Oh, there were some really bad pop songs in the 80s, too. Remember, on those shows they list out the highlights (either the really good or the really bad). As a precursor to the 90s boy bands, try New Edition or Color Me Badd.
Politically, we were just coming out of the escapist 70s/Disco (escaping from Vietnam) and here comes Reagan selling hope for the future (well, the illusion at least). As a result, we had Reaganomics (i.e. Trickle down economics, or as Bill Maher stated, "they are p**sing on you"), Iran-Contra, the Evil Empire (and the collapse of the Soviet Union and the tearing down of the Berlin Wall, easily one of the more memorable things that has happened in my life), and the whole "Ronbo" portrayal.
Heck, look at the movies. Predator, Rambo, etc. The 80s were also the heydey of the pure action movie. Arnold was absolutely huge in the 80s.