I ought to add a caveat that the theory I've presented isn't mine (I hope I made that clear when I mentioned "I'd simply add..".), but that I found it in a post on Democratic Underground, author unattributed. My only innovation is to clarify my perspective on the role of Nixon-Ford-Carter and Obama-(Trump) in this cycle.
The only one I have trouble accepting is Wilson = Eisenhower = Clinton. Clinton and Eisenhower are in similar positions historically, but Wilson reads more like a continuation of Roosevelt-Taft than a moderate form of an opposing ideology, to my view. And I think that the analogy is stronger between Nixon and Obama, given their political acumen (Obama is perhaps a Nixon without either a landslide victory or a disgraceful resignation) than with either Hoover or FDR - Obama isn't an abject failure like Hoover, but he also isn't a transcendent figure riding in like FDR. He reads much more like a precursor to a realignment to me.
I see very little parallel between Clinton/Trump and Roosevelt '40/Willkie on either side. I think (inverted) parallels with Ford and Carter ring much more true. Willkie was a wealthy businessman and former Democrat, like Trump, but he also ran a very civil campaign and would have been a virtual third Roosevelt term anyway. I see no parallel between either Clinton or Trump and FDR.
Everything since Bush II feels more like a weird inverted repetition of the late 60s/early 70s than it does the Great Depression.
The only one I have trouble accepting is Wilson = Eisenhower = Clinton. Clinton and Eisenhower are in similar positions historically, but Wilson reads more like a continuation of Roosevelt-Taft than a moderate form of an opposing ideology, to my view. And I think that the analogy is stronger between Nixon and Obama, given their political acumen (Obama is perhaps a Nixon without either a landslide victory or a disgraceful resignation) than with either Hoover or FDR - Obama isn't an abject failure like Hoover, but he also isn't a transcendent figure riding in like FDR. He reads much more like a precursor to a realignment to me.
I see very little parallel between Clinton/Trump and Roosevelt '40/Willkie on either side. I think (inverted) parallels with Ford and Carter ring much more true. Willkie was a wealthy businessman and former Democrat, like Trump, but he also ran a very civil campaign and would have been a virtual third Roosevelt term anyway. I see no parallel between either Clinton or Trump and FDR.
Everything since Bush II feels more like a weird inverted repetition of the late 60s/early 70s than it does the Great Depression.