Blood and Gore

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“President Gore called the September 11th Attacks a ‘criminal act’. This was more than just any old criminal act; this was an act of war.” –Senator John McCain

The 2004 Republican Presidential Debate is underway to determine which one of these candidates on this stage will face President Gore in November’s election. The Iowa Caucuses are merely a week away and this debate is expected to heavily influence the Iowa’s voters that will be decide just who will be the front runners in the Republican Presidential Primaries.
“The American people chose Al Gore over a Bush in 1992 and they chose Al Gore over a Bush in 2000. This party cannot afford nominating another Bush!” Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani retorts to Jeb Bush.

The top issue of the night is – of course – terrorism. The September 11th Attacks left the nation with damage and death ranging from the World Trade Center in NYC, to the Pentagon in Arlington, and to the White House in DC. Though it’s hard to say any Republican candidate is not a critic to the administration’s response to 9/11, their own plans of action are incredibly divergent.

“I was a leading figure in the Antiterrorism bill in ’96 after the Oklahoma City bombings. And let me tell you, it doesn’t go far enough. What we need to realize is that habeas corpus needs to be reformed to fit the 21st Century.” –Orrin Hatch

“McCain simply doesn’t go far enough. We need to expand our horizons from just focusing individually on Afghanistan. For all we know, there are just as good as chances that Osama Bin Laden is hiding away in Iraq or Pakistan.” –Jeb Bush
 
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If Jeb loses the nomination (which I'm guessing he will, 2016 OTL discredited the claims that he's the "smart one"), the Bush's are going to stink of defeat. While I always thought Gore would be a one termer if he won in 2000 (and this is with or without 9/11), I've always felt that his loss wouldn't be by a landslide, in fact, I've always felt it would be rather close.
 
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Though many of Huckabee’s critics attribute his win in the Iowa Caucuses to the strong Evangelical Christian presence in the Bible Belt state, the win nonetheless gives the Huckabee campaign a great boost of energy, volunteers, and donations. A religious candidate who doesn’t do as well is Utah Senator Orrin Hatch – perhaps due to Iowa’s historic uncomfortableness or prejudices with Mormon candidates – whom hopes to perform better in the following New Hampshire primary.

Jeb Bush denies to reporters that his campaign is on ‘life support’. Like any candidate in his position, Bush throws a deep pass to reenergize his campaign at a rally in Manchester, New Hampshire. The former Florida governor calls for a complete repeal of America’s participation in the Kyoto Protocol and an end to automotive emission testing requirements.

The Al Gore administration remains rather unphased by the Republican primaries at the moment. The President’s significant increases in funding towards biotechnology and information technology fulfills his campaign promises while drawing significant criticism from the Republican presidential primaries. Giuliani calls the spending “a waste of tax payer money” and McCain claims the federal government’s budget would do better to “cut the surplus and return the money to the American people”.

One thing is clear, New Hampshire is considerably more secular than Iowa and will serve as a challenge to Hatch and Huckabee’s without their devout voting bases.
 
The American people chose Gore over a Bush in 1992? :eek:

Not in the way you might be thinking. Bill Clinton remains the victor of the 1992 election, but the American people chose the Clinton-Gore ticket over a Bush. This POD here is Vice President Al Gore winning the 2000 Presidential Election over George W. Bush.
 
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The race for the Republican nomination is down to four prominent candidates following Hatch’s withdrawal. Utah’s disappointed Senator endorses Huckabee’s candidacy despite Huckabee’s shared poor performance in the New Hampshire primary.

While Hatch’s campaign headquarters wallows its defeat with glasses filled with alcohol, the McCain campaign headquarters boasts in celebration of its New Hampshire victory with glasses filled with alcohol.

The so-called “Remaining Four” prepare for the four contests held on the same date known as “Mini Tuesday”. In the debate held on ABC a few days before the four states – those being Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, and South Carolina – the topic of conversation remains the prominent issue of the generation: combatting terrorism.

Jeb Bush throws his criticism at the administration more than he does at his competitors. Specifically, Bush criticizes Gore by attaching his policies to the preceding Clinton administration for not intervening in the Rwandan Genocide.
“America has ought to intervene when humanitarian crises arise like we did in Desert Storm when Saddam invaded Kuwait. We went right in and taught Saddam a lesson. Under the leadership of Clinton and Gore, we just sat by while Rwanda genocided its own people.” –Jeb Bush
Former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani came in second place in the New Hampshire primary and looks to propel his campaign’s momentum. Giuliani exerts the American resentment over the “lack of revenge” for the September 11th attacks which he attributes to America not holding foreign leaders accountable.
“Desert Storm was not a complete success. It wasn’t. Since then Saddam has time and time again cited his survival as proof that Iraq won the war. Other Middle Eastern leaders say to themselves, ‘there’s no punishment for my actions’ and so many of them fund the terrorists like those that attacked US soil on 9/11.” –Rudy Giuliani
The debate offers the American voters plenty of policy ideas to consider. The pressure on deciding US foreign policy is greatly heavier on Al Gore at the moment. Three weeks ago the United States conducted a series of missile attacks on Iraqi intelligence buildings near Baghdad among US intelligence speculation of Hussein planning a strike on the US. Despite how true or untrue the speculation might’ve been, Saddam Hussein is threatening an oil embargo upon the West.
 
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