Immanentize the Eschaton

I saw that Jose Serrrano has introduced a bill to repeal the 22nd Amendment (text of the bill can be found here). For those who were graduated from a typical high school in the last 15 years, the 22nd amendment states:

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.

Now why would representative Serrano (D-NY) want to repeal this amendment? Maybe he thinks the Democrats have a winner in the person of Barry Obama, and thinks the people will re-elect him for as many terms as Obama wants to serve. We must also bear in mind that Serrano hails from New York City, where the City Council recently repealed the term limit for Mayor Bloomberg.

Now, I’m not in favor of term limits; I think the people should use the ballot box as the ultimate term limit. So I’m sympathetic to Serrano’s bill. However, let’s mirror the language of the 22nd Amendment, and add something like:

“…However, no person Constitutionally ineligible to the office of President at the time this article was proposed by Congress or during the term within which this article becomes operative shall become eligible to the office of President.”

I could get behind that. If the above language were added to the proposed amendment and it passed both houses this term, the only persons ineligible would be the ones ineligible now: Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. Obama would not be affected. However, since it take years for a proposed amendment to be ratified by the states, Barry O would probably be in his second term and thus Constitutionally ineligible for a third term when elected. The new language would still bar him from seeking re-election.

So if this is not just a naked power grab by the Dems (har-har), Mr. Serrano should have no problem adding this to the proposed amendment.

Any law-talking guys or gals see a problem with this?