With a POD of exactly August 1, 1980, here goes:
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August 1, 1980: While taking target practice, John Hinckley's Rohm RG-14 revolver jams. Hinckley then purchases and practices with a Glock 17 9mm semi-automatic pistol.
March 30, 1981: In a scheme to impress teen actress Jodie Foster, John Hinckley, Jr. assassinates President Ronald Reagan, who dies instantly. Vice-President George H.W. Bush becomes President. Hinckley would later be convicted of first-degree murder and given the death penalty.
April 11, 1981: Bush -- believing that he needs a "youthful, vibrant" Vice President from a midwestern state to secure his re-election in 1984 -- reportedly narrows down his short list to two "dark horse" candidates: first-term Indiana Senator Dan Quayle, and former Ohio Congressman Donald E. "Buz" Lukens.
April 20, 1981: The baby-faced Lukens, 50, is sworn in as Vice President.
May 1, 1981: President Bush replaces Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker with Dick Darman. With unemployment at 7.5% and inflation at 10%, Darman declares that his primary focus will be on deficit reduction.
October 7, 1982: Vice-President Lukens is forced to resign in disgrace after local D.C. police officers on an unrelated stakeout overhear Lukens arranging with a woman to have sex with her 13-year-old daughter.
November 12, 1982: Yuri Andropov elected General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
November 16, 1982: After massive Democratic gains in the House and Senate during the mid-term elections, Bush announces that he is appointing Secretary of State Elliot Abrams to succeed Lukens as Vice-President.
1983: Democrats in Congress block Bush's budget proposals, as Vice President Abrams heads to Capitol Hill to lobby for marginal tax rate cuts and a large cut to the capital gains tax. Meanwhile, Fed Chairman Darman keeps interest rates high. Unemployment soars to 11% and climbs, on average, by a tenth of a percent each month until the 1984 election.
February 2, 1984: Yuri Andropov dies. Seeking to take advantage of "instability" in the United States, the Politburo surprisingly elects former KGB Alexander Shelepin to replace Andropov. Shelepin's tenure as head of the Soviet Union would be marked by a crackdown on internal reforms and mounting tensions with the West.
April 20, 1984: In an interview with NBC's chief White House correspondent Chris Wallace, Vice President Abrams defends himself against charges that he mislead Congress during the protracted budget negotiations. "Lying to Congress is not a crime," argues Abrams. "Lying to Congress is established practice, dating back at least to President Polk during the Mexican-American war. Robert McNamara lied about the secret deal to remove U.S. missiles from Turkey after the Cuban Missile Crisis. LBJ lied about the Gulf of Tonkin. It's practically the administration's duty to lie to Congress!"
July 18, 1984: Walter Mondale selects Colorado Sen. Gary Hart as his Vice-Presidential running mate.
July 19, 1984: In accepting the Democratic nomination for President, Walter Mondale delivers a stirring speech about the need for the next administration to tell the truth to the American people. "Let's be honest," says Mondale. "Mr. Bush will raise taxes, and so will I. He won’t tell you. I just did.” This speech is interpreted as a defense of telling hard truths in difficult times, rather than a promise to raise taxes.
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I think your platinum points will wind up going unclaimed, though.