**Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heard-a-new-one-about-obama-and-the-constitution/640855/43 "2012-11-13T21:58:19Z")

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> [@Jack\_Batty](#):
>
> Isn’t it funny that a week and a half ago, one of the right wing talking points was, “Obama looks like he doesn’t even want a second term.”
> 
> And now, apparently, he wants the job for life.

I guess it would be funny if it was the exact same people. If not, then not really funny at all.

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**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\
**Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heard-a-new-one-about-obama-and-the-constitution/640855/44 "2012-11-13T22:59:48Z")

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> [@Typo\_Negative](#):
>
> How long does it take to get a constitutional amendment through to a vote? Suppose he started the ball rolling tomorrow, how long till the states can vote on it?
> 
> It has to pass 3/4’s of the states. 38 out of 50. What are the odds???

You forgot 20 states are seceding. He only needs 23 out of 30.

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**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\
**Post date:** [November 14, 2012, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heard-a-new-one-about-obama-and-the-constitution/640855/45 "2012-11-14T00:17:36Z")

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Just for fun I dug up the [Third Term of Office for G.W. Bush](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=237224) thread from January, 2004.

The more things change…

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**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\
**Post date:** [November 14, 2012, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heard-a-new-one-about-obama-and-the-constitution/640855/46 "2012-11-14T00:30:51Z")

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> [@drew870mitchell](#):
>
> What I’m trying to say is, that if the 22d Amendment is repealed by 2016, the odds are \<1% that we still have a legitimate democratic political process running the show.

The collapse of the Republican Party wouldn’t make the democratic process itself illegitimate. The USA was a constitutional democracy before the GOP existed and still would be if it existed no more.

Not that I expect that to happen anytime soon.

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**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\
**Post date:** [November 14, 2012, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heard-a-new-one-about-obama-and-the-constitution/640855/47 "2012-11-14T00:34:23Z")

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I swear I heard assertions like this about Clinton too …

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**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\
**Post date:** [November 14, 2012, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heard-a-new-one-about-obama-and-the-constitution/640855/48 "2012-11-14T00:48:58Z")

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> [@Askance](#):
>
> I swear I heard assertions like this about Clinton too …

[One of my favorite Onion articles.](http://www.theonion.com/articles/clinton-declares-self-president-for-life,191/)

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![drew870mitchell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drew870mitchell/32/3946_2.png) [@drew870mitchell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drew870mitchell)\
**Post date:** [November 14, 2012, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heard-a-new-one-about-obama-and-the-constitution/640855/49 "2012-11-14T00:58:55Z")

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> [@RickJay](#):
>
> The collapse of the Republican Party wouldn’t make the democratic process itself illegitimate. The USA was a constitutional democracy before the GOP existed and still would be if it existed no more.
> 
> Not that I expect that to happen anytime soon.

It’s mighty hard to keep a system honest without an opposition party.

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**Author:** ![Hedda\_Rosa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hedda_rosa/32/1204_2.png) [@Hedda\_Rosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hedda_Rosa)\
**Post date:** [November 14, 2012, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heard-a-new-one-about-obama-and-the-constitution/640855/50 "2012-11-14T01:09:13Z")

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To think that Obama could successfully delay or cancel the elections is absurd. If nothing else, we pride ourselves on our peaceful transition of power here, and it’s one of our self defining characteristics as Americans.

There was some very short-lived discussion of delaying the 2004 election in case of a terrorist attack - Rumsfield or whoever just slightly floated an “What if” scenario, and as I recall the country [freaked out](http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/07/11/election.day.delay/) at the merest suggestion of the idea.

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**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\
**Post date:** [November 14, 2012, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heard-a-new-one-about-obama-and-the-constitution/640855/51 "2012-11-14T01:32:20Z")

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> [@SpoilerVirgin](#):
>
> Just for fun I dug up the [Third Term of Office for G.W. Bush](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=237224) thread from January, 2004.
> 
> The more things change…

> [@Askance](#):
>
> I swear I heard assertions like this about Clinton too …

[AND Reagan](http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1356&dat=19870712&id=FsJPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=kwYEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5157,5432938).

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