How Presidents Pass the Torch

It would be 20 years before the Democrats had to hand power back, and this didn't go much better. After the 1952 election, Harry Truman wrote in his diary that Eisenhower was being coy about cooperation: "Ike and his advisers are afraid of some kind of trick. There are no tricks ... All I want to do is to make an orderly turnover." When it was Eisenhower's turn, he was determined to handle things better, and to their mutual surprise, he and Kennedy impressed each other when they met at the White House. The young President later found himself relying on Eisenhower for both private guidance and, after the Bay of Pigs fiasco, some public cover.

And that's another important ritual. Former Presidents tend to rise to the occasion when the call comes from the Oval Office, even if the caller is an adversary. It is an act of patriotism and perhaps pity by men who, knowing what the job entails, are uniquely positioned to help. Obama will take office with at least this advantage: he will have four predecessors with very different skill sets to call on. It's by no means certain who would be the most useful, since the history of these ex-Presidents is full of plot twists. There's Jimmy Carter, the acclaimed humanitarian who has seemed at times to delight in tormenting his successors; Bill Clinton, who has shown he can be a mighty ally or a massive headache; and two men named Bush, who, if their own histories are any guide, might offer the 44th President very different advice, given the chance.