America is being treated these days to the rarest of all political phenomena. It is beyond once-in-a-blue-moon infrequent; we’re taking once in a century. Or even longer, in fact. Because it hasn’t happened since 1912, the same year the Titanic sank.

We’re talking about a past and present president of the United States facing each other in an election.

The 2024 contest is unlike anything that’s happened in our lifetime. It’s a grudge match for the ages, a replay of 2020 that will likely end with either Donald Trump pulling a Grover Cleveland (by serving two non-consecutive terms), or with Joe Biden being the first president since Dwight Eisenhower to beat the same opponent twice in a row.

What makes this situation so remarkable is that after leaving the White House, very few ex-presidents get the chance to reclaim their old job. And the handful of times it was attempted didn’t turn out well.

Take Ulysses S. Grant, for instance. Winning the Civil War helped him easily sail into the presidency in 1868. Though personally honest, Grant made the mistake of surrounding himself with men who weren’t. His administration was riddled with corruption like a piece of Swiss cheese. After leaving office at the end of his second term, he went on a highly publicized round-the-world tour with his wife. When he returned, he decided to give it another try.

But the old general faced a formidable obstacle. Every president until then had followed George Washington’s example and served only two terms at most. Grant was going for #3. None of the scandals from his previous terms stuck to him personally, and he came within a whisker of pulling off a presidential hat trick. After a grueling 36 ballots, Republican convention delegates eventually selected James Garfield instead.

Another Republican who got the boot desperately wanted a second chance. Elected in 1928, Herbert Hoover had the great misfortune of having Wall Street crash the following year, and the Great Depression begin the year after that. Not the kind of things that look good on a presidential resume. Voters showed Hoover the White House door in 1932, replacing him with Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt. (Who, incidentally, went on to shatter Washington’s two-term tradition by being elected to the office four times.)

Like Grant before him, Hoover was itching for another bite of the chief executive apple. Unfortunately for him, Republican voters weren’t. They felt sorry for him personally but were unwilling to hitch their wagon to him again politically. After flirting with seeking the nomination in 1936, he actually tried for it in 1940—and got nothing but a mere 17 delegates and a warm round of applause at the convention.

Martin Van Buren and Millard Fillmore both ran again before the Civil War. And both failed miserably.

But the Mother of all Presidential Comeback Attempts was in 1912. And it was a doozie.

After inheriting the job upon William McKinley’s assassination in 1901, Theodore Roosevelt was elected in his own right in 1904. Then, in a move that still baffles historians, he did something incredibly stupid. Caught up in a moment of euphoria on Election Night, Roosevelt blurted out that he wouldn't seek reelection in 1908. When it rolled out, the man who perhaps loved being president more than any other had no choice but to hand over the reins to someone else.

His handpicked successor, William H. Taft, was easily elected. But there was a problem. Roosevelt was a progressive, and Taft was a conservative. The two quickly split, ending their close personal friendship and hurting Taft deeply in the process.

Teddy challenged his former BFF for the nomination in 1912. Taft controlled the Republican Party machinery and had no trouble securing the nomintion. And Teddy being Teddy, he then bolted the GOP and ran on a third-party progressive ticket (nicknamed the Bull Moose Party.)

That fractured the Republican vote, enabling Democratic progressive Woodrow Wilson to squeak and claim victory.

In fact, Roosevelt was preparing to run yet again in 1920 (and had done considerable fence-mending within the GOP, including patching things up personally with Taft), when he died of a heart attack in his sleep in early 1919.

Now, here we are in 2024. An incumbent predecessor is preparing to face off against his immediate predecessor. The GOP is hampered by a significant number of Never Trumpers while the Democrats’ progressive wing is increasingly angry with their party’s standard bearer. Add to that a host of independents (most notably Robert F. Kennedy Jr.) is circling around both camps.

How will it all turn out on Election Night? It’s hard to say. But this much is certain: You’ll want to have your history book handy once the result is known. Because it will need to be updated.

Have comments, questions, or suggestions you’d like to share with Mark? Message him at jmp.press@gmail.com.