September 23, 2026
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Michael's Daily Memo
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Dana Bash was my radio guest yesterday. She and David Fisher have written a new book, The Elections That Changed the World, which identifies fifteen votes that altered the course of history. Not all of them involved a ballot box. Julius Caesar winning election as praetor in ancient Rome. The Mayflower Compact, agreed to in 1620 aboard a ship anchored off Cape Cod. A show of hands at a church meeting in Montgomery, Alabama that made a 26-year-old Martin Luther King Jr. the leader of the bus boycott. The conclave of cardinals that chose Pope John XXIII. The first democratically elected women to lead nations.
It got me thinking closer to home and closer in time. Forget the Romans and the Pilgrims. There have been 13 presidential elections in the last 50 years, from Carter-Ford in 1976 to Trump-Harris in 2024. Which one mattered most? Every four years we are told it is the “most important election of our lives.” Well, which really was?
Most don't make the cut, including every election where a sitting president won a second term. Nobody argues that 1996 rearranged the country. And yes, it is subjective. But here are my five finalists:
1980 - With inflation in double digits and 52 Americans held hostage in Tehran, Reagan carries 44 states against Carter and launches a conservative era that lasts a generation.
1992 - Clinton ends 12 years of Republican White Houses, and Ross Perot takes nearly 19 percent, the best third-party showing since Teddy Roosevelt in 1912.
2000 - Bush v. Gore. 537 votes in Florida and a 5-4 Supreme Court ruling. Then came 9/11, Afghanistan, Iraq, and two new justices.
2008 - Obama becomes the first Black president in the middle of a financial collapse, and the Affordable Care Act follows.
2016 - Trump loses the popular vote but wins Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin by about 77,000 votes combined. Then he appoints three justices who help end Roe, and his party is remade in his image.
Each of these elections changed the country. I want to know which one you think changed it most.
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DAILY POLL
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Which was the most consequential U.S. presidential election of the last 50 years?
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TOP STORY
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The Justice Department argued in a court filing that CNN, MS NOW and Politico can be barred from the White House because their reporting on President Donald Trump's ballroom construction and the Iran war poses national security risks.
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TODAY'S YOUTUBE
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SPONSORED BY PARX CASINO
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IN OTHER NEWS
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Trump said U.S. and Iranian officials held a three-hour meeting through mediators Tuesday, hours after he warned at the U.N. that he could “annihilate” Iran if a deal to end the nearly seven-month war is not reached soon.
Larry Sabato's Crystal Ball moved three Senate and four gubernatorial contests toward Democrats on Tuesday, citing a "persistently poor national environment" for Republicans heading into the 2026 midterms.
In a wide-ranging interview, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez discussed the factors shaping her potential 2028 presidential bid, including her age, identity, electability, family plans and the possibility of challenging Sen. Chuck Schumer for his New York seat.
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A MESSAGE FROM COMCAST
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President Trump said Tuesday he has called for a ban on U.S. diesel exports, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed the administration is studying whether a full or partial ban is feasible as record diesel prices squeeze farmers and truckers ahead of the midterms.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended the Trump administration's decision to bar CNN, Politico and MS NOW from working inside the White House, telling NBC's "TODAY" that no one is closing outlets or arresting reporters — the banned organizations just can't have a desk in the building.
A new Playboy, Kinsey Institute and Julie survey shared with USA TODAY found 54% of Gen Z respondents live with their parents, and 64% of those hadn't had sex in the past three months, as record numbers of young adults stay home amid housing costs.
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CARTOONS
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by Rob Rogers
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MORE NEWS
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An attorney for the Lindsay Clancy trial's holdout juror says the defense's request to have the judge investigate the juror's conduct is “dangerous” and could set a troubling precedent for future jurors, condemning the motion and that questioned the juror's truthfulness after the deadlocked panel split 11-1 for not guilty by reason of insanity and ended in a mistrial.
More than 160 Irish sportspeople have signed an open letter urging the Republic of Ireland's men's soccer team to refuse to play upcoming UEFA Nations League qualifiers against Israel, as a diplomatic feud between the two countries escalates over the war in Gaza.
Since George Floyd's killing in 2020, nearly 100 U.S. cities have launched programs sending unarmed mental health clinicians and peer specialists to certain 911 calls instead of police, with Durham's HEART team fielding more than 25,000 calls and early studies pointing to fewer arrests and growing public trust.
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For the Left
The Supreme Court is weighing whether to hear a challenge to Maine’s mandatory waiting period for firearm purchases, a case that could clarify how lower courts apply the Bruen test and potentially shape future challenges to gun restrictions, including magazine-capacity limits.
For the Right
Trump is planning a rooftop drone port atop the new White House ballroom, while the Secret Service already operates a smaller surveillance-drone facility nearby as experts raise questions about the need, practicality and airspace challenges of the expanded system.
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