A Maverick in the Oval: McCain Presidency 2000.

McCain could not have won with Ridge or Whitman as a runningmate. If he picked someone pro choice he alienates a big chunk of the Republican core voters.
 

yourworstnightmare

Banned
Donor
McCain could not have won with Ridge or Whitman as a runningmate. If he picked someone pro choice he alienates a big chunk of the Republican core voters.
Hmm, yes. McCain would ultimately need the nutjob votes. So he'd have to have a nutjob as running mate, no matter how much he'd detest it.
 
I believe that you are wrong in saying that a Nutjob needs to be on the Ticket for McCain to win the election beacuse Karl Rove before Bush won the nomination convinced many Swing States to put Gay Marraige on the ballot soo that should get the Religious Right out to vote and swing the election to McCain

You also haven't told us how McCain won South Carolina, I believe the best way is to have Bush decide not to run the ads that made people believe McCain's adopted daughter was in fact his bastard child... Apparently Bush disliked the ads but never did anything to stop them

I still think a Secratery of State Bush would be hilarious and if he does half way decent he could be a contender for the nomination in 08
 
It was February 2nd, 2000, one day after John McCain's upset victory in New Hampshire. The Bush campaign was already in South Carolina-and in full panic mode. They were headquartered in Charleston, and debate over strategy was buzzing furiously in the War Room when Karl Rove walked in.

Rove was the political genius behind Bush's campaign, and one of the Governor's closest friends. He was also a disciple of Lee Atwater, inventor of the "South Carolina firewall" and the dark master of the arcane art of dirty political tricks. Rove was despised for his unethical tactics and respected for his ability to bring conservative candidates to victory.

Rove stood up to say, "We're going to hammer McCain, we're going to hit him on absolutely everything. And here's how."
Before Rove could say how the Bush campaign was going to do this, his phone rang. It was Bush himself, who wanted to talk about the campaign. Rove excused himself, stepping outside onto the sidewalk to speak to the Governor.

Tom Benton was driving home from work, exhausted. He was a construction worker, and had been working all day, was so tired that he could barely see straight. He had stopped to get some hot coffee to try and keep himself awake-It was precariously balanced on his dashboard.

Rove was pacing along the sidewalk, speaking with the Governor.
Benton hit a bump, and spilled his coffee, right into his lap, causing him to lose control of his truck, driving up onto the sidewalk.
Rove, hearing a screech of tires, turned to look, and stood horrified at the mass of steel hurdling towards him.
Benton looked up, and tried to hit the breaks-Too late.

The truck hit Rove hard, slamming into him at 66 miles per hour. Rove was thrown back, hitting the wall of the hotel before collapsing to the ground.
Immediately, there was a rush of people to the scene, many of them Bush campaign people. Bush himself was on the phone, asking what had happened. No one knew this at the time, and so the Governor was only able to listen as the people screamed and babbled in panic, as the ambulances arrived wailing.

Karl Rove was rushed to Medical University of South Carolina Medical Center, and immediately placed into surgery. After two hours, the doctor emerged with grim news-Rove was dead, the result of a bleed in his brain.

The news hit the air like a flash fire. John McCain learned of it as an aide rushed into his hotel room, saying, "Senator, you need to see this!" As McCain, his wife and senior staff watched, Mark Salter, McCain's friend, biographer and writer, remembered the Senator saying, "This changes everything."
 
I believe that you are wrong in saying that a Nutjob needs to be on the Ticket for McCain to win the election beacuse Karl Rove before Bush won the nomination convinced many Swing States to put Gay Marraige on the ballot soo that should get the Religious Right out to vote and swing the election to McCain

You also haven't told us how McCain won South Carolina, I believe the best way is to have Bush decide not to run the ads that made people believe McCain's adopted daughter was in fact his bastard child... Apparently Bush disliked the ads but never did anything to stop them

I still think a Secratery of State Bush would be hilarious and if he does half way decent he could be a contender for the nomination in 08

There's truth to this. His father was generally respected by this point and he had done well as governor of Texas, cultivating especially strong relations with President Fox of Mexico.

A SecState job could really play up W's strengths. He had close personal friendships OTL with Blair, Aznar, Berlusconi, Sharon, Putin, Koizumi, Uribe, and Fox... all of those could be replicated TTL.
 
Interesting...though I and another writer had a different car accident injuring or killing a Bush staffer (Mark McKinnon) and depriving Bush of a vital commercial (His response to McCain's "Desperate" ad, where he said Bush "twist(s) the truth like Clinton.").
Still Bush does have the advantage in SC. Even without Rove, a lot of groups have a dislike for McCain...and they'd be willing to spend time, money and effort to get him...
 
Top