Re: Obama: "I'd rather be a really good one-term president ..."
Stop pretending you are an idiot. The country is faced with a lot of very unpopular solutions to extremely tough problems that have been put off for many years and by many administrations. What Obama means is he'd rather fix those problems and take the heat for making the unpopular political decisions than simply worry about being reelected.
The man has a sense of responsibility to the nation beyond his own political career.