The 1996 presidential election, pitting President Bill Clinton against Sen. Bob Dole of Kansas, was sometimes dubbed the “Seinfeld election” — an election about nothing. The 2020 election is an entirely different affair. It is an election about everything.
American elections often have an overriding theme. The 1828 election was about Andrew Jackson’s redemption after the “corrupt bargain” that placed John Quincy Adams in the White House. The 1860 election was about the extension of slavery. The 1932 election was about recovery from the Great Depression. The 1960 election was about the virtue of vigor versus experience. And the 1980 election was about the purpose and size of government.
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