Chris Hayes is a babyfaced host of one of MSNBCs many useless talk shows. Like the rest of his colleagues, he is unapologetically liberal. He is at least trying to seem more mature by opening his shows with essays that have some historical merit and admit something less than the 100% liberal chauvinism of his older-and older-looking colleagues. A few months ago he admitted President Obamas second term may not be as wonderful as the idyllic last four years of unblemished peace and record-breaking prosperity we have been so privileged to live through. He did not however ascribe this to any small defect in our perfect President or his undeniably airtight political rhetoric, but to the simple path of history in which US Presidents usually struggle in their second terms. He could have listed every defect of George W. Bushs second term, but he didnt. This seemed odd at first, until I realized that if you called Bushs second term a disaster, you would have to admit there was something good about his first term. Regarding Bill Clinton, he admitted character flaws that made his last two years silent-a large concession for a Democrat. He rambled at length about Reagans second term of course, and relished-as liberals always do-the disgrace of Richard Nixon. Finally, in an attempt to be bipartisan, he mentioned the Vietnam debacle of Lyndon Johnson (in part because by doing so he didnt have to mention the failures of Johnsons social agenda). If, as I expect, he was fed liberal propaganda with his baby formula and ever since, he probably thinks Johnsons social programs were a success. He stopped there, because while Eisenhowers second term was not as good as his first, his predecessor Harry Trumans second term was almost as bad as Johnsons. The fact is he could have kept going all the way to the beginning: George Washington. Washingtons first term got off to a wonderful start. He made John Jay Chief Justice of a talented veteran Supreme Court, created a cabinet with some of the finest statesmen in history forming the National Bank, good currency and sound foreign policy. In his second term things fell apart. His cabinet members quit, their replacements were horrible. John Jay left the Supreme Court. Washingtons choice to replace him was ruled unfit by the Senate as insane. There was a tax revolt. The French Revolution turned into a bloodbath. When he left office President John Adams and Vice President Thomas Jefferson hated each other, most of the cabinet was taking orders from Alexander Hamilton, not President Adams and war with France was imminent. Only one President had a second term indisputably better than his first: James Monroe. It was so nice they called it the era of good feeling. I guarantee no era will ever get a title like that again.
