Smart Politics is the Center for the Study of Politics and Governance's blog at the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs that is home to timely, pointed, non-partisan discussion of Upper Midwestern and national politics. Smart Politics excavates the key issues driving the 2008 elections as well as provides perspective on statewide and district campaigns in Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. Unlike most political blogs, Smart Politics' political discussion is driven by thoughtful non-p ...
Opponents of Republican presidential nominee John McCain have been trying to derail his campaign by tying him to the hugely unpopular George W. Bush. Bush’s approval numbers are still trickling downwards – now in the high 20s to low 30s in most national polls. One of the tactics used by the Democrats has been to call a McCain presidency a “third term” of President Bush. Putting aside how a McCain presidency would govern vis-à-vis Bush, how likely is it that the party of an exiting two-term President could hold onto the power of the White House? Smart Politics dug back into the history books and examined each of the 11 previous U.S. presidents that had been elected to and served at least two complete terms in office: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, Andrew Jackson, Ulysses S. Grant, Woodrow Wilson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton. Of the 10 presidents who were affiliated with a political party (George Washington was not), only 3 failed to have coattails for their party’s subsequent nominee: • Democrat Wilson was succeeded by Republican Warren G. Harding in the 1920 election. • Republican Eisenhower was followed by Democrat John F. Kennedy in the 1960 election. • Democrat Bill Clinton gave way to Republican George W. Bush in 2000. The political party of the remaining 7 presidents was able to keep control of the White House – at least for one more term. However ...
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Opponents of Republican presidential nominee John McCain have been trying to derail his campaign by tying him to the hugely unpopular George W. Bush. Bush’s approval numbers are still trickling downwards – now in the high 20s to low 30s in most national polls. One of the tactics used by the Democrats has been to call a McCain presidency a “third term” of President Bush. Putting aside how a McCain presidency would govern vis-à-vis Bush, how likely is it that the party of an exiting two-term President could hold onto the power of the White House? Smart Politics dug back into the history books and examined each of the 11 previous U.S. presidents that had been elected to and served at least two complete terms in office: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, Andrew Jackson, Ulysses S. Grant, Woodrow Wilson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton. Of the 10 presidents who were affiliated with a political party (George Washington was not), only 3 failed to have coattails for their party’s subsequent nominee: • Democrat Wilson was succeeded by Republican Warren G. Harding in the 1920 election. • Republican Eisenhower was followed by Democrat John F. Kennedy in the 1960 election. • Democrat Bill Clinton gave way to Republican George W. Bush in 2000. The political party of the remaining 7 presidents was able to keep control of the White House – at least for one more term. However ...