Close shaves are good

Christian Century, Nov 2, 2004

CLOSE SHAVES ARE GOOD: Out of 14 presidential elections since World War II, six of the winners polled less than a majority of the popular vote: Truman in 1948, Kennedy in 1960, Nixon in 1968, Clinton in 1992 and 1996 and George W. Bush in 2000. Only five times during this period did the winner garner a landslide vote, which is considered 55 percent of the popular vote or more.

Historian Ralph E. Luker notes that four of the five landslide victories during this period were for second-term presidents, and their second terms turned out to be unremarkable or disatrous. Landslide victories give American presidents a sense of mandate and tempt them to overreach, argues Luker (www.ralphluker.com).