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President Obama praised German Chancellor Angela Merkel during a joint press conference in Hannover. He said he would continue to admire "his friend and partner Angela" as a private citizen, after he leaves office. VPC
Barack Obama will have made his mark on the world, for better or worse, after eight years as president. But German Chancellor Angela Merkel was in power long before Obama arrived on the world stage — and will likely remain for some time after he leaves.
And that's just fine by Obama.
"I do not envy Angela Merkel for not having term limits," he said Sunday. "I<span style="color: Red;">*</span>have come to appreciate, at least in the United States, the wisdom of our founders. I<span style="color: Red;">*</span>think it's healthy<span style="color: Red;">*</span>for a big, diverse country like ours<span style="color: Red;">*</span>to have some turnover. To use a phrase from basketball, to have some fresh legs come in."
Obama has made similar pronouncements before. But the constitutional limits on the American presidency were all the more striking as he stood<span style="color: Red;">*</span>next to Merkel Sunday at a trade fair in Hannover, Germany. Merkel has<span style="color: Red;">*</span>been the German<span style="color: Red;">*</span>chancellor since 2005 and is reportedly mulling a campaign for a fourth term in 2017.
"I'm glad that Angela's still sticking around, because I<span style="color: Red;">*</span>think the world benefits from her steady presence," Obama said. "And she is to be admired for her remarkable endurance."
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The 22nd amendment to the U.S. constitution, which took effect in 1951, prohibits any president from serving more than two full terms. That had been the practice before Franklin Roosevelt's four terms, and the amendment was adopted by a Republican Congress to prevent it from happening again.
The German constitution has no such term limits, and Chancellor Konrad Adenauer served for 14 years from 1949 to 1963.
Merkel's longevity and her role in leading Europe<span style="color: Red;">*</span>helped to propel her Time's Woman of the Year last year, and a ranking as the second powerful person in the world by Forbes — just below Russian President Vladimir Putin and just ahead of Obama.
With nine months left in his presidency, Obama has become<span style="color: Red;">*</span>more open to talking about turning out the lights at the White House and returning to life as a private citizen.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Using another sports analogy, he said he was working to "pass the baton."
"My goal between now and the time I leave is to make sure<span style="color: Red;">*</span>when I<span style="color: Red;">*</span>turn over the keys to my office, that the desk is clean," he said Sunday. "And if the world is not completely tidy, that at least it's significantly<span style="color: Red;">*</span>better off than the way I<span style="color: Red;">*</span>found it."
President Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel sit during the official opening ceremony of the Hanover industry Fair at the Hannover Congress Center HCC in Hanover, Germany Sunday.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Photo: RONNY HARTMANN, AFP/Getty Images)
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