Pitiful Giants Presidents in Their Final Terms

Since ratification of the 22nd Amendment in 1951, five American presidents—Eisenhower, Reagan, Clinton, Bush, and Obama—have been elected to serve a second term. Presumably, by virtue of their term-limited status, these presidents are free from electoral pressure to pursue policies in the public interest, but this is a questionable assumption. Second term presidents face a host of structural obstacles that make it difficult for them to carry out their tasks. How then do presidents lead through these politically-complex circumstances? How can presidents make the most of their second-tem "mandates" while battling against waning political power? This book seeks to answer the complex—and often paradoxical—challenges presidents encounter in their lame duck years.

Daniel P. Franklin is Associate Professor of Political Science at Georgia State University, Atlanta, USA.

1. Leaving Presidents and their Relations with Congress
2. Leaving Presidents and the Administrative State
3. Lame Duck Presidents and Foreign Policy
4. Leaving Presidents and Partisan Politics
5. The Leaving President and the Mechanics of Transition
Conclusion: The Public Good and the Limits of the Leaving President