President George H. W. Bush, who passed away last week, achieved a number of important accomplishments in public life: He signed into law both the Americans With Disabilities Act and Clean Air Act, and negotiated for the North American Free Trade Agreement. But his political career is also marked by two bizarre phenomena: On the one hand, he is the only presidential candidate in the post-war era to secure a third term in office for his party (in 1988); on the other, he’s one of only two elected presidents of that era to be denied a second term (in the 1992 election). Put simply: He won an election that was hard to win, and he lost one that was hard to lose. How does this happen? And to the same guy? CONT.
Seth Masket (U. of Denver), Pacific Standard