Twenty Second Amendment

Section 1. No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of the President more than once. But this article shall not apply to any person holding the office of President when this article was proposed by the Congress, and shall not prevent any person who may be holding the office of President, or acting as President, during the term within which this article becomes operative from holding the office of President or acting as President during the remainder of such term.
Section 2. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within seven years from the date of its submission to the States by the Congress.

To bad Reagan couldn't have just held office until he died. There should be exceptions...

Clinton: Library Meant To Teach Lesson On Action

By John Lyon
Arkansas News Bureau • jlyon@arkansasnews.com

Friday, November 20, 2009 10:00 AM CST

LITTLE ROCK — Former President Bill Clinton said Wednesday he intended for his presidential library to teach the lesson that taking action can change the world — a lesson he said is important as the nation debates issues like health-care reform and global warming.

“I wanted people to come to this library and leave and ... I wanted them to believe that decisions have consequences in real people’s lives, and therefore that we should all care about the political system,” Clinton said at a luncheon celebrating the fifth anniversary of the library’s opening.

Other Stories Of Interest

In a 35-minute speech on the library’s lawn, Clinton said he sometimes worries that people may not understand the imperative to change, or believe that change is possible.

“One thing I know for sure, it’s not poverty that breaks people. It’s the conviction that you can’t make tomorrow different from yesterday that breaks them,” he told an audience of about 1,000 people that included Hollywood actress Mary Steenburgen.

Health care and energy are two areas where change is necessary, Clinton said.

“We’ve got to get our heads out of the sand,” he said. “The average difference of what we spend (on health care) and our wealthiest competitors is a little over 6 percent of our income. You add 6.5 percent of $14.7 trillion, I think it’s about $900 billion a year.”

Clinton asked the audience to imagine what would happen if he were to ask the American people to overturn the 22nd Amendment and elect him president for a third term, with the promise that if elected he would put a $900 billion tax on the people and then burn the money.

“How many votes do you think I’d get?” he asked. “If you don’t want anything done about health care, that’s your position.”

Clinton also said the nation can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and create jobs through energy efficiency. Only 5 percent of scientists dispute that global warming is a reality, he said.

“I’m not going to put my daughter and the grandchildren I hope to have, their future, in the hands of the 5 percent when the 95 percent are advocating something that we can do and create jobs and bring America’s economy back,” he said.

The Clinton Library was the first federally maintained building to receive a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, rating for environmentally sustainable construction.

Clinton called the presidential library “light and airy and happy” and said he is pleased that 1.6 million people have visited it, but it is time to think of ways to improve it.

“I want to know what you think we can do to be a better neighbor, to be a better partner, to be a better educator, to do this job better. I want you to send your suggestions to us at the library, and I promise you they will all be taken very seriously,” he said.

Clinton also announced that the long-awaited renovation of the Rock Island railroad bridge near the library as a pedestrian and bicycle bridge will begin in 2010, though he did not offer a date. Some funds still need to be raised, he said.

Clinton Foundation spokesman Jordan Johnson said later about $7.5 million has been secured for the $10.5 million renovation project. Of that amount, $4 million will come from the Clinton Foundation, $2.5 million from the state and $1 million from the city of Little Rock.

The weather was cloudy but dry in Little Rock on Wednesday, in sharp contrast to the heavy rains that fell during the library’s dedication ceremony five years ago. Taking no chances this time, organizers arranged for the anniversary luncheon to take place inside a covered pavilion.

Because of its rectangular shape, the library has been compared to a trailer home, but at the 2004 dedication ceremony, “I wished it looked like Noah’s ark,” Clinton joked Wednesday.

Looks like President Obama might need to do a little research. He also better hope things turn around or its going to be a quick four years!