D.B.W.I. President George W. Bush

[Paul V McNutt]

What if Puerto Rico had not voted for statehood in 1993? Then President Gore would have lost the 2000 election. What kind of president would George W. Bush have been? As governor he had a record of working accross party lines. ITTL be like John Quincy Adams and Rutherford B Hayes would have faced an opposition angry over being robbed. The recount in Florida inspired litigation that went all the way to the Supreme Court. OTL the five unelected conservative Justice reduced President Gore's electoral college margin. ITTL they would have put George W Bush, the popular vote loser, in the White House. Most of the Democratic base would have considered Gore the legitimate president. He could have easily won the nomination in 2004. Who would have won the rematch of 2004?

 

[Emperor Norton I]

The Neocons would have succeeded in taking over the government, which is a scary thought.

 

[wilji1090]

The Neocons would have succeeded in taking over the government, which is a scary thought.

I dunno, do you think Governor Bush would've caved into their demands? I tend to think that people often misjudge him, he was certainly a better governor than his Lieutenant Governor.

I think though for George W. Bush to win the election in 2000, you're gonna have to get someone who has cross-party appeal like Senator John McCain. I mean I was a kid during the elections, but even my family thought Dick Cheney was a bit shady despite them being life long Republicans. McCain had enough pull to bleed the moderates from the Democrats and swing the liberal Republicans to vote for Bush. Now... the question is, would that have worked because I seem to recall Senator McCain didn't quite like the way that Governor Bush played dirty in the South Carolina primary. Is it possible that the two could've patched things up like Reagan and Bush Sr? Or is that just a pipe dream?

 

[Dathi THorfinnsson]

Have George HW Bush stop using "Hubert"...? Err... Herbert.

 

[Van555]

The Neocons would have succeeded in taking over the government, which is a scary thought.

I mean 9/11 and Afghanistan would have happened either way right?

 

[Nagisaki]

I mean 9/11 and Afghanistan would have happened either way right?

I would assume so. Afghanistan was a forgone conclusion after 9/11, and 9/11 is WAY too controversial to discuss here IMHO. But Dick Cheney was all shouting about Saddam Hussein having WMD, which he didn't. If he was Vice President, would there have been an intervention in Iraq? I mean, Saddam's natural death last year brought some problems to the nation, but at least it is starting to recover from them. What would they face with that? What effects would that have on Afghanistan? We left a few years ago, and with the problems there getting better, it seems that we did a good job. If we had to fight two wars, then would it bog down the war in Afghanistan? Would we have had a reproachment with Iran in the mid 2000s if we invaded not one, but TWO of their neighbors? I mean granted, Iran didn't like Iraq at all, with good reason... but still, thoughts?

 

[Kaiser K]

I would assume so. Afghanistan was a forgone conclusion after 9/11, and 9/11 is WAY too controversial to discuss here IMHO. But Dick Cheney was all shouting about Saddam Hussein having WMD, which he didn't. If he was Vice President, would there have been an intervention in Iraq? I mean, Saddam's natural death last year brought some problems to the nation, but at least it is starting to recover from them. What would they face with that? What effects would that have on Afghanistan? We left a few years ago, and with the problems there getting better, it seems that we did a good job. If we had to fight two wars, then would it bog down the war in Afghanistan? Would we have had a reproachment with Iran in the mid 2000s if we invaded not one, but TWO of their neighbors? I mean granted, Iran didn't like Iraq at all, with good reason... but still, thoughts?

I hold to this day that a Bush presidency would have resulted in a war in Iraq; which I believe would have been disastrous.

 

[Penny for The Guy]

"Dubya"

The consensus among serious punditry at this date is that George W. Bush ("Dubya") was a recovering alcoholic (whose devotion to his late wife, Laura Bush turned him from a drunk to "recovering"), and his overwhelming need to earn his father's respect, led him to run in the first place.
While he possessed all the Bush clan's inarticulateness, his career as an artist since the 2000 election shows his heart. He would have been more concerned with the good opinion of all Americans than with pursuing some sort of Hellmarch into the Mideast, as some have suggested. True, Afghanistan was inevitable, and given 9/11 would not be butterflied away (what a topic for an althist thread!) But one cannot see it ending any other way than it did, with legitimate government resorted and our troops home by 2003.
While the election of President Gore may have fueled the emergence of the Sons of Liberty (complete with tricorner hats and 1776 muttonchops) in 2004, one might argue the perception of government overreach (among the "common folk" as they liked to be called), would have happened anyway. Especially after the Recession of '06 and the massive "show trials" of Wall Street bigwigs for treason. But the implementation of Universal Healthcare, Marriage Equality, and Free University Education would have surely produced "some" backlash.
In all, it is probable the election of George W. Bush would have led, in the end, to a "kinder, gentler America", as his Dad envisioned.

 

[Upton_Sinclair]

Keep in mind that Congress only barely approved going through with the Puerto Rican statehood referendum. Had it not have happened, the Democrats definetely couldn't have counted on another deeply Democratic state like Puerto Rico is, and Puerto Rico was undoubtedly the deciding factor in both 2000 and 2012, though with 2000 having a different result our 2012 election would obviously be different thanks to butterflies. Had Puerto Rico never have achieved statehood, then the world as we know would be drastically different.

The consensus among serious punditry at this date is that George W. Bush ("Dubya") was a recovering alcoholic (whose devotion to his late wife, Laura Bush turned him from a drunk to "recovering"), and his overwhelming need to earn his father's respect, led him to run in the first place.
While he possessed all the Bush clan's inarticulateness, his career as an artist since the 2000 election shows his heart. He would have been more concerned with the good opinion of all Americans than with pursuing some sort of Hellmarch into the Mideast, as some have suggested. True, Afghanistan was inevitable, and given 9/11 would not be butterflied away (what a topic for an althist thread!) But one cannot see it ending any other way than it did, with legitimate government resorted and our troops home by 2003.
While the election of President Gore may have fueled the emergence of the Sons of Liberty (complete with tricorner hats and 1776 muttonchops) in 2004, one might argue the perception of government overreach (among the "common folk" as they liked to be called), would have happened anyway. Especially after the Recession of '06 and the massive "show trials" of Wall Street bigwigs for treason. But the implementation of Universal Healthcare, Marriage Equality, and Free University Education would have surely produced "some" backlash.
In all, it is probable the election of George W. Bush would have led, in the end, to a "kinder, gentler America", as his Dad envisioned.

Not necessarily. You need to consider that GWB's VP (Dick Cheney) was a noted hawk and was considered to be something of a controlling figure, while Bush was never an incredibly strong figure so Cheney could've taken a key position within the Administration, though we'll never be sure if that's true.

And there'll always be backlash when you enact a policy. Had Bush enacted economically right-wing policies as he was expected to do, being a Republican himself, then there would've been backlash from the left, probably similar to the Sons of Liberty. Also, the "show trials" were basically trying to rally the Democratic base. Wellstone was considered a serious threat to the Establishment-supported candidacy of 1999-2007 CA Governor Gary Davis. Remember in 2006 and 2007 when polls consistently showed Wellstone winning the Democratic primaries. Of course, with the show trials and passing EFCA and overturning the "right-to-work" laws, that was enough to convince Wellstone not to run, but the reforms under Al Gore's second term were basically like much of the Second New Deal; there to prevent a populist attacking from the left (Long in the thirties, Wellstone in 2006 and 2007) from usurping the Democratic nomination from an Incumbent/Incumbent-backed candidate, respectively..

 

[Dan]

Expunged or not, the cocaine possession felony and his "service record" woukd see him ripped to shreds and that's before the guy opened his mouth. He was OK as govenor, but would have been an unmitigated disaster nationally and internationally. He was a muppet.

Sorry, I'm calling ASB on this one. The American public are too smart to elect that fuckwit without Alien intervention.

 

[Mr_ Bondoc]

Well, without Puerto Rico, we wouldn't have had the 2013 economic bailout of the state, which served as a foreshadowing of the current crisis in Greece, Spain and Ireland. For all the hand-wringing by the Republicans, the bailout is serving as a model of what the European Union should do, if it doesn't want a full-blown disaster with its currency.

Second, without Puerto Rico, I seriously doubt you would see so many Republican leaders appealing to the Latino-Chicano community. Would Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio be leading in the GOP if they hadn't swung the 2000 election? Nor would we have the Cesar Chavez holiday...

 

[West]

Well, without Puerto Rico, we wouldn't have had the 2013 economic bailout of the state, which served as a foreshadowing of the current crisis in Greece, Spain and Ireland. For all the hand-wringing by the Republicans, the bailout is serving as a model of what the European Union should do, if it doesn't want a full-blown disaster with its currency.

Second, without Puerto Rico, I seriously doubt you would see so many Republican leaders appealing to the Latino-Chicano community. Would Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio be leading in the GOP if they hadn't swung the 2000 election? Nor would we have the Cesar Chavez holiday...

Thank god Rubio has more actual clout then Cruz, mans crazy if you ask me, and give the republicans some credit of course their going to court the latino comunity.

The idea that a major party would embrace a path that would lead to demographic disaster is insane.

That said with out Gore you would not have his push for solar and renewable energy. This is the man who demanded and got a proposal to have solar panels on all federal buildings.

This is the man who harnessed 9-11 to crack down on low fuel standards and made the creation and use of bio desal a national priority. With out Gore the country would still be dependent on the middle east.

 

[Nagisaki]

Thank god Rubio has more actual clout then Cruz, mans crazy if you ask me, and give the republicans some credit of course their going to court the latino comunity.

The idea that a major party would embrace a path that would lead to demographic disaster is insane.

That said with out Gore you would not have his push for solar and renewable energy. This is the man who demanded and got a proposal to have solar panels on all federal buildings.

This is the man who harnessed 9-11 to crack down on low fuel standards and made the creation and use of bio diesel a national priority. With out Gore the country would still be dependent on the middle east.

Well... We still are dependent on the Middle East, just not nearly as much as we used to be.

 

[Mr_ Bondoc]

Thank god Rubio has more actual clout then Cruz, mans crazy if you ask me, and give the republicans some credit of course their going to court the latino comunity.

The idea that a major party would embrace a path that would lead to demographic disaster is insane.

That said with out Gore you would not have his push for solar and renewable energy. This is the man who demanded and got a proposal to have solar panels on all federal buildings.

This is the man who harnessed 9-11 to crack down on low fuel standards and made the creation and use of bio desal a national priority. With out Gore the country would still be dependent on the middle east.

Well, the problems with the Gore administration were plenty. Remember how in 2006 the whole secual harassment case from Portland, Oregon. You also had in North Korea in 2004 after it Kim Jong Il threatened to use nuclear weapons on Seoul and Tokyo. And the Republicans are claiming that the expansion of NATO led to the rise of Vladimir Putin and the current. "Second Cold War ". Remember the many interviews with George W. Bush on FOX-TV claiming, "I see into Putin's soul and know we could be friends..."

 

[West]

Well, the problems with the Gore administration were plenty. Remember how in 2006 the whole secual harassment case from Portland, Oregon. You also had in North Korea in 2004 after it Kim Jong Il threatened to use nuclear weapons on Seoul and Tokyo. And the Republicans are claiming that the expansion of NATO led to the rise of Vladimir Putin and the current. "Second Cold War ". Remember the many interviews with George W. Bush on FOX-TV claiming, "I see into Putin's soul and know we could be friends..."

Thats the flip side of Gore, man was damned good at policy and terrible with people. His presidency was always plagued by that weakness.

 

[M79]

But would we be looking at austerity and foreclosure by China had Bush come to office? Certainly the National Health Care Consolidation Act would not have passed and private insurance would still exist.

 

[SiddFinch1]

If Bush had defeated Gore maybe we wouldn't be stuck with President Palin


After.the bubble burst in 2008;maybe McCain wouldnt have beat Hilary. Then McCain had to go off and die leaving us with the current mess

 

[dw93]

I think even if Governor Bush won in 2000, Al Gore wouldn't run in 2004 and someone with foreign policy credentials would've won the Democratic nomination, as some sort of attack still would've happened in 2001 (Senator Kerry perhaps).

If Governor Bush was re elected in 2004, I still think we'd have a Democrat elected in 2008 just like we did OTL as Bush would've presided over the same crappy economic situation that President McCain presided over in 2007 and 2008 (although Hillary Clinton may not be the Democratic nominee in 2008, so another Democrat may be elected President instead). I also think Bush would've invaded Iraq just like McCain did, only difference is it would've happened in 2002 or 2003 as opposed to 2006.

 

[Nagisaki]

I think even if Governor Bush won in 2000, Al Gore wouldn't run in 2004 and someone with foreign policy credentials would've won the Democratic nomination, as some sort of attack still would've happened in 2001 (Senator Kerry perhaps).

If Governor Bush was re elected in 2004, I still think we'd have a Democrat elected in 2008 just like we did OTL as Bush would've presided over the same crappy economic situation that President McCain presided over in 2007 and 2008 (although Hillary Clinton may not be the Democratic nominee in 2008, so another Democrat may be elected President instead). I also think Bush would've invaded Iraq just like McCain did, only difference is it would've happened in 2002 or 2003 as opposed to 2006.

At least his invasion was condemned by the UN and he was forced to pull out before he has done much in the war...

 

[M. Adolphe Thiers]

If Bush had defeated Gore maybe we wouldn't be stuck with President Palin


After.the bubble burst in 2008;maybe McCain wouldnt have beat Hilary. Then McCain had to go off and die leaving us with the current mess

At least she's not running for re-election. There's always that.

Although having Cruz leading in the GOP primary isn't comforting either.