When I read about LaGuardia’s final term as mayor, it struck me how he was so absorbed in getting involved in so many agencies and departments outside of NYC municipal government. I cannot quite pin down whether this is because of his irrational ego and desire for a platform, or because he really was just that enthusiastic and patriotic. For example, the generalship debacle was particularly bizarre. LaGuardia, who was not really a military expert, and who had held NYC’s interests at the forefront all throughout the Great Depression, suddenly wanted to abandon his post, and travel abroad in his out of shape old age. Perhaps he was simply so used to getting his way in matters of New Deal funding for NYC that he saw his whims as instantly to be fulfilled. Either way, his winding down of his political career and Roosevelt’s obvious failure to last past his third term bear witness to the prudence of term limits.