It was World War II, or the Cold War, or civil rights, or law and order, or the Vietnam War. With the economic downturn of the 1970s, that changed. From 1976-96, the economy dominated American politics. The 1990s have seen the longest peacetime economic expansion in American history. The coming presidential campaign could mark the first time in a generation that the economy is not front and center.
Voters are likely to nod in agreement.
In a March Gallup Poll, more than 70 percent of Americans called the current economic roll the best of their lifetime. And they do. The universal consensus at the time embraced John Maynard Keynes' view that government could use taxes and spending to manage the economy. The current boom is different. It's not being driven by government at all.