When one thinks about it, the odds of a President leaving office involuntarily are growing.
The possibility of a President being impeached, specifically President Obama, has grown by leaps and bounds, at least if one pays attention to the lunatic Tea Party Movement crowd, which infests a portion of the House Republican Conference, and a few United States Senators, headed by Texas Senator Ted Cruz!
But of course, even if Barack Obama were to be impeached, the chance of gaining two thirds of the US Senate ready to convict and remove him, is extremely remote, and basically would never happen!
And yet, death threats are multiplying against President Obama, and the Secret Service monitors an average of 30 threats per day, not all serious, but still threats that have to be investigated, whether by someone in person, on the phone, in mail, or email, or on social media.
The author is finishing a book on Presidential assassinations, attempts, and threats, and has uncovered at least 35 serious enough threats against Barack Obama, in the sense that they have been reported in the news media, but it is clear that many more in multiple numbers, not public knowledge, have occurred!
Thank goodness the Secret Service and other agencies are doing what seems to be a great job in protecting the President and First Family, as well as Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, but all it would take is one breakdown in security, and a dirty deed could be accomplished, creating a national tragedy!
The problem is the level of hate is so intense, that many “religious” people, racists, and right wing nuts, including talk show hosts and politicians, fuel the fires, and incite people by their rhetoric, so that some whacko could get off shots at our leadership, and one can be sure that were something untoward to happen, there would be some elements of the population, which would applaud such a horrible deed!
So the odds of a tragedy, or possibly of a natural death in office grow, particularly when one considers, that we had a President die in office, either naturally or by assassination every generation from the 1840s to the 1960s, about 20 years apart in most cases, followed by the resignation of Richard Nixon forty years ago this summer.
Since the first demise of a President, William Henry Harrison, in 1841, 52 years after the establishment of the Constitution, we have had nine President leave office, four by assassination, four by natural death, and one by resignation.
But the last President to die naturally was Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1945, 69 years ago! The last President to die in office, and by assassination, was John F. Kennedy in 1963, 51 years ago, meaning the longevity of no deaths between 1789 and 1841 is about to be matched next year! And even the last President to leave office, Nixon resigning in 1974, is 40 years ago, double the average time between deaths of Presidents over a period of 122 years from 1841 to 1963!
So one cannot help but have trepidation at the rising odds of a President leaving office involuntarily, as the years tick by! With exactly two years and seven months left in office for Barack Obama, as of today, all decent people, whether supportive or critical of his Presidency, must pray for his continued good health and safety as he faces the challenges of his times with courage and principle!
Hello Professor,
I will predict that President Obama’s real influential power will escalate exponentially when his time in office is up.
I think the Arthur Schopenhauer quote applies well here:
All truth passes through three stages.
First, it is ridiculed.
Second, it is violently opposed.
Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.
Again, Engineer, we are in total agreement. Obama will rank near, if not in the bottom part, of the top ten Presidents over time, certainly at least number 12 as the lowest number, as he is a transformational President in so many ways!
Also, sadly, but certainly, were harm to visit the President, he would, automatically, rank higher in history, as a martyr, so his haters should wish him well, and that he finishes his term!
I wonder if it’s really the case that Obama is getting more threats than is usual for a president in the 21st century or if it’s simply the case that he is a controversial figure and so it just gets more attention. I kind of feel as if he is going to stay clear of the political stage or any issues for a few years at least after leaving office.
I mean the media has become even more 24 hours a day at our fingertips in just the time since Obama has taken office then it was during any of Bush’s time in office even towards the end. Perhaps that easy media has also made it easier to make threats against the President.
Ali, all I can say is that there ARE more reported threats against Obama than any other President in the past, although Lincoln may have had a somewhat equivalent amount of threats for his time. Social media have, certainly, made it easier to issue threats.
I actually believe Obama will NOT stay out of the public eye when he leaves office, as I see him as active in social causes, just like Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton proved to be almost immediately!
Well Bill Clinton and W stayed out of the way for a period of time and I think depending on who takes office after him Obama might do the same. I’m not saying forever or anything because I do agree he will probably be a pretty active former President being as young as he is just as Bill Clinton has been. Just that he’s probably going to want a period of rest after 8 years of issues.
I’ll be interested to see if the pattern continues then for the next president. Would answer the question of if it’s just become more dangerous to be president or if it’s a case of hate like you say or maybe even a combination of both. In any case I certainly share the sentiment of wishing President Obama continued wellbeing. I do feel okay though should something horrible happen that Biden would take over.
I agree that Obama should be safe, have peace and tranquility.
However, you and I are Biden fans, and in a way, I wish he would be the successor more than Hillary, but I guess not likely to happen!