Second term blues

You have to go back to Eisenhower in US history to find a president serving out his second term in relative peace. As soon as George Bush gets re-elected, he will face a scandal of some sort. The easy money is that there will be an all-out investigation into the case for war in Iraq, but there are so many different entry points into this administration for those who would seek to Watergate it.

Below is a handy reference of all the impediments to a graceful second term that have plagued our post-DDE presidents. This list is both a primer and a menu of available options for the coming Bushgate:

Kennedy - Assassination
Lydon Johnson - Public protests lead him to not seek a second term
Richard Nixon - Threat of impeachment lead him to resign
Gerald Ford - Lost election
Jimmy Carter - Lost election
Ronald Reagan* - Iran Contra
George Bush I - Lost Election
Bill Clinton* - Impeached on perjury in a civil lawsuit

*The only two presidents to actually serve consecutive terms in office were plagued by miserably prolonged investigations and controversies in their second term.