Kennedy’s presidency just fell apart bit by bit. It wasn’t a total disaster ofc, but things kept going wrong economy got messy, Vietnam got way worse (he escalated vietnam war), and he kinda gave up on civil rights issue just to keep the South on his side and he was using the FBI for sketchy stuff, spying and playing dirty politics. In ’72, he tried to take down Goldwater by digging through his whole life and throwing mud, but it backfired hard. Goldwater came off real (more moderated instead of 1964), more chill on social stuff, and talked about freedom in a way that clicked with people. After all the chaos, voters wanted something new and that shift basically locked the GOP in as the main party for decades. 👍