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Why President Obama Says He Wouldn't Want to Run for a Third Term

President Barack Obama pauses while speaking at the UAW-GM Center for Human Resources in Detroit on Jan. 20, 2016.
Carolyn Kaster/AP Photo
ByALEXANDER MALLIN
January 24, 2016, 8:56 PM

— -- President Obama says he wouldn't pursue a third term in the White House even if it was permitted.

In a wide-ranging interview with CBS "Sunday Morning," Obama was quick to answer when asked if he would want to stay in the White House after next January, if third terms weren't prohibited under the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution.

"No. I wouldn't," Obama said. "Number one, Michelle wouldn't let me."

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Obama has said in the past that he believes he could win again if he was allowed to run. While he is expected to push over the next year for a Democrat to again take the White House, Obama said there's a point when an individual becomes more prone to making mistakes by getting comfortable in office.

"This is a process in which the office should be continually renewed by new energy and new ideas and new insights," Obama said. "And although I think I am as good of a president as I have ever been right now, I also think that there comes a point where you don't have fresh legs."

Obama also said there "absolutely" are days when he wonders why he ever ran for the presidency, saying there are times when he gets "tired" and "frustrated."

"And yet, there has not been a day that I have not walked into the Oval Office and understood that at no point in my life will I ever have the chance to do as much good and make as much of a difference in the lives of people as I do right now," Obama said.

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