Ford was probably more culturally liberal than Carter, the same might've also been true of Dewey compared to Truman.
In what sense? You seem to be equating cultural liberalism with being more upper class.
This is a pretty major undercurrent in the "party switch" narrative that bears addressing. Especially coming from the likes of Chernow, &c., a lot of it is just blatant classism and paternalistic disdain for poor white people in rural areas of the South and Midwest.
I feel that's SLIGHLTY unfair with regards to Chernow. Biographers tend to develop sympathies with the people they write about after going through a bunch of letters and journals and etc. and Chernow identifying with Hamilton and Grant is totally reasonable, and, of course, Ulysses Grant was one of America's greatest leaders and writers and I'd of COURSE have voted for Grant both times.
This can lead to unfortunate things like playing down their downsides (like...um...the entire Adams Administration for Hamilton, or certain very very problematic aspects of the Grant Administration for US Grant).
I have no compunction in saying US Grant was a great and good man and I'd vote for him both times (ESPECIALLY in 1868...can you IMAGINE President Seymour?). It's also true that during Grant's time in office the Republican Party grew to be captured by business interests (see Schuyler Colfax, whose early abolitionism didn't mean he was immune from being the most crooked Vice President this side of Spiro Agnew). It's also possible to appreciate Hamilton's ahead of his time idea of having an independent central bank and a state funded by bonds which could use its own debt as an asset rather than a liability while also thinking Hamilton's support of John Adams' tyrannical agenda as President and Hamilton's vicious elitism kind of disqualifies him as a truly sympathetic figure.
Sad thing is, nuance is dead to "Good" "Bad" and if you try to pull Hamilton out of the Bad bin like Chernow did, you force a recategorization of him into the Good bin, which is a terrible fit for him. Same thing with Grant in that the old narrative that Grant was kind of a terrible president still has some validity, it's just that it very much wasn't his fault.
