ABOUT THE NEXT ELECTION

Those of us old enough to remember the Jimmy Carter years are having a moment of deja vu. The 1970s saw the coining of the term “stagflation” to describe when inflation was rising and employment was slowing at the same time. We might be seeing it again under the Biden administration. And that’s not all. Gas lines? Check! Russia and Iran emboldened to challenge the U.S. and its allies? Check! American “malaise?” I’m feeling it — how about you?

Our journey begins with Franklin Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan, two presidents who won huge landslide victories — in 1932 and 1980 — that realigned American politics. They were followed in the White House by Harry S. Truman and George H.W. Bush.

... Next came a switch in the party controlling the White House via Dwight Eisenhower (Republican) and Bill Clinton (Democrat) — both remembered for their centrism, essentially reconciling their parties with the political zeitgeists that had begun with Roosevelt and Reagan.

John F. Kennedy and George W. Bush again reversed partisan control of the White House, installing a younger-generation member of an established political family. Both Kennedy and Bush got America involved in wars that would prove vexing problems for their successors. Those successors, Lyndon Baines Johnson and Barack Obama, took bold measures to expand the role of government ...

Is there a silver lining here? ... Might we get something akin to Ronald Reagan Redux in 2024?

Fans of smaller government, individual liberty, free enterprise, and robust civil discourse can hope so.

Brad Lips, Atlas Network, RealClearWire