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George W Bush won the popular vote in 2004 though. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_United_States_presidential_election https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_Un

• CodeCube 7y ago
  yes ... but I'll be honest, that was extenuating circumstances. Never would have happened were it not for 9/11, so I consider that a black swan event
  • newfriend 7y ago
    This is known as "moving the goalposts"
    • Eleopteryx 7y ago
      Invoking goalposts in the context of this discussion seems overly combative. The article deals in pessimism/optimism which is a matter of perception. If one perceives that George W. Bush's success in 2004 was precipitated by extenuating circumstances like 9/11 or the invasion of Iraq, or if they perceive Bush's re-election as an extension of a presidency that never should have been, I would argue that still matters in terms of their outlook. I don't sense that the fact that Bush won the popular vote in 2004 will elevate or depress anyone's perception of the political climate of that decade or right now.
• Eleopteryx 7y ago
  But he'd never have been in a position for re-election had he not won in 2000 first. That's not to say it'd have been impossible for him to run and win in 2004 otherwise, but who can really say.