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![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() December 7:
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() changing trends in popular television in the 70s and 80s
![]() ![]() ![]() the fall of the Berlin Wall hastened the end of the Cold War
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() military success in Iraq did not translate to a successful economy at home, and Americans worried that the nation was losing its status as an economic superpower
![]() ![]() ![]() a graph of George H. W. Bush's presidential approval ratings
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() the 1992 election, and the county-by-county results (Clinton counties in red, Bush counties in blue, Perot counties in green)
![]() ![]() ![]() after the Republican takeover of Congress in 1994, Clinton "won" the public relations struggle with Speaker Newt Gingrich
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() the 1996 election, and the county-by-county results (Clinton counties in red, Dole counties in blue)
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() during the Lewinsky scandal, many Americans ridiculed both Clinton's defense of his behavior, and Kenneth Starr's concentration on lurid details
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() impeachment appeared to backfire on Congressional Republicans, though Clinton's personal conduct received bipartisan criticism
![]() ![]() ![]() a graph of Clinton's presidential approval ratings
![]() ![]() ![]() the decisive Florida vote in 2000 was close and confusing
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() the 2000 election, and the county-by-county results (Gore counties in red, Bush counties in blue)
![]() ![]() ![]() Gore won the national popular vote, but Bush won the electoral vote and the presidency
![]() ![]() ![]() post-election media recounts showed different Florida results depending on which conditions were applied
![]() ![]() ![]() September 11, 2001
![]() ![]() ![]() the federal budget deficit, from 1961 to the mid 00s
![]() ![]() ![]() the "Mission Accomplished" banner that haunted much of George W. Bush's presidency
![]() ![]() ![]() county-by-county results from the 2004 election (Kerry counties in red, Bush counties in blue)
![]() FULL 2004 ELECTION CHARTS CAN BE FOUND AT uselectionatalas.org
![]() ![]() ![]() the federal response to Hurricane Katrina further damaged Bush's approval ratings
![]() ![]() ![]() a graph of George W. Bush's presidential approval ratings
![]() ![]() ![]() the county-by-county returns for the 2008 election (Obama counties in BLUE, McCain counties in RED)
![]() FULL 2008 ELECTION CHARTS CAN BE FOUND AT uselectionatalas.org
![]() ![]() ![]() Obama and his team monitoring the Bin Laden raid, 2011
![]() ![]() ![]() a graph of Obama's presidential approval ratings to date
![]() November 30:
![]() ![]() ![]() an advertisement from Reagan's movie-star days, which built upon his "good-guy" film image
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() the 1980 election, and the county-by-county results (Carter counties in red, Reagan counties in blue)
![]() ![]() ![]() a graph of Carter's approval ratings as president
![]() ![]() ![]() the Iranian hostages were released as Reagan began his presidency
![]() ![]() ![]() "Reaganomics" resulted in sharply increased federal deficits
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() prior to the economic revival of the mid-80s, Reagan was accused of having damaged the social safety net and of being "another Hoover"
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() the 1984 election, and the county-by-county results (Mondale counties in red, Reagan counties in blue)
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() contrasting views of the scope of the Soviet military danger in the early 80s
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Reagan's and Gorbachev's friendly visits to each other's countries produced a feeling that the Cold War was ending
![]() ![]() ![]() the Caribbean and Central America, the focus of much of Reagan's attention as president (Grenada and Nicaragua in particular)
![]() ![]() ![]() though Reagan's approval ratings were generally strong, he was damaged by the Iran-Contra revelations in his second term
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() the 1988 election, and the county-by-county results (Dukakis counties in red, Bush counties in blue)
![]() November 16:
![]() ![]() ![]() Ford's approval ratings declined sharply after his pardon of Nixon
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() the "discomfort" or "misery" index of the 70s, and a WIN (Whip Inflation Now) button
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Ford's image problems-- a public stumble, and the "Drop Dead" newspaper headline
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() the 1976 election, and the county-by-county results (Carter counties in red, Ford counties in blue)
![]() ![]() ![]() Carter's walk back to the White House after his swearing-in symbolized his determination for an open administration
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Events as varied as gasoline shortages and the "killer rabbit" episode cemented the perception that Carter's presidency was ineffective
![]() ![]() ![]() the feeling grew in the 70s that the US was no longer the dominant foreign policy nation
![]() ![]() ![]() a bitter reaction to the fall of South Vietnam, 1975
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() the Iranian hostage crisis (1979-1981) contributed to the perception of weakness in US foreign policy
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() The King-Riggs exhibition tennis match (1973) led to changing public perceptions of women's place in society
![]() ![]() ![]() Women's groups emphasized the obstacles that remained even during the advances of the women's movement
![]() ![]() ![]() some wondered whether the entire 70s society was turning into the "me decade"
![]() November 9:
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Nixon's 1972 trip to China produced trade agreements and increased popularity
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Nixon's 1972 trip to the Soviet Union produced an arms control deal and reduced Cold War tensions
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() the 1972 election, and the county-by-county results (McGovern counties in red, Nixon counties in blue)
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() the focus of the Watergate investigation changed when it was revealed that Nixon had secretly recorded his White House conversations
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() the release of edited transcripts of the Watergate conversations created more problems for Nixon, and his approval ratings declined even further
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() in a parody of images from The Sting, Mad Magazine portrayed Nixon and Agnew as con men
![]() ![]() ![]() as the "smoking gun" transcript was released, Nixon appeared to have isolated himself from the public
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Nixon's resignation letter, and his White House farewell
![]() ![]() ![]() even after his resignation, Nixon continued to impact presidential politics
![]() ![]() ![]() a graph of Nixon's approval ratings as president
![]() ![]() ![]() the first days of the Ford White House offered a "new day" compared with the end of the Nixon years
![]() November 2:
![]() ![]() ![]() "Dad? Son?"-- polarization over the war split families
![]() ![]() ![]() "What the hell's Ho Chi Minh doing answering our Saigon embassy phone?"-- the Tet Offensive brought LBJ's promise of "light at the end of the tunnel" into doubt
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() after the Tet Offensive, opponents of the war outnumbered supporters, and support for the war declined among all parties
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() the original LBJ "scar" photo, and cartoonists' take on it (LBJ's scar was Vietnam, Humphrey's was LBJ himself)
![]() ![]() ![]() "Good Bobby/ Bad Bobby"-- Robert Kennedy's entry into the 1968 campaign highlighted the dual nature of his appeal
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() the 1968 election, and the county-by-county results (Humphrey counties in red, Nixon counties in blue, and Wallace counties in green)
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Historians' ranking of presidents by foreign policy (from a 2000 survey) shows the major weakness of Johnson's legacy, while the chart shows the overall course of his public opinion approval ratings
![]() ![]() ![]() Nixon's invasion of Cambodia (1970) revived student and anti-war activism
![]() October 26:
![]() ![]() ![]() the Voting Rights Act (1965) gave federal guarantees to protect African-American voting rights in the South
![]() ![]() ![]() Southeast Asia
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() despite the difficulty of determining territorial control of Vietnam's population, a majority of the American public remained supportive of the war at the end of 1967, but dissents were growing
![]() ![]() ![]() locations of major anti-war rallies in the mid- and late 60s
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() student activism evolved from actions such as the Free Speech Movement into anti-war demonstrations
![]() ![]() ![]() the "long hot summers"-- locations of urban rioting in the mid-60s
![]() October 19:
![]() ![]() ![]() police actions against protestors in Birmingham helped to raise public support for civil rights
![]() ![]() ![]() Bill Mauldin's famous cartoon depicting national mourning after Kennedy's assasination, November 1963
![]() ![]() ![]() the scene of Kennedy's assasination in Dallas
![]() ![]() ![]() a 2000 presidential historian survey of Kennedy's ranking among presidents (a recent survey has Kennedy considerably higher)
![]() ![]() ![]() a graph of JFK's approval ratings as president
![]() ![]() ![]() Lyndon Johnson on the phone, possibly sweet-talking or strong-arming a reluctant senator
![]() ![]() ![]() the popular image of Barry Goldwater, LBJ's 1964 opponent, as a dangerous extremist
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() the 1964 election, and the county-by-county results (Johnson counties in red, Goldwater counties in blue)
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