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There Was a Time When Presidents Voluntarily Declined to Run for Reelection

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New in PJ Media:

They call it public service, and today’s crop of public servants are so selflessly dedicated to the common good that they fight tooth and nail for the chance to serve the public and struggle just as tenaciously to keep on serving the public for as long as they possibly can. Our increasingly superannuated political class is testimony to the dedication and perseverance of today’s politicians. Or more bluntly, they know a good gravy train when they see one.

Take, for example, Old Joe Biden. The mendacious corruptocrat has been feeding happily at the public trough since Kamala Harris was eight years old, and even as calls for him to drop out of the presidential race have come from the most powerful Democrats, he has insisted that he is going to stay right where he is. Old Joe has made fantastic money as a public servant, and he sees no reason to stop now. But it wasn’t always this way. In the first century of our republic, and even occasionally in the second, more than a few presidents declined to run for reelection, voluntarily relinquished power, and went home.

In America’s early days, in fact, this willingness to give up political power was widely regarded as a sign of the health of the republic. The nation was governed by genuine public servants who were in office actually to serve the people, rather than by ambitious people who were lusting after the intoxication of power and the benefits that came with it. After George Washington served two terms as president, he could easily have won a third. Instead, he retired to his home, drawing comparisons with Cincinnatus, a Roman farmer who was so respected that he was twice called upon to assume power during times of crisis. When the crisis was over, Cincinnatus, unseduced by power, went back to his plow.

America’s Cincinnatus, Washington, set a precedent. His successors Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe all served two terms and then relinquished the presidency. There was no Constitutional provision at the time that barred them from seeking a third term (or more after that), but Washington had shown the way: America would be a republic whose governing authorities saw political office as a real service, not a way to enrich themselves, and they happily gave it up.

In the mid-nineteenth century, the belief became widespread that even seeking two terms demonstrated a grasping ambition that wasn’t in line with the idea of public office as public service. The 11th president, James K. Polk, announced when he ran for president in 1844 that he would not be seeking a second term, and he kept his word.

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Comments

  1. Hi Robert,
    As a non-American I follow your articles and I agree with the above. You mentioned Joe Biden, but I don’t think the former president and now contender, is doing this for the benifit of the country. Just his own ego.
    I believe he is a far better candidate but nevertheless his ego is radiating from his face.
    May he really repent.
    Greetings for now

    • Only problem w/ your theory is that he is one of the world’s most famous people & a very successful billionaire, who was also very popular back in the day. Just look at old videos of his appearance w/ Oprah, or his support to Jesse Jackson in 1984 when the latter ran for president. He used to be the toast of the town, & loved by New York’s elitists. It’s noteworthy that at the time, he wasn’t even a Republican. In fact, he wasn’t a Republican until Obama became president

      If he was in it for himself the way Joe Biden is, he wouldn’t have stepped in: he made more money in his real estate empire honestly than what Biden made as a politician crookedly (just counting his tenure as VP & POTUS, not as Senator, which would require separate investigations). He had the good life, he was well loved, he had a successful TV show, he could easily make guest appearances in movies and TV episodes. If ego was the driving force behind it, he had enough people on both coasts giving it a good oil massage

      In fact, not only did he not make money during his presidency (since each quarter, he’d donate his paycheck to one government department or the other): in the last 4 years, he’s lost a fortune, mainly due to the lawfare jihad that the Dems have mounted against him, which only now look like abating. On top of that, several partnerships worldwide that have terminated relations w/ the Trump organization

      Nobody who was ego or money or even power driven would have put himself through all this: they’d have signed off and spent the rest of their lives either resuming the management of their company, or retiring & spending all time at the golf courses

    • Don’t think think he is the better candidate –Biden is a pathological liar, pervert, and all around bastard who never had a real job and been a total grifter. The grandfather image is total BS

      • biden is a psychopath. If all dictionaries had photos to illustrate definitions, his photo could illustrate that word…psychopath.

  2. It’s quite simple, there is a minimum age to run for President, you make a maximum age too. Anyone 80 cannot run for President or the Senate.

    • Fully agree, even though Trump is right on that borderline. However, he is the exception, and rules shouldn’t be based on him!

  3. Very few politician’s run for office for reasons other than ego. With old politicians a denial of old age simply complicates and compounds it. It is normal for people to consider themselves “not THAT old” or “not over the hill yet” long after the people around them see it otherwise.

  4. There is another contrasting difference between the politicians such as Biden and Obama compared to most of the early presidents. There was the Virginia attitude that was instilled by George Washington that after the nation provided the opportunity and was gratefully accepted, that person would enter public life as a token of gratitude after obtaining the riches and status afforded him.

    Biden is the antithesis of the Virginia attitude as he had accomplished absolutely nothing unless one considers the plagiarism of other’s thoughts while at a university a virtue. Joe Biden became a candidate for the Senate in order to enrich himself at the expense of others just like he broke up the marriage of his so-called friend and married the man’s former wife. In order to obtain what he thought was the typical Southern vote, he kissed the ring of the Exalted Cyclops of the KKK, Robert Byrd of West Virginia, at Byrd’s eulogy. Biden has been at the American public trough from the beginning and graduated to the international trough as time passed. He epitomizes the problem in Washington, D.C. today.

  5. Nobody knows what’s going on in Biden’s head not even Joe Biden. But what he does know is, if he loses his Presidency to Trump his corrupt administration will collapse like a deck of cards.
    Joe Biden is the most corrupt (false) President that the US has ever had, and no one comes close to him. Not only has he managed to weaponize the FBI and the DOJ, but the Biden family have set up over 20 shell companies which have raked in over $24 million dollars. He’s frightened of losing his Presidency because it would put him in a much weaker position, and this is why he doesn’t want to stand down.

    • All true, John. and he and his gang also know that once someone else is in control, he and his family members….including his wife….could be looking at prison bars.
      the precedent has been set…Mr. Trump, former president, indicted and tried for made up stuff…..biden could be indicted and tried for the real crimes he has committed.

      • Exactly Somehistory this is what he’s so frightened of, and so he should be. He Betrayed the country by taking money from our adversaries, and I hope justice is served.
        There are now rumours flying around and videos on Youtube stating that the secret service knew there was going to be an assassination attempt on Trump, but choose to do nothing about it. Well I don’t know how true this is yet as it’s still early days. But I wouldn’t put anything past this Biden administration, especially if it were to rid them of Trump.

        • John, biden deserves to be put before a jury and sent someplace along with many of his family members.

          As for the secret service, the ‘director’ is either a complete and utter fool, or she is a completely evil person.
          Snipers were on slanted roofs. The shooter was on a similar roof, but her *excuse* for not guarding that roof also: it was too dangerous so they were all ‘inside’ the building.

          That’s like saying a homeowner could keep squirrels off his roof by sitting inside his home.
          There is surely a lot of evil at work.

        • somehistory,

          Immediately following the horrific assassination attempt on Pres. Trump, I told myself not to jump to conclusions regarding the Secret Service detail.

          Well, a week later this whole thing smells worse than a herd of goats on a rainy day.

        • I’ve watched a few videos on Youtube now and I’ve still got an open mind about it. But there are many reporting that the FBI were also involved and knew there was going to be an assassination attempt. I’m not saying that I’m buying into this yet, but there seems to be many things that are quite suspicious that happened on that day.
          Even the stock market had some mysterious dealings.

        • James, and John,

          An *expert* said that the Secret Service sniper took a “one-in-a-million shot.” Only able to see the scope, top of the eye and forehead of the murderer, he hit the target. Have to wonder if his expertise was unplanned; but he is an honest guy and did his job correctly.
          Unlike the “director.”

          It was also reported by a House Rep on FOX, that they are investigating everything. A video showed the shooter before he became a murderer, with several people pointing him out to police.
          And a cop went up the ladder and the shooter turned his gun on the cop, who then retreated. Was he in league with the shooter or just afraid of getting shot?
          Lots of questions.

      • Not only were there suspicious dealings on the stock-market that could of netted millions had the assassination been successful. There was also a lady in the crowd (standing behind Trump) who has been identified as an FBI agent. She was acting very strange indeed. When everyone else was ducking and diving the bullets, she casually got out her phone. This certainly isn’t normal behaviour under such circumstances. However I’ve still got an open mind about it at the moment.

        • Thank you John. That’s interesting information. Who wouldn’t be ducking when bullets are flying?
          I was in a movie, and there were sound effects which happened with notice for all in the scene rehearsal not to react. So we would be told “fire in the hole” just before the sound, and yet every time, I still jumped at the loud noise.
          Imagine if the woman didn’t know there would be shots fired…and imagine if the woman did know…how differently she would respond when the shots were fired.

        • Somehistory,
          I just watched a video on YouTube the channel is “Wolves and Finance” and the video is entitled, “What really happened to Donald Trump.”
          If I was as savvy as you are I would send a link, but I can’t.
          It’s worth watching

        • Thank you, John. I’ll see if I can find it. If I do, I’ll post the link.

          biden is now out and has *endorsed* kamala

        • Somehistory
          You must go to Wolves and Finance then you should find it. He only put it out today.

        • I did go to the site, John, and I searched in several ways, even putting the title you provided in the search bar.
          I thought it was probably posted today, but it doesn’t show anything that recent. That’s why I plan to search again later.

        • That’s funny maybe they’ve taken it down in your country, because now your FBI is acting like the KGB. Zac the man who made the video actually says in it that “Joe Biden should be charged with murder and attempted murder.” Anyway try again later it’s worth watching he really does lay out some compelling evidence against them.Maybe try “What really happened,” instead of “What really happened to Donald Trump.”

        • I watched it, John, and it’s very interesting. He raises some important questions and also makes some important facts known.
          we will have to wait and see what comes next.

        • I’m glad you found it in the end Somehistory. There are a lot of questions to be answered. I believe congress are presently questioning the director of the secret service (who they had to subpoena) right now.
          So I’m going over to youtube to see if I can find anything.

        • Thanks, John. Many questions and a lot of lies so far.
          According to Dan Bongino’s sources, the roof was supposed to have a team on it, so the “slope” nonsense is a big lie.
          The reason for the subpoena is due to mayorkis saying the director woman wasn’t going to be giving answers. so the subpoena was to go around him.
          Let us know what you hear.

  6. After oswald murdered Kennedy and was being taken along by the police, ruby stepped out and shot him….keeping oswald from talking.
    In this case, the kill-shot of the murderer was from a Secret Service sniper. It kept others from getting shot, injured or killed, but it also keeps the murderer….crooks….from talking.

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