1988 was the last election of its era. After 1988, there was a massive shift toward the Democrats in older suburbs, and cities became even more heavily Democratic than they were before.
The country has become much more geographically divided since 1988. Nobody thought in terms of "red states" and "blue states" back then.
Indeed, and likewise rural areas became much more Republican. Dukakis did fairly well in many rural areas, especially in the Midwest. He did much better than Kerry in many rural counties.
Bush on the other hand achieved percentages that his son can only dream of in many cities and especially suburban areas, particularly in the Northeast.
I think what we've mainly seen is people voting more on social issues and less on economic issues. In the 1980's wealthier urban areas voted Republican and poorer rural areas largely voted Democratic, both due to economic issues.
