President Obama / Carolyn Kaster, AP It seems as if the
political world is in a constant state of flux, but one
institution is in the midst of historic stability: the
presidency. As his second inauguration approaches this weekend,
President Obama is poised to be the nation's third-straight two-
term president -- something that hasn't happened in nearly two
centuries. Just three presidents in 18 years. That hasn't
happened since the "Virginia dynasty" of Thomas Jefferson
(1801-09), James Madison (1809-17) and James Monroe (1817-25).
Two presidential terms is relatively rare in any event. Of
Obama's 42 predecessors, only 14 completed two full terms.
President Grover Cleveland has an asterisk; he served two non-
consecutive terms, and is listed as both the 22nd and 24th
presidents. And the list includes Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who
served a little more than three complete terms. The last two-
term threesome -- Jefferson, Madison, Monroe -- were allies who
hailed from the same party. The modern triumvirate -- Clin