Putin's Pointers for U.S. Democracy

Russia extended its presidential term from four to six years and the parliamentary one from four to five years in 2008, under President Dmitri Medvedev. Thanks to a provision in the Russian Constitution that allows a president to serve more than two terms so long as the third isn't consecutive to the first two, Putin has been eligible to serve a total of 12 years so far and faces the next election only in 2018. That's a problem because two more years with him at the helm are likely to be damaging to Russia's economy. The U.S., however, with its hotly contested elections and the requirement that a president serve only two terms, might actually benefit from less frequent elections, achieving higher voter engagement and giving politicians more time to pursue tasks for which they've spent a lifetime preparing.