I have no idea if the report out of Israel that President Bush wants to attack Iran before leaving office is true (the White House denies it), but the fact that we’re debating it should highlight the problem with the 22nd Amendment, which removes democratic accountability from second-term presidents. President Bush is deeply unpopular, but he has no personal incentive to adjust his policies to public opinion. If he had the option to run again, things might look very different right now. It’s certainly hard to imagine that he would even contemplate starting another war in the Middle East.

Update 5/22 9:16 AM: Of course, as readers point out via email and in comments, Bush’s unpopularity is so massive at this point that he might not not run again even if he had the option to do so, which is true. However, the second-to-last sentence above is my way of suggesting that Bush’s behavior throughout his second term probably would have been different if he had the option to run again (politicians don’t usually leave office voluntarily). As such, he probably wouldn’t be so unpopular now and thus would be at least a marginally viable candidate for a third term.