@terra
"You Americans give far too much weight to the "founding fathers". They are just people who probably would have done exactly the same thing today if they could have had that power. They are just symbols, and i'll bet each and every one of them had their own Monica Lewinsky tugging at their parts."
I'll be the first to admit that none of them were perfect. But as for the "They would do it too" argument I have to say no, they would not. These men knew what it was like to live under the thumb of a oppressive ruler. Something no native born American can presently say. Now, would King George have taken advantage of such a program had it existed? No doubt he would.
I can't speak about all of the founders, but Washington certainly wouldn't even entertain the idea that such a program was legal. As you may know, he was a war hero, and the first president. He didn't really want the job of president, he wanted to retire after the war, but the people pretty much demanded that it be him. So, he answered the call.
He reluctantly accepted a second term, and flat out refused a third. The official restriction that presidents may only serve 2 terms was passed after WW2, to prevent another FDR. Until that time, all presidents willingly stepped down after 2 terms because of the precedent set by Washington.
After the war, they didn't just want to make him president. They were ready to make him an actual king. A position he absolutely refused with the reasoning (paraphrasing): "I just fought a very bloody war to throw off one king. I didn't do it so we could just replace him with another."
On the ceiling of the capitol building is a large mural titled "The Apotheosis of George Washington". For decades, the man was practically revered as a god.
But, in no small measure, because of his humility, belief in freedom, and dedication to the principles of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, Americans still enjoy more freedom and more protection FROM the government than most in the world. But those protections have been steadily eroded over the decades. Snowden helped to reveal just how much.