Only Five More Presidents After This One?
I have discovered a pattern in our U.S. presidents that appears to indicate that George W. Bush, our 43rd president, will only be succeeded by five other individuals.

First a look back at some of our presidents in history.

Our sixth president, John Quincy Adams, was the first (and for many years the only) president who was the son of a former president (in this case, his father John Adams).

He was followed by Andrew Jackson, a charismatic, controversial Democrat.

He was succeeded by New Yorker Martin Van Buren, Jackson's former vice president (and, for many years, the only vice president who was elected to the presidential office immediately after serving as vice president).

Our next president? The old William Henry Harrison.

Our tenth president was the southerner John Tyler, who was not re-elected.

Fast forward over a century, and meet some of our more recent presidents:

Number 39: Jimmy Carter, a southerner who was not re-elected.

Number 40: The old Ronald Reagan, who was older than Harrison.

Number 41: The former vice president George H.W. Bush, famous for breaking the Van Buren curse.

Number 42: The charismatic, controversial Democrat William Jefferson (Bill) Clinton.

Number 43: George W. Bush, son of a former president.

Interesting pattern in reverse, and you don't have to take off your shoes to determine that if the pattern holds, the next five presidents will share characteristics with Monroe, Madison, Jefferson, Adams senior, and Washington. After that, what do we get? An ineffective government? A mad king? No one knows....