How much do presidents merely reflect political trends vs. how much do presidents influence the direction of the country?
Thinking about the later years of each presidency, what are the some things that characterize America at the time?
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Obama: increasing racial resentment, SJWs, transgenders, social media, mediocre/stagnant economy, refugees
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Bush: defense contracting, housing bubble & crash, Hummers
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Clinton:internet,tech bubble,strong economy, plunging crime rates,optimism about bringing American democracy to the world/US as world police
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Reagan/Bush: fall of communism, greed is good, stock market/wall street focus, crack epidemic, high crime, Iran/contra, televangelists
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Carter: gritty urban decay comes to mind in TV from this era. See pictures of NYC & subway graffiti from about 1980. Star Wars, Buck Rogers
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Nixon/Ford: Hippies and other 60s radicalism in steep decline, busing/white flight, what else?
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JFK/LBJ: Spiking crime, riots, Vietnam, hippies, moon landing, civil rights stuff
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Eisenhower: 50s America, family values & baby boom, early suburbs, anti-communism, optimism about tech like nuclear power, cowboys & indians
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Anyway, I think subjectively it looks like the presidents have substantial influence over the direction and zeitgeist of the country.
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