by Jake Betz

Created on: July 31, 2011   Last Updated: August 03, 2011

Nothing is quite as pitiful or helpless as an injured duck. If the duck has a broken wing, it can’t fly. If it has a gimpy leg, it may not be able to swim and may find the journey to the water’s edge to be a slow, painful and awkward waddle.

Such is the plight of the American politician who is nearing the end of his elected term of office. He still possesses the title and the responsibilities of office, yet he lacks the essential level of public support to be a truly effective leader. “Lame duck” status is conferred on any politician still in office but waiting the accession to power of the new leader just elected to succeed him; the malady is more debilitating for those politically impotent officeholders who are about to leave public service involuntarily, having been rejected at the polls by the voters.

The term “lame duck” got its origin in 18th century England and was used to describe an impecunious stockbroker who was unable to pay his bills. In the 19th Century, “dead duck” was used in the United States to describe ambitious politicians who lacked practical elected prospects. The term came into increasing usage to describe politicians whose careers are approaching an abrupt end.

Any politician can turn into a lame duck, but the higher the office, the greater the pain.

Members of the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate who lose re-election bids in early November may be summoned back to work later that month or in December for “lame duck” sessions of Congress. Although they have been rejected by voters in their home district or state, they must return to work, however briefly, to complete the unfinished business of the congressional session. They can still speak eloquently on the issues, but fewer and few people want to listen to them.

After losing the presidential election of 1932 in a landslide to Franklin D. Roosevelt, Herbert Hoover had to remain in the White House four more months, until inauguration day on March 4, 1933. Theoretically, Hoover still possessed all the statutory powers of the presidency, but though the nation was in the grips of its worst depression in history, Hoover lacked the political support, or a necessary public mandate, to make important decisions. He became nothing more than a caretaker in the office, biding his time and treading water until FDR took office. Hoover is the classic lame duck.

To some extent, every second-term president, forbidden by the Constitution from seeking another term, suffers the gradual pangs of lame duckism. As the nation begins to focus on the next election and the next batch of presidential candidates, the president’s proposals and pronouncements become less and less relevant. The sitting president loses the political capital needed to persuade others to go along with tough decisions or sweeping new initiatives. Politicians in both parties decide to wait and bide their time until the next chief executive takes office. The situation is far worse for a defeated president, however, as he has to live not only with the imminent loss of power and trappings of the office but the loss of public approval and damage to his legacy.

SOURCE:

Ken Greenwald post on “World Wizard,” December 13, 2004. http://www.wordwizard.com/phpbb3/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=21095&start=0&st=0&sk=t&sd=a 

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