AHC: Pop Star President

So, your challenge, should you choose to accept it, is this.

Make an OTL pop star, currently prominent, President of the United States of America! PODs may be no earlier than said pop star's fifth birthday. You also have up to...say 2040 to make this happen. Bonus points if this President is a 'first' (female, gay, etc.). Extra bonus points for a TL, extra extra bonus points for a detailed one.

AH.Commers, you can do it!
 
April 5th, 1956: A small plane carrying Elvis Presley crashes over Arkansas. Elvis's two bandmates and the pilot are killed in the crash, and Elvis is gravely injured. Too injured to even sing for some time, Elvis certainly would not be performing for months at least [the OTL "Elvis the Pelvis" performance would have occured several weeks later]. In deep pain both for his injuries and from survivor's guilt, Elvis turned towards religion - as a boy, the music of his Assembly of God church had been one of his biggest inspirations. After several weeks of healing and reading the Bible, Elvis emerged from the hospital a changed man. He began to take part in religious assemblies and revivals, and befriended Billy Graham. In 1957, Graham invited Elvis to participate in his Crusade in New York City. There, Elvis performed gospel music that reached over two million listeners, and the album Live From Madison Square is a top seller. Elvis also meet Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. during this crusade, and was highly impressed with the man.

As the 50s become the 60s, Elvis was drawn more and more into politics [due to his injuries he's excused from military service]. Himself raised in a shotgun shack, Elvis was particularly concerned with the rights of the poor. But increasinly he was also a part of the civil rights movement, performing to integrated audiences at rallies and participating in marches. In 1962, Elvis made what was considered a longshot run for Congress from Tennessee's 5th district, largely to draw more attention to the issues of poverty. Elvis was defeated in the Democratic primary by the seemingly inaptly named incumbent, Joe Loser.

At least, until The Tennessean newspaper ran a series of stories on alleged voter fraud by the Loser campaign. The Presley campaign filed suit against Loser, and by court order a second vote was held. Elvis narrowly defeated several other candidates, and with the Democratic nomination in hand, cruised to victory at the age of 28.

Elvis entered office just as LBJ ascended to the White House. Like Elvis, Johnson was a Southerner raised in the depths of poverty, who had won a come-from-behind Congressional race - entering the House at age 28. Johnson and Elvis got along very well, and LBJ considered Elvis a valuable ally - a passionate supporter of the Great Society who was also highly charismatic and appealed to the youth vote. Elvis was a prominent advocate of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, the Social Security Act of 1965, and other Great Society programs.

Elvis cruised to easy re-election in 1964, 1966, and 1968. As Washington changed hands from Johnson to Nixon, Elvis became frustrated with White House obstruction against the programs he supported. In 1969, Elvis announced his intention to run for Governor of Tennessee. After a hard-fought Democratic primary, Elvis overcame opponents Stan Snodgrass and John Jay Hooker (smeared in a campaign that drew attention to his inherited wealth and shady fried chicken connections), and won a close election against Republican Winfield Dunn [Elvis didn't have to deal with Jay's OTL problems - connections to the recently scandalized Kennedys, fried chicken fraud, etc. Elvis is also very appealling to poor voters, and also he is Elvis.]

After a sucessful term as Governor (at the time, Tennessee governors were not allowed to suceed themselves in office), Elvis spent the next several years speaking, writing, advocating for his signature causes, and teaching at the University of Tennessee. In 1977, he replaced Robert S. Strauss as the Chairperson of the Democratic National Committee, helping to repair the party after Jimmy Carter's 1976 loss to Gerald Ford [Butterflies - Ford doesn't say something stupid during the debates, Carter does. Along with other factors, Carter loses.]

In 1979 Elvis left his position at the DNC for a widely expected campaign for the Presidency. Elvis faced off against Jerry Brown of California, Gary Hart of Colorado, Walter Mondale of Minnesota, and Jesse Jackson of Illinois, among others. With his long experience in Washgington and as a governor, his charisma, his inspiring personal story, his Southern background, and his deep religion, Elvis was an appealing choice to primary voters, and at the Atlanta Democratic National Convention, the Presley/Church ticket easily seized victory.

After the disasterous second Ford term, America was desperate for stability. Elvis campaigned on his support for America's social safety net, and how the shredding of it had put millions of Americans back into the depths of poverty. The campaign also highlighted Elvis's long experience as a leader, and Frank Church's two decades in the Senate. Comparatively, the Elvis campaign framed Ronald Reagan as a cowboy who America could not afford to put in charge in such volatile times, and viciously attacked his support of supply-side economics during an age of national need. With 16 years of Republican rule having lead to the depressed state of the nation, it was difficult for even the sunny Reagan's optimism to sell his views to the voters. Nevertheless, the Reagan / Presley debates remain one of the greatest shows of political theater of the 20th century, and surely the high point of the "Battle of the Celebrities".

After defeating Reagan with a firm if not overwhelming victory, Presley went on to a highly sucessful Presidency. He extracted the hostages from Iran, improved America's image worldwide, and steered the ship of state through the recession of the early 80s - his focus on re-igniting the Great Society is credited by many for pulling America out of the malaise of the 70s. Elvis cruised to easy re-election in 1984, along with Vice-President Joe Biden (Frank Church tragically died from a pancreatic tumor in April of that year), presiding over an even more sucessful second term, crowned by the Reykjavík Summit and the Second Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT II) that came from it. Elvis later called the treaty the greatest achievement in his life.

Today, Elvis is an elder statesman of the Democratic Party, and of America as a whole. His 2003 biography Promised Land was a massive best-seller, and his charity work in the wake of several natural disasters has earned him continuing acclaim.
 
In 1997, shortly after settling back in New Jersey with his family, Bruce Springsteen was successfully tapped to be the Democratic nominee for Governor and went on to defeat Christine Todd Whitman. Re-elected in 2001, he was chosen as John Kerry's running mate in 2004 and his rust-belt appeal tipped Ohio in Kerry's favour. As the incumbent Vice-President, Springsteen is widely expected to win the Dem nomination in 2012.
 
Want a fairly recent POD? Have Sonny Bono avoid his accident in 1998, then use butterflies to get a Democratic administration under Gore or Bradley or someone along those lines. Given his relations with talk radio and public criticism of Gingrich it's possible he could establish himself as a major figure in the GOP by mid 2000s...
 
I've been thinking for a while about a timeline where several musicians end up in politics (including Dennis Deyoung, Dave Mustaine, and Ben Folds all as president at one point or another).

I could rant about it if anyone wants to hear.
 
I've been thinking for a while about a timeline where several musicians end up in politics (including Dennis Deyoung, Dave Mustaine, and Ben Folds all as president at one point or another).

I could rant about it if anyone wants to hear.

including Dennis Deyoung


Dennis Deyoung

I COMMAND YOU TO MAKE THIS TL.

Also, to veer outside the OP, most of the great '70s British rockers were of respected middles class/upper middle class families-perfect for politics.

The same goes for the Pythons, actually. Prime Minister Cleese?
 
Also, to veer outside the OP, most of the great '70s British rockers were of respected middles class/upper middle class families-perfect for politics.

Someone came up with an excellent little scenario in a "DBWI biographies" thread, of John Lennon's political career - but that was a Lennon who didn't become a musical legend. It's harder to imagine going from Top of the Pops to Parliament, I think. America has Reagan (and the likes of Jessie Ventura and Arnold Schwarzenegger) as a celebrity-turned-politician archetype, but the closest I can think of in the UK is Glenda Jackson. However, Tom Driberg did try (twice, I think) to get Mick Jagger to run as a Labour candidate.
 
I COMMAND YOU TO MAKE THIS TL.

Also, to veer outside the OP, most of the great '70s British rockers were of respected middles class/upper middle class families-perfect for politics.

The same goes for the Pythons, actually. Prime Minister Cleese?

Well I'm having trouble with my other timeline so, sure.
 
Someone had a pic with a President Jonas (one of them, anyway) in "Things That Look Like Alternate History, But Aren't." I'm not familiar with the Jonas Brothers, so I couldn't do a timeline based on them. This timeline would, of course result from the age of eligibility for the presidency being dropped to 18 or so.
I do have an idea for their successors, though- after political infighting and romantic disagreements, The Secretary of Agriculture resigns from the cabinet and announces her plans to run for President, with the UN Ambassador following suit and joining her as her VP nominee. President Jonas is defeated by the Swift-Gomez ticket.
 
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