2ndtermitis

Obama has caught 2ndtermitis, that so-often self-inflicted malady that has derailed every 20th Century US President and his administration who were rewarded with a second term.  The only ways to avoid it were not to seek or fail to win a second term.  Teddy Roosevelt, Coolidge,Truman and Johnson chose not to seek. Roosevelt and Coolidge went out on a high, Truman and Johnson were driven out on an exhausted low. Harding and Kennedy died.  The re-election bids of Taft, Hoover, Ford, Carter, and Bush 41 were rejected.  Otherwise, the record is daunting:

• Wilson: League of Nations rejection; stroke
• Roosevelt:  Supreme Court packing, AFL/CIO divorce
• Eisenhower:  Sherman Adams' mink, Gary Power's U2, Little Rock
• Nixon:  Archibald Cox, Watergate tapes, Cambodia
• Reagan:  Irangate
• Clinton:  Lewinsky, impeachment
• Bush:  Valerie Plame, waterboarding

You wonder that any President chooses to run for a second term. Their hair turns white; wrinkles deepen; hopes and plans are highjacked by hubris, fate, embittered opposition, and/or stupid and venal subordinates.  

Guys: if it ain't over in four, declare victory, retire, and do good deeds with your well-earned fame.