AHC: President Jesse Jackson, 1989

As the title states, make Jesse Jackson the President of the United States in 1989. Whether he wins the 1988 election on his own, or is elevated to the Presidency after becoming VP, is of little consequence.
 
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The title states "1989".

IMHo, Jackson could never be elected President or Vice President.

However, it's remotely possible that Jackson might be named to a Cabinet position by a Democrat President. (Not Dukakis, he wasn't that stupid.) Then if a terrorist strike or natural disaster killed everyone ahead of him in the line of succession, he could become President. Part of the difficulty is that while Jackson would be unfit for any Cabinet post, he would be extremely unsuited to any of the senior posts, such as State, Treasury, Defense, or Attorney General, and nor suited to Agriculture, Interior, Commerce, or Labor. HHS, Education, or HUD, maybe, but now the strike has to kill (or incapacitate) at least ten individuals.
 
What if his opponent is Dan Quayle? Blunder after blunder, until a large fraction of Republican voters don't bother turning up to vote.
In my opinion, Quayle would probably still win. Sadly, back then, the US wasn't ready for a black man to be President.
 
First of all, Quayle would not have been a plausible *presidential* nominee in 1988. Nor in 1992 (unless Bush died in office). The earliest he could have plausibly gotten the GOP presidential nomination was 1996 if he had chosen to run.

If you want a 1988 GOP presidential candidate so weak that even Jesse Jackson could *possibly* have a chance against him, how about Pat Robertson? Not that I think the GOP would nominate him, but at least he did pretty well (second place behind Dole) in the Iowa caucus...
 
If you want a 1988 GOP presidential candidate so weak that even Jesse Jackson could *possibly* have a chance against him, how about Pat Robertson? Not that I think the GOP would nominate him, but at least he did pretty well (second place behind Dole) in the Iowa caucus...

Well that's certainly pitting extremes against each other. But even then Jesse Jackson would have an uphill battle. I think he'd have a real shot if he were white, but considering his race, I think he'd definitely lose, although perhaps not to the levels of McGovern or Mondale's defeat.

Best (and only, really) chance is definitely as VP candidate, which in of itself would be a very radical option.
 
Near asb but....
In 1984 Reagan Alzheimer's revealed shortly before election...economy tanks...Mondale wins..economic revival..Ferraros husband problems come out shortly after 88 election where dems win huge majority in congress...Mondale feels he needs to replace her with a minority so goes to jackson to get confirmed by congress to replace her..then Mondale gets killed and you got it.
 
This is really borderline ASB without a major departure much earlier in American history that wipes out centuries of racism. America in 1988 was far too racist to elect Jackson, and would be under circumstances that assume he was qualified for the Presidency, which he wasn't. Jackson would have even had trouble getting the votes of some liberal Democrats on the basis that he was unqualified for the job.
 
In 1984 Reagan Alzheimer's revealed shortly before election...economy tanks...Mondale wins..economic revival..Ferraros husband problems come out shortly after 88 election where dems win huge majority in congress...Mondale feels he needs to replace her with a minority so goes to jackson to get confirmed by congress to replace her..then Mondale gets killed and you got it.
If Mondale wants a minority, I feel like he would go for a safer choice like Henry Cisneros or Wilson Goode. Still, Jerry Brown somehow thought Jesse Jackson was a viable vice presidential candidate, so maybe I'm underestimating his chances.

Jackson's chances of winning a presidential election are laughable, but IMO it's defeatist to just immediately yell "ASB!" whenever a scenario like this comes up. Still, he would need exceptional circumstances to win. Something like Pat Robertson winning the Republican Nomination (and even that election could go either way).
 
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