DBWI: George H.W. Bush loses re-election in 1992

Good choice. Walker still has to get elected in 2016 though, he probably beats Huntsman in the primaries using Koch money.

OOC: I’m thinking: should I change Scott Walker? Honestly, I can’t see him being President. Just kinda rolled with it until realizing he probably might not get elected over someone like Huntsman.
 
Updated list of Presidents since Reagan:
40: Ronald Reagan (1981-1989), R-CA
41. George Bush (1989-1997), R-TX
42. Mario Cuomo (1997-2005), D-NY
43. John Kerry (2005-2009), D-MA
44. Jeb Bush (2009-2017), R-FL
45. Jon Huntsman (Since 2017), R-UT
 
Well the big change could be the Supreme Court.

Had Bush lost in 92 then Clinton would have gotten to replace White and Blackmun (I suspect if it weren't for his health Blackmun would have stuck it out to 97)

Bush's nominees were both relatively moderate-conservatives and his decision to openly consult with Democrats set the pattern we have until today

Clinton likely would have been under pressure to pick more liberal nominees (less center left) and that could have enhanced the trend towards fighting over nominees (see Bork and Thomas)
 
Well, given how Clinton's life went after losing in 92 - a half dozen rape and sexual assault allegations, the divorce, the years of graft, and multiple heart attacks - its for the best that we were spared him in the White House.

Best thing he ever did for the country was give us that running gag, his ex-wife, Hillary Rodham, repeatedly unsuccessfully trying to primary Democratic Senators. There was her failed attempt to get Pat Monyihan to retire in NY, and she screwed Senator Obama out of his first Senate race in Illinous only to lose by 15 points to Mike Ditka. Can you imagine if that nasty woman had a former President behind her?

Kerry aside, I say we have had a pretty good run of Presidents since HW Bush won his second term. I mean, that was when Bush the Elder really came into his own - the moon base, the Kemp Development Aid package to Eastern Europe - I say we came out very much ahead.
 
Well, given how Clinton's life went after losing in 92 - a half dozen rape and sexual assault allegations, the divorce, the years of graft, and multiple heart attacks - its for the best that we were spared him in the White House.

Best thing he ever did for the country was give us that running gag, his ex-wife, Hillary Rodham, repeatedly unsuccessfully trying to primary Democratic Senators. There was her failed attempt to get Pat Monyihan to retire in NY, and she screwed Senator Obama out of his first Senate race in Illinous only to lose by 15 points to Mike Ditka. Can you imagine if that nasty woman had a former President behind her?

Kerry aside, I say we have had a pretty good run of Presidents since HW Bush won his second term. I mean, that was when Bush the Elder really came into his own - the moon base, the Kemp Development Aid package to Eastern Europe - I say we came out very much ahead.

At least Obama was able to bounce back politically by becoming Governor of Illinois in 2006, then he beat Mark Kirk in 2016 to finally win the seat he lost back in 2004. Can’t say the same for Bill, though.

And yeah, besides Kerry, everyone’s been pretty good. Even Cuomo was alright, and he showed everyone how to lead from the front when 9/11 struck.
 
You know, Kerry was a failure as President but rewatching the 2008 debates with Jeb! Bush (who went onto win the White House in a landslide) kind of made me feel bad for him in a way. Here was a guy who suffered Vietnam, a divorce, and now he is saddled with the worst economy since 1929 and a term of office with no chance of reelection. Sad how life works out that way sometimes.

Many people were riding high on Kerry since Ann Richards was too elderly and sickly to take office after Cuomo, so Kerry was seen as Bush to Cuomo’s Reagan. Sadly, the economy had other plans.

It was kind of disheartening to see that electoral map almost bleeding red on election night, followed by Kerry’s concession. Just like his dad on his first election, he was able to break 400 electoral votes.
 
On another note, I also have to say that if it weren’t for Bush’s second term, I don’t think that moderate conservatism would have been a thing in today’s GOP. Bush and Huntsman both ran on moderate conservative platforms, and many have expressed that Reagan was, if looked at today, a conservative who was able to work across the aisle with many other Democrats.

I recall there was a section of Republicans in the House of Representatives that advocated for a more far-right conservative agenda, but it died out in 2010. Guess it didn’t have the energy to sustain itself.

(OOC: A tidbit involving the Tea Party movement that rose early in Barack Obama’s first term. It essentially gets nixed due to Jeb! Bush advocating a more moderate conservative movement. Also, an allusion to the common saying that had Reagan run in today’s GOP, he would not have been able to survive)
 
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The Avenger

Banned
OOC: Yep, and he almost got it in '92 but just barely was past over. After losing his dream job and Pappy went down that same year, he ran for Governor against his own family's wishes but won! Obviously, whoever snubbed Dubya made a big mistake that changed the course of history - for the worse.
Passed over, not past over.

*I'm in Grammar Nazi mode.*
 
At least Obama was able to bounce back politically by becoming Governor of Illinois in 2006, then he beat Mark Kirk in 2016 to finally win the seat he lost back in 2004. Can’t say the same for Bill, though.

And yeah, besides Kerry, everyone’s been pretty good. Even Cuomo was alright, and he showed everyone how to lead from the front when 9/11 struck.

Considering Obama's not thrown his hat into the ring for any past elections, do you think 2020 will be his time? He's gained a reputation as a strong centre-left candidate with some serious charisma behind him and his own inclinations towards bipartisanship seems to have gained respect from across the aisle as well. Could be a sign for how far America's come, electing the first black president.

As to the original question, would the election have done some damage in terms of political discourse in the country if Clinton had won? Opponents could easily blame it on Perot and claim that Clinton had 'stolen' the election, if it had been close enough.
 
Many people were riding high on Kerry since Ann Richards was too elderly and sickly to take office after Cuomo, so Kerry was seen as Bush to Cuomo’s Reagan. Sadly, the economy had other plans.

It was kind of disheartening to see that electoral map almost bleeding red on election night, followed by Kerry’s concession. Just like his dad on his first election, he was able to break 400 electoral votes.

Another weird irony, although this one is more superficial, is that both Bushes crushed two eminently qualified but generally uncharismatic Massachusetts Democrats. Exactly twenty years apart no less. On the other hand, Jeb's reelection was expected while Sr's was an upset victory almost no one saw coming. At the end of the day, both are judged as pretty successful Presidents overall and thanks to them the Bush name is synonmous with public service and moderation. Even that other Bush son who never really made it in politics, George W., is a pretty inspirational example of how you can overcome addiction and follow your passion - in his case baseball. That guy does have a weird speech thing though, figures that he wouldn't follow in the footsteps of his father.
 
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Another weird irony, although this one is more superficial, is that both Bushes crushed two eminently qualified but generally uncharismatic Massachusetts Democrats. Exactly twenty years apart no less. On the other hand, Jeb's reelection was expected while Sr's was an upset victory almost no one saw coming. At the end of the day, both are judged as pretty successful Presidents overall and thanks to them the Bush name is synonmous with public service and moderation.

Huh...never realized that (OOC: No really. I never realized that. XD). Both are considered pretty successful. The father had an exiting approval rating of 74%, while Jeb’s was about 65%. The Bush name will certainly be synonymous with success.
 
Jeb’s re-election was also admittedly aided when the Democrats put up Chuck Schumer. He initially seemed like he was going to bring new ideas to the Democratic Party, but once he got the nomination, he took a...strange route.

Everything he was saying sounded almost like what Mario Cuomo was saying when he was running for President in 1996. A lot of people didn’t like that, I guess. A lot of Democrats nationwide were looking for new ideas in the wake of the disaster that was the Kerry presidency.
 
Even that other Bush son who never really made it in politics, George W., is a pretty inspirational example of how you can overcome addiction and follow your passion - in his case baseball. That guy does have a weird speech thing though, figures that he wouldn't follow in the footsteps of his father.

Yeah, he isn’t as eloquent a speaker as his father, but I heard that’s what makes him a likeable guy when it comes to his job. A lot of my friends say it is what makes him seem like one of them. He seems like a guy you’d want to grab a beer with.
 
Yeah, he isn’t as eloquent a speaker as his father, but I heard that’s what makes him a likeable guy when it comes to his job. A lot of my friends say it is what makes him seem like one of them. He seems like a guy you’d want to grab a beer with.

I remember someone did a timeline on him going into politics. It was interesting, but I lost interest as it got increasingly implausible. Sure, he's got a bit of foot-in-mouth disease, but it definitely felt like the author had an axe to grind against the Bush family (which is unfortunate given all the good they've done for this country). I remember nobody was a fan of the way Jeb got unceremoniously killed off.

George W. isn't someone I'm too familiar with as someone who's not into baseball (I mostly know him from the time he told steroid users that "You will be hunted down, wherever you may hide, and be persecuted" which I only know from the 2016 meme), but he seems like a good guy.
 
I remember someone did a timeline on him going into politics. It was interesting, but I lost interest as it got increasingly implausible. Sure, he's got a bit of foot-in-mouth disease, but it definitely felt like the author had an axe to grind against the Bush family (which is unfortunate given all the good they've done for this country). I remember nobody was a fan of the way Jeb got unceremoniously killed off.

George W. isn't someone I'm too familiar with as someone who's not into baseball (I mostly know him from the time he told steroid users that "You will be hunted down, wherever you may hide, and be persecuted" which I only know from the 2016 meme), but he seems like a good guy.

I remember reading that one, too. I mean, murdered by his jealous wife? Felt like I was watching a Lifetime movie.

George W. Bush was always a guy who made oratorical stumbles. They call them his “Bushisms.” However, most people just associate that with the good-natured man that he is.
 
OOC: If Bush had been reelected, would he (rightfully) get the credit for working with Gorby to end the Cold War in 1989 instead of Reagan? The Cold War appears to have actually ended at the Bush-Gorbachev Malta Summit in Dec. 1989, almost a full year after Reagan left office. (This was when Bush and Gorby declared an end to Cold War hostilities). Not to mention it was Bush who made the agreement to reunite Germany and successfully negotiated START I. In 1989 a Gallup poll showed that few Americans credited Reagan with bringing down the Berlin Wall (which to my estimation was actually due to internal dissent within East Germany, not Reagan, Bush, or Gorby), instead a plurality pointed to Gorbachev as the one responsible. It wasn't until later in the 1990's after Bush 41 left office that right-wing think tanks started pushing this narrative that Reagan was essentially the conservative FDR, someone who singlehandedly turned around the economy via tax cuts and destroyed the Communist bloc. Bush 41 is negatively compared to his predecessor, at least in conservative circles, as a weak loser who *gasp* compromised on taxes for the good of the country. Reagan did some good things in OTL, but he wrongfully gets credited for what his contemporaries accomplished.
 
OOC: If Bush had been reelected, would he (rightfully) get the credit for working with Gorby to end the Cold War in 1989 instead of Reagan? The Cold War appears to have actually ended at the Bush-Gorbachev Malta Summit in Dec. 1989, almost a full year after Reagan left office. (This was when Bush and Gorby declared an end to Cold War hostilities). Not to mention it was Bush who made the agreement to reunite Germany and successfully negotiated START I. In 1989 a Gallup poll showed that few Americans credited Reagan with bringing down the Berlin Wall (which to my estimation was actually due to internal dissent within East Germany, not Reagan, Bush, or Gorby), instead a plurality pointed to Gorbachev as the one responsible. It wasn't until later in the 1990's after Bush 41 left office that right-wing think tanks started pushing this narrative that Reagan was essentially the conservative FDR, someone who singlehandedly turned around the economy via tax cuts and destroyed the Communist bloc. Bush 41 is negatively compared to his predecessor, at least in conservative circles, as a weak loser who *gasp* compromised on taxes for the good of the country. Reagan did some good things in OTL, but he wrongfully gets credited for what his contemporaries accomplished.

OOC: I’m thinking that in this alternate timeline, the Reagan era/Reagan Revolution is commonly referred to as the Republican era/Republican Revolution. Bush is seen as the extension of his predecessor, since Bush was Reagan’s VP. I would say that Reagan gets credit for starting off negotiations, while Bush gets credit for seeing it through to the finish. In my mind for this timeline, I think it would be adequate to say that both men get the praise due to being from the same administration that started it all. Just my two cents.
 
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