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Robert Bork became a political verb, Antonin Scalia one of the most influential Supreme Court Justices of the last twenty years, if not in history. But while both men had their shot at the Court, only one made it. In 1986, Warren Burger stepped down, and the Reagan White House nominated...

Just finished Jeff Greenfield's Then Everything Changed, his possibility of three alternate histories, and it got me thinking about the relationship between the Kennedy brothers. Robert Kennedy was his brother's second-in-command, lieutenant, alter ego, and Jack's death affected Bobby...

Bill Clinton was considering running for President in 1988, but decided against it at the last minute, following the destruction of Gary Hart and Mario Cuomo's decision not to run. So, if he does decide to run, can he win A) the nomination and B) the Presidency?

Your challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to make Gary Hart President in 1988. Avert the Donna Rice disaster, and whatever else might have made him self-destruct. I'm really interested to see how this might end up.

So, I've read this in a couple of places, but I haven't been able to confirm it, so this is sort of an ask and a What If? Bill Clinton was supposedly considering naming his wife Hillary as Attorney General early in his Administration, an absolute paradigm shift in the perception of what First...

This is a bit of an odd one, and probably not a big divergence, but it occurred to me: what if Hillary Clinton runs in a state that is not New York? Remember, before her run, HRC had no attachment to the Empire State, and was accused of being a carpetbagger. She was born in Illinois, went to...

I've been reading a lot about Doctor Who in preparation/whetting my appetite for the 23rd, and I found a couple of neat articles. This one states that the show nearly ended after Tennant left, due to the fact that higher-ups at the BBC wondered if anyone else could carry the role, and Russell...

During the 2000 campaign season, Al Gore wanted to make one thing very clear: He was not Bill Clinton (An obvious fact to most people). Hence, we were given one of the most awkward kisses in history at the DNC, a campaign based partially on morals, and Joe Lieberman as the nominee for Vice...

In 1991, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court Thurgood Marshall announced his retirement. This came as a surprise to many, as Marshall had intended to wait for a Democratic President to finally retire, and so a liberal could be appointed as his successor. Instead, George H.W. Bush got to...

Joan Rivers is one of the more successful female comics of our age, some would argue the most successful. She truly rose to prominence on The Tonight Show, eventually being granted the title of "permanent guest host" in 1983 as Johnny Carson was given more time off. Rivers was often called...

What cities could host both the Summer and Winter Olympics? In the U.S., Denver springs to mind, as it tends to be sunny, yet have quite a bit of snow as well. They support all 4 major U.S. sports, so there would be a minimal amount of new buildup of stadiums and the like as well. Any...

Just out of curiosity, how would a modern-day UK regency look? Say that William were to be assassinated or die of an aneurysm or something after taking the throne. Who would be Regent? Would it simply go to Queen Catherine, or would someone be appointed?

Following the repeal of the Fairness Doctrine in 1987 by the FCC, conservative talk radio quickly came to dominate the airwaves, by 1991, Rush Limbaugh had become the number one syndicated host on air. Now, what if it goes a different direction, and liberals and left-wing policies take the...

Presidential Candidate: Senator Barack Obama of Illinois. So, I was kind of hesitant as to doing this one, since the effects aren't fully played out yet, but why not. Which VP could have given Barack Obama an even bigger landslide, and possibly secured a bigger mandate? Does Obama, a...

Presidential Candidate: Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts. Who might have given John Kerry the edge to be competitive in 2004, to have not been shut out of the prototypical blue states? Or even have seriously challenged George Bush for the Presidency? The vast majority of these people will...

Presidential Candidate: Vice President Al Gore of Tennessee. Who else might Al Gore have chosen for his Vice Presidential running mate for 2000? Who would have been the strongest choice for VP, the one who could have made those 537 votes in Florida unnecessary? Would Gore-A noted...

Presidential Candidate: Governor Bill Clinton of Arkansas. Who else might Bill Clinton have chosen for his Vice President for 1992? Who would have been the strongest choice for VP? The weakest? Would personal relationships have mattered, or would he have gone for policy/electoral appeal? The...

Ensure that the United States Senate is controlled by Democrats from 1932 (the 73rd Congress)-2012 (the 112th Congress/present-day; If you want to, you can wait until after Tuesday) with at least a majority vote of 1. How much of a majority is up to you, but try to keep it realistic...

I never before realized how deeply involved in policy the Eisenhowers had been before today. That led me to this thought: What if the Eisenhowers had a political dynasty along the lines of the Kennedys, Bushes and Roosevelts? I don't think I've seen that one before! The challenge here is to...

Originally, this was only going to be the Speaker of the House, but I thought that would be too limited. So I broadened, to include all of the US legislative offices: Speaker, Majority and Minority Leaders for the House and Senate, and if you want to , I suppose the whips as well. Speaker of...