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Questions asked
in this forum:What advice would Eisenhower give Clinton about how to have a successful second term? Are Presidents more likely to speak their minds in their second term i.e. Eisenhower and his "Military Industrial Complex" speech? How does the "lame duck syndrome" effect the workings of the Presidency? What kind of a physical toll does eight years in the White House take on the President? Should Americans have the opportunity to award a successful President a third term? Why didn't Truman and Johnson run for second terms? Viewer comments
The 22nd Amendment: Prompted by the extraordinary circumstances of World War II, Franklin Roosevelt ran for a third, and then fourth term as President. His unprecedented service brought about the passage of the 22nd Amendment, limiting a President to two terms.
Historian Haynes Johnson sees term limits as problematic: "The clock is running very quickly in a president's second term because the amendment that limits him to succeed himself, erodes power very rapidly."
NewsHour Backgrounders
December 23, 1996: A NewsHour panel of historians looks at historical second terms.
December 20, 1996: President Clinton announces the new cabinet members who will join him for his second term.
December 6, 1996: Perspective on foreign policy and second term presidents comes from a panel of historians.
Stephen Ambrose looks at the formative years of Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Character Above All investigates the role of character in the American presidency.
The NewsHour White House Index.
OUTSIDE LINKS
Presidential libraries and archives
On January 20, 1997, William Jefferson Clinton will take the oath of office and begin his second term as President of the United States. Common sense, one might argue, suggests his second term will be smoother and more successful than his first. The President has made friends in Washington, has developed working relationships with world leaders, and no longer has to worry about re-election. But historian Doris Kearns-Goodwin points out history shows it goes the opposite way; "Second terms," she notes," have been less successful than first terms."
There are a number of reasons why.
Presidential scholars point to arrogance as the Achilles' heel of second terms. Franklin Delano Roosevelt is said to have suffered from it. He proposed, for example, a radical restructuring of the Supreme Court in an attempt to protect the Wagner and Social Security acts. (To his surprize, the Democratic majority in the Senate did not support him.) Nixon's Watergate cover-up and Ronald Reagan's Iran-Contra problems are often cited as similar mis-steps.
Another problem faced by Presidents in their second term is a lack of energy and exuberance, the "lame duck syndrome". The feeling of "making history" subsides and the chief executive is weighed down by the mistakes and public disappointments of the first term. Second term Presidents also find it hard to convince top operatives to join their team because they can only promise four years' employment.
In addition, there are the ups and downs of the economy. Presidents often win re-election on the strength of the domestic economy. In 1984, Ronald Reagan asked "are you better off now than you were four years ago?" and enough people answered "yes" to award the him a second term. Clinton ran on a similar premise. But periods of rapid growth are usually followed by a downturn. After winning re-election in 1956, for example, American's blamed Dwight Eisenhower for extending the 1957 recession by refusing to lower taxes or increasing federal spending.
President Clinton has been reading and thinking about presidential second terms. Will he be able to avoid the pitfalls of those who came before him? The next four years hold the answer.
Our forum considers: Should Presidents be allowed a third term if they deserve it? How have second terms shaped our foreign and domestic policies? Should Presidents strive for continuity, or try to make a fresh new start?
Our guests are Presidential Historians Michael Beschloss and Stephen Ambrose. Both men have written extensively on U.S. Presidents and both appeared in the PBS production, Character Above All .
Questions asked in this forum:
What advice would Eisenhower give Clinton about how to have a successful second term? Are Presidents more likely to speak their minds in their second term i.e. Eisenhower and his "Military Industrial Complex" speech? How does the "lame duck syndrome" effect the workings of the Presidency? What kind of a physical toll does eight years in the White House take on the President? Should Americans have the opportunity to award a successful President a third term? Why didn't Truman and Johnson run for second terms? Viewer comments
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