Oct 14, 2004
Before We Discuss the Debate
I just have to get this off my chest.
The other day the WSJ ran a piece saying that US voters have never defeated an incumbent during wartime. And then USA Today said the same thing in a piece we excerpted on HNN:
"Up to now, no American president who sought another term during a time of war has been defeated."
http://hnn.us/roundup/entries/7957.html
Is there a more useless observation?
No, wartime presidents haven't been voted out of office. When the wars were going badly they had the good sense not to run again. Truman in 1952 and Johnson in 1968 both knew their chances of victory were nil.
If Bush is counting on the fact that no incumbent has been voted out during wartime he better start preparing to return to Crawford for a long rest.
Yes, Americans are reluctant to swap horses in the middle of the stream. But they turn sour on bad wars fast and presidents know this.
The other day the WSJ ran a piece saying that US voters have never defeated an incumbent during wartime. And then USA Today said the same thing in a piece we excerpted on HNN:
"Up to now, no American president who sought another term during a time of war has been defeated."
http://hnn.us/roundup/entries/7957.html
Is there a more useless observation?
No, wartime presidents haven't been voted out of office. When the wars were going badly they had the good sense not to run again. Truman in 1952 and Johnson in 1968 both knew their chances of victory were nil.
If Bush is counting on the fact that no incumbent has been voted out during wartime he better start preparing to return to Crawford for a long rest.
Yes, Americans are reluctant to swap horses in the middle of the stream. But they turn sour on bad wars fast and presidents know this.