‘There is nothing new under the sun.’

Was Solomon right when he said that? Does history repeat itself?

After ruling Washington for a generation, from the Civil War through the Gilded Age, in 1884 Republicans ran James Blaine – the epitome of a Washington insider – for President.

Democrat Grover Cleveland grabbed an issue he thought would upend Blaine, saying he was going to cut the tariffs Republicans passed to make ‘robber barons’ richer. Ending tariffs, he said, would make life easier for working families.

Governor of New York, famous for ‘cleaning up’ Tammany Hall, Cleveland looked like the kind of decent man needed to end corruption in Washington – until a sex scandal landed in the newspapers: He’d seduced a young widow, had an illegitimate son.

Cleveland plummeted – another scandal hit: As Speaker of the House, James Blaine had cut a deal with railroad tycoons: He’d gotten the government to give them land for free – they’d given him over $1 million.

Staring from a crook to a philanderer, struggling to make a choice, people asked one question: Which was worse? Issues no longer mattered. Tariffs no longer mattered. Character was all that mattered.

Grover Cleveland won by a whisker. Two years later, sitting in the White House, married a twenty-one-year-old girl.

Does any of that sound familiar?

Yes, what Solomon said was true – history repeats itself.

But don’t give up hope: After learning a lesson, Americans climbed out of the ditch – went on to win World War I, World War II, and the Cold War.