On the discussion that broke out of any George W Bush political career if his father is not elected President in 1988, check out this:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Quayle

George W Bush ran for Congress in 1978. Texas adds tons of Congressional districts every census and gets steadily more Republican up to 2016. George W Bush would have no problem with a federal Congressional career at least if he wanted to. Look at some of the Republican Congressmen that did get elected from Texas in the last three decades.

An idea I do find interesting is if Bush Sr wins the 1996 election after eight years of Cuomo. How would Bush's Presidency be different without having his father's Gulf War legacy to contend with, and without Cheney as VP? Would 9/11 still happen?
 

Bomster

Banned
An idea I do find interesting is if Bush Sr wins the 1996 election after eight years of Cuomo. How would Bush's Presidency be different without having his father's Gulf War legacy to contend with, and without Cheney as VP? Would 9/11 still happen?
Maybe Bush could pull a Nixon and run in 1996, or if Cuomo suffers from the same recession that doomed him in 1992, especially if the election was close or went to the house.
 
Maybe Bush could pull a Nixon and run in 1996, or if Cuomo suffers from the same recession that doomed him in 1992, especially if the election was close or went to the house.

Bush didn't have Nixon's popularity with the Republican base (which is what allowed him to come back after two ignominious defeats), and in 1996 he'd be 72. I doubt that Poppy would get another shot that late in the game. Also if a Democrat were in the White House in 1992, the political impact of the recession would be different. In 1992 the Republicans had been in the White House for eleven years and people really wanted a change. (They also wanted a change in 1988, and would've gotten it had the Duke not waged one of the worst campaigns in modern history). With Cuomo, the Democrats would've had the White House for only three years and I expect that a liberal President would've taken interventionist measures to turn the economy around. Namely, fire Greenspan and lower interest rates, pass an economic stimulus, ironically raise taxes as Bush did to cut back at the deficit, etc. Remember that during Reagan's first term the U.S. experienced a painful recession with the highest unemployment rate since the Great Depression, and yet Reagan was still re-elected once the economy improved and the Dems put up a poor challenger in Mondale.

In this alt-1992, Cuomo's chances are aren't bad if he helps engineer something better than the "jobless recovery" that hampered Bush, and if the GOP nominates the bland and gaffe-prone Dole. If he goes to war in the Persian Gulf (which I find likely, since Hussein's negotiating terms were unreasonable and both the UK and the UN were adamant about confronting Hussein), then Cuomo will be very popular in 1991 and unlike Bush he might be able to carry this popularity over to election day.
 

Bomster

Banned
Bush didn't have Nixon's popularity with the Republican base (which is what allowed him to come back after two ignominious defeats), and in 1996 he'd be 72. I doubt that Poppy would get another shot that late in the game. Also if a Democrat were in the White House in 1992, the political impact of the recession would be different. In 1992 the Republicans had been in the White House for eleven years and people really wanted a change. (They also wanted a change in 1988, and would've gotten it had the Duke not waged one of the worst campaigns in modern history). With Cuomo, the Democrats would've had the White House for only three years and I expect that a liberal President would've taken interventionist measures to turn the economy around. Namely, fire Greenspan and lower interest rates, pass an economic stimulus, ironically raise taxes as Bush did to cut back at the deficit, etc. Remember that during Reagan's first term the U.S. experienced a painful recession with the highest unemployment rate since the Great Depression, and yet Reagan was still re-elected once the economy improved and the Dems put up a poor challenger in Mondale.

In this alt-1992, Cuomo's chances are aren't bad if he helps engineer something better than the "jobless recovery" that hampered Bush, and if the GOP nominates the bland and gaffe-prone Dole. If he goes to war in the Persian Gulf (which I find likely, since Hussein's negotiating terms were unreasonable and both the UK and the UN were adamant about confronting Hussein), then Cuomo will be very popular in 1991 and unlike Bush he might be able to carry this popularity over to election day.
I imagine that Cuomo’s VP would have a very easy time winning in ‘96.
 
I imagine that Cuomo’s VP would have a very easy time winning in ‘96.

The economy would be booming and the country would be at peace. However, if Bentsen is VP he almost certainly wouldn't run in 1996 due to his age. If Gore is the VP, he would win easily unless John McCain runs four years early and is nominated. One scenario I've mentioned here is VP Bentsen doesn't run, Senator Gore is nominated instead and he faces either Bush Jr or McCain. However if he is a Senator, Gore would face the same problems he had in 2000 - too disconnected from the popular Democratic incumbent. I think he would pick John Kerry as his running mate. Bush Jr's general election chances depend on if the DUI scandal occurs before election day. (I'm convinced this caused him to lose the popular vote in OTL). If not Gore, then Bill Bradley or Kerry might be the Democratic nominee instead.
 
The economy would be booming and the country would be at peace. However, if Bentsen is VP he almost certainly wouldn't run in 1996 due to his age. If Gore is the VP, he would win easily unless John McCain runs four years early and is nominated. One scenario I've mentioned here is VP Bentsen doesn't run, Senator Gore is nominated instead and he faces either Bush Jr or McCain. However if he is a Senator, Gore would face the same problems he had in 2000 - too disconnected from the popular Democratic incumbent. I think he would pick John Kerry as his running mate. Bush Jr's general election chances depend on if the DUI scandal occurs before election day. (I'm convinced this caused him to lose the popular vote in OTL). If not Gore, then Bill Bradley or Kerry might be the Democratic nominee instead.
Gore seems like a good choice for VP as long as the primaries didn’t get dirty in ‘88.

McCain was not a national figure or capable of winning the ticket in 1996 without a war or other foreign policy butterfly. He only came to true prominence as a vocal speaker about Kosovo. Bush seems to new for ‘96 with just two years under his belt. That used to matter, especially to Republicans.
Carroll Campbell, Pete Wilson, and Dan Quayle could be there.
 
McCain was not a national figure or capable of winning the ticket in 1996 without a war or other foreign policy butterfly. He only came to true prominence as a vocal speaker about Kosovo.

Butterflies from the POD could result in McCain coming to prominence earlier. For example, if President Cuomo gives his support to an effort McCain made to pass campaign finance reform in 1994, it may or may not pass. If it does, then McCain would be more of a national figure four years early. I'm not saying it's certain, but it's within the realm of possibility.
 
Here is a list of Presidents Since 1981 under the AHC:

40. Ronald Reagan (1981-1989), R-CA
41. Mario Cuomo (1989-1997), D-NY
42. John McCain (1997-2005), R-AZ
43. George W. Bush (2005-2009), R-TX

44. Barack Obama (2009-2017), D-IL

Cuomo is elected in 1988 and re-elected in 1992. Vice-President Bentsen declines to run in 1996, citing his age. Senator Bill Bradley of New Jersey is nominated for President instead, with Al Gore as his running mate. On the Republican side, dark horse candidate John McCain of Arizona takes advantage of a split establishment vote to win the Republican nomination. As a concession to the GOP establishment and the conservative base, McCain chooses Texas Governor George W. Bush - his closest competitor - as his running mate. The McCain/Bush ticket is narrowly elected in 1996. Riding off a booming economy McCain defeats John Kerry to win a second term in 2000. After the 9/11 attacks McCain orders an invasion of Afghanistan and aids anti-Hussein rebel groups in Iraq (but does not order an all-out invasion).

In 2004 Vice-President Bush faces off Vermont Governor Howard Dean, who holds an early lead against Bush. But significant gaffes made by Dean, as well as McCain's extensive campaigning for Bush, allow the Vice-President to win the White House. Bush's tenure is a disaster, and he is defeated for re-election by Illinois Senator Barack Obama in 2008.
 
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