If Vice President Joe Biden runs for the Democratic nomination of president, he may announce that he would serve only one term, according to Carl Bernstein of the Washington Post.

Ed Kilgore half jokingly refers to the idea as "A Government of National Salvation."  He also says it wouldn't work and he's probably right. Besides, a real national salvation government would be evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats - a pipe dream in the current poisoned atmosphere in Washington.

But Biden, who would turn 78 in 2020, apparently thinks he needs some kind of gimmick to jump start his campaign which, despite Hillary Clinton's troubles, is woefully behind the frontrunner in money and organization.

Politico:

If Vice President Joe Biden makes the leap into the Democratic presidential race, he could promise that he would serve just one term in the White House, journalist and author Carl Bernstein said Friday.

“And one thing that I keep hearing about Biden is that if he were to declare and say, because age is such a problem for him if he does, I want to be a one-term president. I want to serve for four years, unite Washington. I’ve dealt with the Republicans in Congress all my public life,” Bernstein told CNN’s “New Day.”

“I think there’s a conversation going on to that effect among his aides and friends,” he said. “It could light fire to the current political environment.”

Bernstein suggested that the vice president stands to benefit the most from the current political environment as Hillary Clinton struggles to stem the tide of the ongoing scandal over her use of a private email server while at the State Department and poll numbers about her honesty and trustworthiness decline.

“He’s looking at it right now. His people believe he may do it. Some say yes, some say no. But the distrust factor with Hillary Clinton, the whole Trump excitement and bubble that will probably burst gives a great opportunity to Biden to capture the imagination of the press, of this race..."

Heh...because everyone knows how important it is to "capture the imagination of the press..."

In theory, the idea of a president not having to run for re-election is attractive. We wouldn't have all this "legacy building" that has led to so many missteps by Obama in his second term (Iran, Cuba, immigration, etc.). Supposedly, a one term president would do what's best for all Americans and not just those in his party or in service to an agenda not burdened with the need to run another race. 

But Congress would have to run for re-election and would have their own agenda. With the president as a lame duck from the moment he takes the oath, it's hard to see why Congress wouldn't serve their own interests. The president would have little clout within his own party and could end up being little better than a figurehead.

There has been talk since I started to become interested in politics of amending the Constitution by allowing a president one term of six years. But I'll stick with the wisdom of the Founders who believed that elections make all politicians more accountable to the people.