But he's not really going anywhere. There's nothing more useless than an ex-president. That's what one observer said when John Quincy Adams left the White House but returned to Washington as just another congressman from Massachusetts. The men who occupied the Oval Office almost always faded quickly from view. Mr. Adams was an exception, serving in the House of Representatives until he died in his back row seat in the chamber.
Recent presidents have a less colorful record.
Ronald Reagan rode off into the sunset. Jimmy Carter found redemption as a humanitarian. Gerald Ford continued to be the butt of jokes. Richard Nixon hid in New Jersey. Lyndon Johnson went weird.