"The Second Year Curse" is the idea that after getting re-elected for a second term, presidents have had problems maintaining the momentum.
Ever since Franklin Roosevelt, two-term presidents have seen their second-terms marred by scandals and failures.
Some managed to continue with a successful closing act despite their problems, others saw their administration implode in scandal.
Will Obama continue or overcome the trend? Only time will tell. For now, here are eight cautionary tales for the President to consider during his second term.
Franklin Roosevelt: Court Packing Plan
After a landslide victory in the 1936 election, Roosevelt announced a controversial plan to expand the Supreme Court to up to 15 judges in order to shift the political leanings of the branch to support the New Deal support.
To the ire of both Republicans and Democrats, FDR tried to use his post-election momentum to try to force aging conservatives off the court. His plan was struck down in the Senate 70 to 22.
Source: History.com
Harry Truman: The Korean War
In 1951 Truman got into a public, heated fight with the wildly popular General Douglas MacArthur over the Korean War.
MacArthur wanted to bomb the People's Republic of China, while Truman refused to escalate.
When MacArthur criticized the President's decision publicly, Truman fired him for insubordination. MacArthur returned to the U.S. and recieved a hero's welcome.
Dwight Eisenhower: The Overcoat Scandal and the U-2 Incident
In 1958, two years after Eisenhower was elected to office for a second time, his White House chief of staff, Sherman Adams, was accused of accepting a vicuña coat and an oriental rug from Boston Industrialist Bernard Goldfine in exchange for intervention with regulatory agencies. Adams resigned, but his exit would cast a pall over the second term of the Eisenhower administration.
Then, during the final year of Eisenhower's second term, a U-2 spy plane was shot down over China while carrying out espionage over the U.S.S.R.
The pilot, Francis Powers, was captured — as was the plane — and a humiliated Eisenhower was forced to admit that the jet belonged to the U.S.
Source: St. Petersberg Times, History
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