Bush only non-landslide 2 term Republican

[J. J.]

Landslides: 1864, 1872, 1900, 1904, 1924, 1956, 1972, 1984

Non-landslide: 2004

An error once again.  You can factor out 1904 and 1924, when there was no previously elected incumbent.  In 1964, the was no South, voting in the Presidential election at least.

The only comparable ones are 1872, 1900, 1952, and 1972.  In 1900 McKinley increased his percentage of the popular vote by about 0.5%.  In 1872, Grant had slightly under 3% increase.  Eisenhower only had a 2.5% increase. Only Nixon and Reagan had a greater increase in their share of the PV.

Even when compared to Ike, Bush's popularity with the electorate has grown.

[J. J.]

I was stunned the Eisenhower didn't really do too much better in 1956 than 1952.  In dealing with how much the candidate increased his percent of the popular vote, Bush 43 did better.