What is this "8 year political rule" I'm thinking of?

December 7, 2018 1:28 AM

So a while back I remember reading or seeing something that said the best political candidates for President (and other big offices) had only been on the national stage for 8 years. That after that amount of time - fairly or unfairly - they'd be tagged with enough scandals and baggage to hurt their reps and standing. But I can't find who said it or where. What am I thinking of?
posted by rileyray3000 to Law & Government (3 answers total)

Gordon Brown, who spent several years in the public eye as an influential member of the UK parliament before being made Deputy Prime Minister and eventually PM, apparently believed in a "seven year rule" along these lines. Speaking retrospectively about his state of mind before being made PM, he has been quoted as saying:

I’ve already had seven years. Once you’ve had seven years, the public start getting sick of you. You’ve got seven years when you’ve got a chance to get people on board, but after that, you’re on the down slope. I’ve tried not to be too exposed, but it’s still seven years.

posted by metaBugs at 2:42 AM on December 7, 2018 [3 favorites]

This is related, but only indirectly. Back in the 2008 primary cycle, electoral-vote had this to say about the contenders:

When looking at 2008 presidential candidates, always keep two things in mind. First, every morning 100 U.S. senators look in the bathroom mirror and see a future president. Many run, but only two sitting senators have ever been elected president: Warren Harding (R-OH) in 1920 and Jack Kennedy (D-MA) in 1960. The reason is clear: senators have to vote thousands of times and opponents can always dredge up some vote to batter them over the head with. The problem is exacerbated by the intricacies of Senate procedures, where the key vote may be on the motion to table the motion to reconsider some proposal. Note to senators: Both Harding and Kennedy died after serving for only 2 1/2 years. Are you really sure you want the job?

He reinforces this line later when talking about how Joe Biden was running but was definitely not going to win. (Spoiler: Sen. Obama managed to pull it off.)
posted by Huffy Puffy at 7:13 AM on December 7, 2018 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: These are good but I don't think either of them were the thing. But helpful though.
posted by rileyray3000 at 9:26 AM on December 7, 2018