The simple fact is that the Democrats were incumbents faced with inflation. The election was an uphill battle.

It's a poi dog, right?

It kind of reminds me of the decline of the 2nd wave of the KKK: rapid growth followed by rapid decline due to a rise in opposition against, general lack of interest, and complete with rape by one of the leaders.

Thank you! I'll be sure to check this out later.

If you don't mind, is there a source for the info in the thread? Particularly where are the photographs from (I assume the Smithsonian archives), as I would like to see if there are others

Very interesting stuff! I really enjoy these type of timelines in museum design. The Smithsonian fossil hall is particularly pronounced in between different eras of design (my guess would be the popularity of fossils necessitates more frequent renovations as compared to the other primary halls).