Why Second-Term Scandals Are Almost Inevitable
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May 23 (Bloomberg) -- In the last month, there has been alot of talk about whether American presidents face a second-termcurse. It’s not clear that such a thing exists, but any second-term president is likely to have to deal with some real orapparent scandals. The reason isn’t arrogance, distraction orhubris. It’s a matter of arithmetic.
Whether a president will face an alleged or actual scandaldepends on two variables. The first is whether somethinginappropriate, or at least apparently so, has happened either athis direction or on his watch. The second is whether someone hasboth the incentive and the ability to bring the allegedlyinappropriate action to the attention of the public.