The Roaring 20s

America was tired of Woodrow Wilson. Like George W. Bush, he had a successful and progressive first term, he was re-elected by the skin of his teeth, the economy was in recession, he led America into a ridiculous conflict, and then into a massive conflict which the public grew tired of. In 1919, the country experienced a Red Scare, a series of race riots, and the government suspended the constitution to go after radicals. The GOP smelled victory.
In 1920, the GOP nominated Senator Warren Harding of Ohio for president. Harding was not qualified, but was likeable and the girls swooned over him. Harding promised a return to normalcy. (Thus far, 2008 resembles 1920). The Democrats thought about running Wilson again, but he had suffered a stroke and the country despised him. They nominated newspaperman James Cox. The election came down to whether or not people wanted to be involved in world affairs and progressivism. Did people want "A Return to Normalcy" or a continuance of progressive policies and Wilsonian (Bush-like) foreign policy? Harding won with 61% of the vote. Voters wanted an end of Bush...er Wilson.
Four years later, Harding was dead. He died of a massive stroke as a major scandal rocked his administration. Harding the candidate resembled Barack Obama while Harding the president resembled Bill Clinton.(Lessons for today!) The Vice-President, Calvin Coolidge, assumed the presidency and was well liked and untainted by scandal. He ran for election in his own right. The Democrats battled and haggled and settled on former Congressman and Diplomat John Davis. Meanwhile, the Progressives re-emerged and nominated the narcissistic Robert La Follette. With the economy doing great, America modernizing, and a popular incumbent president, Coolidge won in a landslide. 54% to 28% for Davis and 17% for La Follette.
In 1928, Coolidge decided not to run. He was a successful president and would have been re-elected. The Republicans turned to Secretary of Commerce and World War I relief hero Herbert Hoover. Hoover decided to enter politics at the beginning of the decade and decided to join the GOP because the Democrats were not popular. Hoover promised a "chicken in every pot" and ironically believed poverty would soon be at an end. The Democrats nominated Al Smith of New York. Smith was a Catholic and against Prohibition. He was the party's sacrificial lamb. The only excitement came from Franklin Roosevelt's nominating speech. The Democrats were crushed again 58%-40%.Four years later, America would be in it's deepest crisis since the Civil War and FDR would be the man they would choose to save the country.