DBWI: Mondale Loses In 1984

I've been thinking about this for a while. How different would everything be if Reagan beats Mondale in 1984? Would it be possible? How different would four more years of Reagan be compared to the Mondale presidency?
 
Mondale was able to sell two things, both entirely true:

1) That the U.S. military build-up had actually begun during Carter's last year, and

2) He would tact back to the middle from Reagan's excesses.

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And Mondale didn't go hog wild seeking endorsements during the Democratic primary. Basically after receiving the AFL-CIO's endorsement and a few other tradition labor unions, he decided he had enough. Even being interviewed on one network President Mondale said, I mean at that time Vice-President Mondale said, I have enough endorsements, It's time for the people to decide. And he went on to good-naturedly banter with the anchor, Believe it or not in this business of politics, you can have too many endorsements.

I've seen one kind of way-out ATL in which Mondale receives the endorsement of the American Federation of Teachers endorsement, which following less than a year after Reagan's commission on education and national report card, proved a very mixed bag and actually somewhat unpopular. And he follows this up by seeking and receiving a whole packel of endorsements from all sorts of groups, and the feeling among voters of course is that he's promised everything to everyone. Don't think a seasoned political pro would make this mistake.
 
Well, that depends. Reagan entered his sunset years quite suddenly, going from fine and functional in late '83 to a mess by the debates in '84. My personal opinion is that Reagan would've been re elected if his health didn't completely collapse in '84, Mondale winning was a fluke based on that. The Reagan who won in '80 was charismatic, witty and altogether captivating. He'd have ran over Mondale with some pithy quotes and comments about how America was on the rebound. The Reagan in '84 had his famous failures in the debates and altogether looked washed up. Huge difference there so yes, it's extremely possible. I know OTL can't be ASB or anything, but Mondale winning sure looked ASB back at the end of 1983. The Democrats got a freebie.

Let's assume Reagan stays healthy. We'd get 4 more years of general right-wing sentiment. Probably more anti communist activity and pressure on the Soviets, rather than generally letting up on them and being nicer. I'd guess on marginally less support for the UK and a cooler relationship with Thatcher, who got along well with Reagan. Domestically, I'd suspect about the same but with more tax cuts and Reaganomics. The 80s were rolling strong at that point any which way, I'm not sure much would change until things cooled down in the early 90s.

As for '88, I'm guessing Bush runs. He'd have a tough time since 8 years of Republicans means voters are starting to want turnover in the White House. It depends a lot on who the Democrats run. Maybe Gary Hart? He'd have a fair shot. I don't think Mondale would get another chance since he lost in '84.
 
If only that goddam Hammer Brown comet hadn't slammed into California, killing Reagan and many other people (OOC: I didn't realized how much Reagan victory had been crushing - 500+ electoral votes for the Gipper vs a miserable 13 for Mondale :eek: )

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucifer's_Hammer

No Hammer Brown, no major investment in the space program, including exotic tech. So no Alderson drive.

Reagan would also have probably continued the cold war, rather than the nuclear freeze and aid to the ussr which eventually led to today's CoDominium.
 
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