But Jefferson the politician had a more sour view: "Nothing can now be believed which is seen in a newspaper," he wrote to a friend in 1807. "Truth itself becomes suspicious by being put in that polluted vehicle." (With his attitudes towards the press, Jefferson is surpassed only by Nixon, who spoke eloquently for first amendments freedoms while using the FBI to spy on journalists he thought were dangerous.)

Of course, Jefferson's legacy lies with his famous document of principle--the Declaration of Independence. In a country so devoid of confidence in its leaders, that sort of idealism is guarded carefully.

No wonder that Democrats and Republicans alike this year are invoking the spirit of Franklin Delano Roosevelt '04 to lend credibility to their plans for change. No 20th century figure comes close to Roosevelt's commitment to social and economic justice.

But Clinton and Bush might inquire a little deeper into FDR's past. As a young man at Harvard College, Roosevelt was crushed by his rejection from the Porcellian Club. He thought membership in the elitist organization to be his birthright (after all, cousin Theodore had belonged).

Later in his career, FDR confided to a friend that rejection from the Pork was the greatest disappointment of his life.

Of course, the elder President Roosevelt set a fine tradition for flip-flopping himself. Upon retiring from the presidency in 1908, TR professed to have lost interest in the white House.

But in 1912, Roosevelt changed his mind. He ran for president on the Bull Moose party ticket and became the most successful third party candidate until--you guessed it--Rose Perot.

Those wondering whether Perot has a change to play spoiler in this election needn't look past the 1912 race, in which Roosevelt drew enough votes from William Howard Taft to give Woodrow Wilson victory by plurality.

If presidents are vulnerable to the whims to the electorate, vice-presidents sometimes the smallest of pawns.

Take Lyndon Johnson. In his career as a Senator from Texas, Johnson had a dismal record on issues of civil rights.

But when he became president, Johnson signed into law the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, making him, according to Peterson," perhaps the greatest champion of civil rights this country has ever had."

The next Democrat and Southerner to assume the presidency, Jimmy Carter, was no stranger to the gumby effect either. He bent in many directions, despite his image today as a man of unparalleled principle.

In 1977, the Democrats in Congress fought tooth and nail for an unpopular $50 tax credit Charter had proposed during the campaign. But when the credit passed the Congress, Carter withdrew his support, infuriating many members of his own party.

The nation's most recent ex-president, Ronald Reagan, has been easier to faults for his honesty than for any lack of consistency. But he also set a record for speed of a flip-flop.

It took Jefferson several decades and Johnson several years to shift on major issues. Reagan only took a couple of minutes.