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Term limits must become an issue for citizens who want us to clean up our government and regain sanity in how this country is run.

Term limits are not good for the conservative cause. The new candidates typically get into a competition over who will give away more of the store if elected. Old politicians grow more conservative with time, even the leftists. As in business, the speed of government going bankrupt is partially a function of the speed of leadership turnover. We need to get the turnover rate down. In fact we would have been better off with a conservative King George Washington than a two term founding President.

I could not disagree with you more regarding the downside of term limits. Think Strom Thurmond, Robert Byrd, and Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas. And then there is the current batch of long term elected reps and senators. McCain and Castle, 70 something, still hanging on and neither a reliable Rep vote. Term limits are needed for as long as it takes to clean our bureaucratic house and are the only solution to the corruption of earmarks, favorable legislation in exchange for votes, etc. etc. The power of incumbency is well known and exists for a reason. It acts to keep an incumbent in and a replacement out. The key to good government is of course to elect good people who will represent the citizens who have voted for them. Eight years limit for President has worked since Roosevelt overstayed his welcome and can be good for every other govt office. No more life time appointments for any other govt paid office either. The idea that these lifetime assignments would stop corruption from various sources, money, threats, politics, partiality to particular interests etc. has not worked. Stop the entitlement mentality that develops when office holders consider themselves out of reach for the consequence of their misuse of office. George Washington set the example for leadership. Responded to the request of his country and stepped down when he felt his particular part was done. Became a good citizen and let other leadership contribute. We would not now be a Republic if a King George Washington had set a precedent for royalty to be the destiny of this new country.