THE PRESIDENCY: Lame-Duck Power

As the nation's first President barred by the U.S. Constitution (22nd Amendment) from seeking a third term, Dwight Eisenhower once feared that his lack of a political future might hurt his political present. It seemed all too likely that political opportunists of both parties would declare open season on an Eisenhower deprived of a chance to take his program and his popularity to the polls again. But by last week the President had just about decided that his unique lame-duck position was one of strength, not of weakness.

The reason seemed both...