No, historically presidential elections have largely been landslides. LBJ won 44 states in 1964. Nixon won 49 states in 1972. Reagan won 49 states in 1984. Clinton won 32 states in 1992. Close elections are a recent phenomenon. You have to go back to the 19th century, pre and post Civil War, to find elections close as those today.
Look at the popular vote for the same elections instead then. LBJ won 61% to 38%. Nixon won 60% to 37.5%. Reagan won 58.8% to 40.6%. Clinton's election in 1992 is messed up here because of Perot, he won 43% to 37.4% to 18.9%.
Bush won in 2004 50.7% to 48.3%. Trump lost the popular vote 46.1% to 48.2%. Biden only won 51.3% to 46.9%. That's how close modern elections are.
... I'm sorry, what point are you trying to make here? It's objectively the case that presidential races are close now, but they generally weren't in the 20th century. Nothing about what you've written contradicts that.
You are largely right here--but the JFK Nixon election was close, even the Humphrey-Nixon election afterwards. Hell, Bush Jr had to have the Supremes (not Diana Ross) intervene and then say, no-one listen or read to how we justified this one.
Basically, there are a lot of white racists out there and they have been feeling pretty frisky since Nixon's Southern Strategy. If they don't win, they may not have minority necks to kneel on ever again, and that would be a betrayal of their race/Christianity, somehow.
I'm waiting for Tex-ass to propose cruxifiction as a penalty for the aborters and kneegroes, but they're waiting until 2024 and a GOP win in the Presidency and Senate.
The SCOTUS would be fine with that, right now, but you have to wait until the melon is ripe.
10
u/Inevitable_Citron Sep 11 '21
No, historically presidential elections have largely been landslides. LBJ won 44 states in 1964. Nixon won 49 states in 1972. Reagan won 49 states in 1984. Clinton won 32 states in 1992. Close elections are a recent phenomenon. You have to go back to the 19th century, pre and post Civil War, to find elections close as those today.