If you’re a Democrat and looking for reassurance — as poll after poll shows warning signs for Joe Biden — you might be tempted to compare 2024 to 2012, when Barack Obama also faced rocky terrain in his bid for reelection, then ended up winning rather convincingly.
But some Democrats now worry that 2024 may actually be more like 1992 — a year in which an incumbent president, who had previously served two terms as vice president, was damaged by pocketbook concerns, entrenched economic pessimism, deep distrust in government institutions, a powerful third-party campaign and a sense that he was old and failed to understand the nation’s problems.
Three top Democrats recently told me they have heard other Democrats making the comparison to 1992 at meetings and party gatherings. Several others told me they agreed with aspects of the comparison.