Comments on: Who Were the Good One-Term Presidents?

By: links for 2010-01-27 | The 'K' is not silent

links for 2010-01-27 | The 'K' is not silent — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 06:03:49 +0000

[...] Who Were the Good One-Term Presidents? (tags: article editorial history president firstthings blog joecarter) [...]

By: Rob

Rob — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 20:57:19 +0000

I don’t think Van Buren, Hayes, Arthur or B. Harrison were that bad of presidents to be honest with you….

But let’s be real. Reagan is the giant among pygmies. Clinton, Carter, Ford, Bush, the other Bush and Obama are not exactly going to stand as shining examples future presidents will want to follow and the best of them (Ford and the first Bush) were not exactly candidates for Mt. Rushmore.

By: Tweets that mention Who Were the Good One-Term Presidents? » First Thoughts | A First Things Blog -- Topsy.com

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 07:21:59 +0000

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by First Things and DNC DUDES, Rev. John M. Taggatz. Rev. John M. Taggatz said: RT @ROFTERS: Who Were the Good One-Term Presidents? http://bit.ly/cRz10j [...]

By: Andrew

Andrew — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 04:08:00 +0000

It’s hard to find a metric by which he is a successful president. James K. Polk is the best one termer precisely because he was elected with a set of goals that he accomplished to utter completion (chiefly, annexing Texas and successfully prosecuting the inevitable war). Other one termers are admired personally for their style, their intelligence, or integrity. The Adams presidents would probably fall under that category.

After a year with Obama in the oval office his goals are utterly unaccomplished, and in many cases his policies have been exactly reversed (remember when he lambasted McCain’s idea of a spending freeze?)

As it is, the best he can hope for is to be beloved personally, but ultimately I don’t see him as having any long term historical appeal.

By: Art Deco

Art Deco — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 01:51:40 +0000

The condition of the banking system and the public fisc three years from now will determine how he will rate.

By: Chico

Chico — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 01:32:24 +0000

You left out Grover Cleveland. Twice.

By: danderson

danderson — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 01:28:53 +0000

I sometimes surf between more liberal blogs — God’s Politics — and this this one. It’s fascinating to go from one end of the political spectrum to the other. I don’t think we should lay the blame at Obama’s feet, when it’s the Congress whose feet should be held to the fire. Personally, I believe this country has come to the point of being ungovernable because of the competing extremes of the Left and the Right. Obama ends up being squashed in the middle. I do not believe there is a person alive in this country who can bring our nation together. Too much vitriol on all sides…

By: Mike K.

Mike K. — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 23:55:29 +0000

President Obama aspires to be as highly-esteemed as James K. Polk? Hubris.

By: M. L. Martin

M. L. Martin — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 23:05:21 +0000

Hmm…the impression I get from this comment is that Obama is preparing to cast himself as a martyr who makes ‘hard choices’ that we poor peons can’t appreciate at the time, but that will ultimately save us from ourselves.

By: Josh Miller

Josh Miller — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 19:56:47 +0000

If Obama does indeed end up knowing defeat in a couple years, the Carter comparisons in the blogosphere will be endless. But I don’t think that’s fair — to Carter. If Obama fails to get re-elected, he’ll be the first public servant in my lifetime to squander so much political capital, so much enthusiasm, in such a short period of time. Even though I wasn’t conscious during his presidency, I don’t recall ever having read anything about Carter beginning his single term with quite the fanfare Obama saw.

Should President Obama maintain current trajectory, he’ll finish his term in the White House at a fairly young age, and then – like Carter, I suppose – the “legacy building” period will begin.

That’s what my dusty crystal ball says, anyhow. In the end, I think it a fool’s game to buy into Obama’s notion that there can be such a thing as a “really good one-term president” in the modern era.