alternatehistory.com
jmberry - McCain '08, Warner '12
So I wanted to do a list based on what I thought American politics would be like in the wake of the Democrats' congressional victories in 2006. Numbered footnotes are in universe, lettered roman numeral footnotes (because this board can't tell the difference between B and Bold) are explanations on why I would have thought these developments plausible (keeping in mind I don't remember exactly why I would have come to these conclusions).
2001-2009: George W. Bush/Dick Cheney (Republican)
2000 def: Al Gore/Joe Lieberman (Democrat)
2004 def: John Kerry/John Edwards (Democrat)
2009-2013: John McCain/Rudy Giuliani (Republican) [1]
2008 def: Hillary Clinton/Bill Richardson (Democrat)
2013-2021: Mark Warner/Barack Obama (Democrat) [2]
2012 def: John McCain/Rudy Giuliani (Republican)
2016 def: Mark Sanford/Jim Thune (Republican) [3]
[1] Yeah, no way is someone as controversial and disliked as Hillary going to beat McCain. I mean, trying to ban video games?! This isn't the 1950s. And McCain will have America's favorite mayor backing him, so there's that. Honestly her chances were shot ever since Bill made that joke about her becoming president on SNL. {I}
[2] So after losing twice with Northeast elites, the Democrats are likely to go back to that tried and true well that's gained them every presidential victory they've had since 1964, and nominate a Southern populist. I don't see the economy doing so well under McCain, and foreign credentials won't mean much since the Middle East conflicts will have likely wrapped up by this point and the Russians won't let Putin bully them around for much longer. So, Warner sweeps in and establishes a mandate. He'll probably pick that Illinois senator whose been in all the news lately - can you believe some people want him to run in 2008? I think he's too young for that, but 5 more years as a Senator and 8 as Veep will probably make him a shoo-in for the 2020 election. {II}
[3]By this point the economy will be recovering and quality of life will be rising by extension. The Republicans, somewhat rudderless after their 2012 defeat and the aging out of most of their big names, will probably try to beat President Warner at his own game by nominating a popular Southern ex-governor. That will probably keep things from being a mandate, but they'll still likely lose. {III}
{I}So with the benefit of nine years of hindsight, if Hillary carried the 2008 convention it's likely she probably would have won, although I think it would have been closer than Obama's victory. The comment abut SNL is a reference to their 2004 election show, which Bill did host. I can't find a video, but the quote went something like this:
[Crickets]
Who here can remember Jack Thompson?
{II} So Mark Warner. He was mentioned as a potential president in the early days of the Future History subforum, and I guess I just sort of became obsessed with him running for president. I'm not sure why, but all the way up until Obama actually won I thought a Warner presidency would be inevitable. As for Obama - like Warner, I first saw him in FH, where in an early FHTL he became president ... in 2024. I thought he was too young and inexperienced to actually win in 2008 (I believe I made a few comments on this board in my early days that I saw him as a fad that would dry up in the general election).
{III} Sanford I remember being mentioned as a 2012 potential before that whole sex scandal thing. Since I obviously didn't know about the later, and since the former is voided by the fact that he wouldn't primary McCain, so he runs in 2016 and loses. I don't really have much more to say, since I tended to have aliens invade whenever a FH I was writing got too far into the future so ... uh ... watch the skies I guess?
2001-2009: George W. Bush/Dick Cheney (Republican)
2000 def: Al Gore/Joe Lieberman (Democrat)
2004 def: John Kerry/John Edwards (Democrat)
2009-2013: John McCain/Rudy Giuliani (Republican) [1]
2008 def: Hillary Clinton/Bill Richardson (Democrat)
2013-2021: Mark Warner/Barack Obama (Democrat) [2]
2012 def: John McCain/Rudy Giuliani (Republican)
2016 def: Mark Sanford/Jim Thune (Republican) [3]
[1] Yeah, no way is someone as controversial and disliked as Hillary going to beat McCain. I mean, trying to ban video games?! This isn't the 1950s. And McCain will have America's favorite mayor backing him, so there's that. Honestly her chances were shot ever since Bill made that joke about her becoming president on SNL. {I}
[2] So after losing twice with Northeast elites, the Democrats are likely to go back to that tried and true well that's gained them every presidential victory they've had since 1964, and nominate a Southern populist. I don't see the economy doing so well under McCain, and foreign credentials won't mean much since the Middle East conflicts will have likely wrapped up by this point and the Russians won't let Putin bully them around for much longer. So, Warner sweeps in and establishes a mandate. He'll probably pick that Illinois senator whose been in all the news lately - can you believe some people want him to run in 2008? I think he's too young for that, but 5 more years as a Senator and 8 as Veep will probably make him a shoo-in for the 2020 election. {II}
[3]By this point the economy will be recovering and quality of life will be rising by extension. The Republicans, somewhat rudderless after their 2012 defeat and the aging out of most of their big names, will probably try to beat President Warner at his own game by nominating a popular Southern ex-governor. That will probably keep things from being a mandate, but they'll still likely lose. {III}
{I}So with the benefit of nine years of hindsight, if Hillary carried the 2008 convention it's likely she probably would have won, although I think it would have been closer than Obama's victory. The comment abut SNL is a reference to their 2004 election show, which Bill did host. I can't find a video, but the quote went something like this:
... so, yeah, even keeping in mind that was said for the purposes of humor, the fact that they wrote off Kerry as a lost cause and treated a potential Hillary presidency as Bill's third term, means I wasn't optimistic about her chances. That said, who here can remember the time when the most notable thing about her senate career was palling around with Jack Thompson?Bill said:
[Crickets]
Who here can remember Jack Thompson?
{II} So Mark Warner. He was mentioned as a potential president in the early days of the Future History subforum, and I guess I just sort of became obsessed with him running for president. I'm not sure why, but all the way up until Obama actually won I thought a Warner presidency would be inevitable. As for Obama - like Warner, I first saw him in FH, where in an early FHTL he became president ... in 2024. I thought he was too young and inexperienced to actually win in 2008 (I believe I made a few comments on this board in my early days that I saw him as a fad that would dry up in the general election).
{III} Sanford I remember being mentioned as a 2012 potential before that whole sex scandal thing. Since I obviously didn't know about the later, and since the former is voided by the fact that he wouldn't primary McCain, so he runs in 2016 and loses. I don't really have much more to say, since I tended to have aliens invade whenever a FH I was writing got too far into the future so ... uh ... watch the skies I guess?
- jmberry
- Word Count: 730