Was 1976 being as close as it was more stunning than 2020 being as close as it was

[MT Treasurer]

Both of these elections should have been major warning signs to the victorious party that their narrow victory might have concealed an underlying and ongoing rightward shift of the nation, which they only defied because of the unpopularity of the incumbent President and a culturally acceptable Democratic nominee who managed a last hurrah in a lot of R-trending areas. If Biden doesn’t see those parallels (esp. after a resounding 2022 defeat) and refuses to adjust his governing style, it’s not that hard to see him ending up like Carter against a skilled R opponent (yes, he obviously wouldn’t lose nowhere near as badly as Carter, but a decisive EC victory + substantial gains in the Senate are both very much possible, just like in 1980).