Political Term Quotes
Eldest son of Robert Walpole. He originally coined the phrase to refer to a bankrupt financier. See {585555} for the first American political use of the phrase.
This quotation perhaps was the most critical in Roosevelt’s political career. After winning the presidential election in his own right, that evening at a press conference he called, he not only committed to serving only two terms—then a custom and not law as it would be after WWII—but he also committed that his first three and a half years where he was not elected but assumed the presidency upon McKinley’s assassination would count as a full elected term. He therefore in 1908 could not run again even though the public wanted him to, and he might have liked another term. More important historically was 1912. Roosevelt had chosen his close friend and colleague William Howard Taft to succeed him and with Roosevelt’s support he was elected in 1908. But Taft’s wife who had always been his closest political advisor and reviewer of all his policies and speeches, had a stroke shortly after Taft was elected. Taft’s performance as President was very disappointing to Roosevelt, and he ran against Taft in the 1912 Republican nominating campaign. The very conservative Republicans were against Roosevelt, but many of those who liked him were distressed that he was reneging on his pledge not to run for a 3rd term. Roosevelt lost, and famously started the Bull Moose Party and ran against Taft and Wilson. He outpolled Taft but with the split Republican vote, Woodrow Wilson won the Presidency. This pledge haunted Roosevelt for the rest of his life.
The President’s party in Congress stands election every two years, so the president only has a little more than a year to get tough things done. The mayor, in contrast, had a four term and because he was a bipartisan independent representing both parties, didn’t need to campaign for his party members on the City Council. Therefore, he thought, that it was easier for him to take a controversial position and spend the time to persuade the people and build support for the position.
These were a set of laws governing their colony that the people voted. It appears to be the earliest legislation on term limits in America.
This is the first use of the “lame duck” expression in a political context in the United States. 49 years earlier Englishman Horace Walpole had used the phrase in an economic context. See {585556}.
