Ronald Reagan’s reputation suffered because of the Iran-Contra scandal and Bill Clinton was impeached over the Monica Lewinsky affair.
George W. Bush was harshly criticized for his handling of Hurricane Katrina and unanticipated problems in Iraq.
President Obama says he’s well aware of what some historians call the ‘second term curse.’
“I don’t presume that because I won an election that everybody suddenly agrees with me on everything," said Obama. "I’m more than familiar with all the literature about presidential overreach in second terms. We are very cautious about that.”
The president is wise to note the second term pitfalls of his predecessors, says University of California historian Matthew Dallek.
“So he’s very conscientious of it and he’s signaling that he wants to be pragmatic and he doesn’t want the ‘world’ (everything), he’s not asking for ‘pie in the sky’ things and that he’s going to work in areas where he thinks that he can work in," said Dallek.
It’s also important for the president to build political relationships, says former Reagan aide Duberstein.
“President Reagan during the Iran-Contra incident, people wanted to believe him," said Duberstein. "He had a reservoir of goodwill. President Obama to date doesn’t have those strong relationships. That is something that I think he fundamentally has to address in these initial months of a second term.”
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2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25