Newshouse Politics

All this joking, even by Barack Obama, about Bill Clinton always wanting a third term in the big job got me thinking about which individuals could have secured a third term if constitutionally eligible to run. (2:35 is Obama’s joke on Clinton)

Here is the (very) short list of people I think could have secured a third term (excluding FDR, who secured FOUR terms in office, albeit not living all the way through and ALSO limiting to twentieth century presidents)

In Order of Likelihood:

1.) Dwight David Eisenhower

The president with some of the steadiest approval ratings of the twentieth century. Ike was always quite popular with the American people, as you can see from those charts. Also, the 1960 election marked a period of great apparent indecisiveness among the American people, and I’m fairly sure Ike’s overall stature and body of work could have gotten him elected to another term.

2.) Bill Clinton

Despite everything that marred Clinton’s second term, I think he could have gone another term, even as Obama makes a joke out of his desire to do so. His approval among the American people seemed to be climbing as he left office, and with a relatively strong economy and budget surplus (!), Clinton had some stuff to campaign on.

And, uh, that’s actually my list. I don’t believe Reagan could have scored a third term in the context of his time, as Iran-Contra deeply hurt his and his administration’s reputation. However, his ghost could probably win, given his seeming worship by conservatives nowadays. Nixon? Uh, no. George W. Bush? I believe he could cancel an election and declare himself emperor, but not win another election. Teddy Roosevelt actually tried, and couldn’t do it, so it’s pretty clear what the answer to that was.

Disagree? Agree? Let me know!

It’s nearly that time, ladies and gents. George W. Bush will soon be going out with a bang, pardoning friends, cronies and other assorted criminals of all sorts of crimes for all sorts of reasons. This Washington Post article lists the sorts of people that will be looking for a  Get Out of Jail Free card from Dubya. Here are just a few:

He does this pardon every year, actually.

-Randy “Duke” Cunningham (R-Calif.) and four-term Louisiana governor Edwin W. Edwards (D), are asking Bush to shorten their prison terms.

-Michael Milken, the infamous “Junk Bond” salesman and fraudster will also be seeking clemency

I’m definitely curious to see how the Bush pardons pan out. Bill Clinton’s pardons caused a firestorm of controversy, so Bush may actually be looking to avoid that type of scrutiny as he exits the Oval Office with approval ratings in the negative 300 percent range.

As if bailing out every other investment bank, automobile manufacturer, actuary, bird sanctuary, fish store, tackle shop and speak-easy in the United States wasn’t enough, now this.

That is pretty much my reaction right now, not anger, not confusion…just, sadness. I understand that CitiGroup is a massive banking conglomerate and its failure would represent a catastrophe of unprecedented proportions, but another $300 billion?! From whom are we getting this money? Joe the Plumber? Jim the Landscape Architect?  This is getting ugly, folks, and I don’t like it one bit.