Left Acting Right
After the fall of the Berlin Wall, with all that "euphoria", there was no way US would not end up tilting to right especially since Reagan and HW were seen who crushed the Soviets, two Republican presidents (just like Democrats winning WWII gave their slant of governance legitimacy). Afterwards left would go right, right would go insane, polarization would increase.. on and on.. This rightward shift pervaded everything. Why did Dems become interventionist? Why did left start acting right on war too? See picture
Dukakis was destroyed by that image. At least that was the conclusion at the time. Reagan "the cowboy" along with HW had won the Cold War and here is this guy looking like a wimp.. Clinton must have woved never to be in that position..
This is the environment where Margaret Thatcher says "There Is No Alternative", which is picked up by the liberal Ozal ("There Is No Alternative To Us") to all the way to now where Merkel can repeat similar ideas, which should not be too surprising, she is the product of the fall of the Berlin Wall.