Curse of Tippecanoe broken?

Next Tuesday, the United States will see the passing of the presidential torch.
For the man receiving the torch, there have been few who have come before him who have faced greater expectations.
Barack Obama has become the victim of his own hype. His political machine built him up to be nothing short of a political messiah and now that he has reached the promised land, his followers are expecting great things from him.
And while Obama may accomplish great things, it's impossible for him to meet these expectations that have been generated by his cult of personality.
As for the man handing him the torch, George W. Bush, barring something shocking in the next few days, he will walk away physically unscathed after his term - something unheard of in 160 years for someone elected in a year ending in zero.
He was one of the most polarizing presidents the U.S. has ever had - those who favoured him, loved him and those who didn't like him, hated him. Despite this polarization, the worst thing hurled in his direction was a pair of shoes.
As many are aware, there is a curse in U.S. folklore known as the Curse of Tippecanoe. The name comes from an attack by U.S. soldiers on Aboriginal Chief Tecumseh's village near the Tippecanoe River in 1811. The U.S. soldiers were led by William Henry Harrison.
As the story goes, the curse starts with Harrison after he was elected in 1840. Harrison served the shortest term of any U.S. president, just 31 days before he died of pneumonia.
After that from 1840 to 1960, any U.S. president elected in a year ending in zero, died in office.
The only four U.S. presidents to be assassinated - Abraham Lincoln, William McKinley, James Garfield and John F. Kennedy - were all elected in years ending in zero. As well, Warren Harding and Franklin Roosevelt also died in office.
While some believe the curse was foiled when Ronald Reagan survived eight years in office, others altered the curse to say the president either dies in office or is shot, which happened to Reagan in 1981.
For a man who brought out hatred in some Americans and many people in foreign lands, Bush seems to have avoided fulfilling any part of this so-called curse. And that says something positive about this world.

Jason Small can be reached at 691-1255.