Dear Editor: Words Matter. Timing Reveals Intent

Dear Editor,

Americans speak plainly. When they wanted a hard limit on the presidency, they wrote the Twenty-Second Amendment: "No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice." A lifetime cap. Clear and decisive.

Montana's voters spoke plainly in 1992 with CI-64, now Article IV, Section 8.

They did not write a lifetime ban. They wrote a timeout clock: a candidate is barred from the ballot if he or she will have served "8 or more years in any 16-year period," with each office listed separately - state representative, state senator, Governor, Attorney General and other...