I was listening to Limbaugh today and he played back several sound clips of TV commentators wishing that the Constitution was amended so that Obama could take office on December 1st instead of January 20th. He's correct in telling Obama's TV news friends to settle down, but not for the reasons he listed.
He said that Obama doesn't want to take office due to the fact that the economy will worsen between now and January 20th, and that Obama doesn't want to be seen as being in charge when things really get bad this month; especially if one or more of our auto companies dies at the end of the month.
Putting the politics aside for a moment, the actual reason that there is a lag between the election and the time the new President takes office is that any new incoming administration needs time to fill many thousands of jobs, and not just the cabinet-level positions.
And until the adoption of the 20th Amendment in 1933, the lame-duck period was actually longer; Inauguration Day wasn't until March 4th prior to that. And the four-month period (between the election in 1932 and the inaguration in 1933) really hurt the country as the Great Depression was at it's peak during this time, and critical decisions were being put off.
There's no reason to alter the Constitution. Period. And even if they pulled it off, none of the states would be able to schedule votes before the January 20th Obama inauguration.
And I wouldn't be so anxious to rush a seasoned President out the door in return for someone who's been in federal-level politics for a grand total of four years. Obama will have his chance soon enough.
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