Bush breaks Tippecanoe's curse
Historians will be debating George Bush's presidency for decades to come—in fact, they've already started—but in one area, at least, he leaves an unambiguous legacy: He will break, once and for all, Tecumseh's Curse.
The curse—also known as the Curse of Tippecanoe, the Zero-Year Curse and the 20-Year Curse—refers to the fact that since 1840, every president elected in a year ending in a zero has died, been killed, or been shot while in office. Some curse scholars (I use the term loosely) say that Ronald Reagan actually broke the curse, since he survived his term. Others say that the terms of the curse, which appear to have been amended to take into account John Hinckley's assassination attempt, were misunderstood and that Reagan actually kept it alive.
OK, so maybe it's not a completely unambiguous legacy. Still, presidents usually take their legacies where they can get them.
Read entire article at Slate
The curse—also known as the Curse of Tippecanoe, the Zero-Year Curse and the 20-Year Curse—refers to the fact that since 1840, every president elected in a year ending in a zero has died, been killed, or been shot while in office. Some curse scholars (I use the term loosely) say that Ronald Reagan actually broke the curse, since he survived his term. Others say that the terms of the curse, which appear to have been amended to take into account John Hinckley's assassination attempt, were misunderstood and that Reagan actually kept it alive.
OK, so maybe it's not a completely unambiguous legacy. Still, presidents usually take their legacies where they can get them.