Almost every president that has served 2 terms has had more trouble in the second term. It may be no different for Obama. It happened to Woodrow Wilson almost every president. Many second term agendas have gone by the wayside because of the Second Term Curse. Here is what has happened in the 2nd term to each president in their second term in one word. Only Coolidge, Theodore Roosevelt and Monroe seemed to avoid it. Even George Washington had his. I think that Obama will get his, and his legacy will be defined by how well he handles it. Look at Bill Clinton, for example. Each word has a link to the Wikipedia article about the scandal.
GW Bush--Katrina
Clinton--Monica
Reagan--Contra
Nixon--Watergate
Johnson--Vietnam
Eisenhower--Health
Truman--Korea
Roosevelt--Court
Coolidge--None
Wilson--War
Roosevelt--None
McKinley--Buffalo
Cleveland--Silver
Grant--Many
Lincoln--Booth
Jackson--Debt
Monroe--None
Madison--Bonus
Jefferson--Embargo
Washington--Whiskey
If you do not want to go to Wikipedia, scroll down...
Side Note:
In this Blogger's opinion, Grant was by far the worst president to win a second term in office.
GW Bush--The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina turned Bush into a lame duck.
Clinton--The Monica Lewinsky Affair got him impeached.
Reagan--The Iran-Contra scandal.
Nixon--The coverup of the break in at the Watergate offices of the DNC. Dick tried to protect his "plumbers" and had to resign.
Johnson--The Vietnam War.
Eisenhower--Ike tried to hide is heart troubles from the public. The President is now expected to disclose health problems.
Truman--War broke out in Korea, didn't result in a decisive victory. Truman fired McArthur.
Roosevelt--Roosevelt tried to stack the Supreme Court after some of his programs were declared unconstitutional.
Coolidge--None
Wilson--It wasn't the war that did Wilson in, it was selling the peace treaty and the League of Nations to an America that wanted to return to isolationism.
Roosevelt--None
McKinley--McKinley met an assassin in Buffalo.
Cleveland--Had to deal with a panic and recession in his second term.
Grant--US Grant was the most scandal-plagued president in history, bar none.
Lincoln--John Wilkes Booth shot Lincoln in the head while he was at the Theater.
Jackson--High public debt and speculation led on a major depression.
Monroe--None
Madison--He vetoed the popular Bonus bill that would have channeled profits from a national bank to the treasury for capital projects.
Jefferson--The embargo act of 1907 led to the War of 1812.
Washington--When Western Pennsylvania farmers refused to pay taxes on whiskey grain, Washington sent in the militia.
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