DBWI: Obama wins in 2008

In one of the closest elections in American history, John McCain shocked the pollsters and the pundits and managed to defeat Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential election. Wins in the battleground states of FL, NC, MO, VA, OH, CO, and NV put him over the 270 mark.

As you all know, McCain's approval ratings are now in the mid 30's, the economy hasn't improved, and he is undecided on whether to run for re-election.

What if the pollsters and pundits had been correct in 2008?
 
Had Obama won in 2008, the Republicans would probably win the 2010 midterm elections instead of the ideological civil war going on in the GOP right now.

Probably, some Republican Governor in the Midwest would get a law passed ending collective bargaining and causing mass protests outside of the state capitol building.
 
Well, old McDodderer at least has a passable VP in the form of Pawlenty. There was a mad rumour that he was looking at that nutjob Gov in Alaska, Palin or something. If he'd chosen her (I can't imagine why though) and he'd handled the Republican support for the TARP bill less well then I can easily see Obama walking it.
 
It's about the economy, frankly.


McCain's reluctance to maintain any kind of economic stimulus after the worst in 2008 has led to a double dip recession. The Direction its taken: tax cuts to create jobs, hasn't worked well at all.


What it has done is lead to the beginnings of social outcry in the poorest places in America. It's politically easy to cut their welfare payout, or, as McCain did, to gut Medicare with that Ryan proposal.


People talk about the "Economic Depression" as if it is entirely the fault of the Republician Party, and while that might be entirely true, we'd not be seeing the rise of the Reds and Greens in the far left. Some of these people, like Michigan Rep. Michael Moore, are basically crazy. And they're hijacking the Democratic Party...


I do wonder if the Red/Green factions wind up forcing the Dems to run a hard-left candidate whether the GOP will be able to stand up to them with their own serious problems. Certainly, the Dems won't be trying someone like Obama again...
 
Had Obama won in 2008, I doubt he'd be doing much better. His economic policies were of the same neoliberal stripe as McCain, albeit with a kindler and gentler face than that of McCain, whose policies have made income inequality worse than that of 1929.

Yes, corporate profits might have recovered, and McCain might proclaim the 'Great Recession' all he wants, but 10% unemployment is unacceptable regardless. McCain will be out on his ass in 2012, what with a primary challenge from Governor Perry on his right and the rise on the left of Ohio's Governor Ted Strickland. The Republicans will be lucky to carry Utah next cycle after that beating they took in 2010.
 
Well, old McDodderer at least has a passable VP in the form of Pawlenty. There was a mad rumour that he was looking at that nutjob Gov in Alaska, Palin or something. If he'd chosen her (I can't imagine why though) and he'd handled the Republican support for the TARP bill less well then I can easily see Obama walking it.

To be honest, I don't really know what Palin's views are. She seems like a standard low-key small state Governor. Although I did read somewhere recently that she may have 2016 ambitions.

I wonder if there would have been a right-wing backlash to an Obama victory on the same scale to the left-wing backlash after McCain's victory.

By the way, sorry to go off-topic, but I've just read on Yahoo News that Senator Crist may replace Pawlenty on the ticket should McCain decide to run again. Thoughts? Oh, and a new poll puts Senator Kucinich at 21% nationally on the Democratic side.
 
Secret Service's nightmare

I suspect that the Secret Service would be fending off some serious assassination attempts. There's enough white supremist groups--very radical ones-around that I suspect there would be some tries. If they are serious enough--or even worse, successful--then the assault on civil rights started with the USA Patriot Act might get worse, as the Secret Service starts looking for more ways to investigate these groups.

Does the president (whoever he or she might be, if Obama is dead or incapicated) support new ways to get around the various rights we have, or does he stand for civil liberties.
 
Well, for one a democrat coming in after Bush would have a hell of a lot to prove. Maybe he'd overcompensate by committing to a longer stay in one of the Mistakes? Heck, maybe he'd focus his whole policy overwhelmingly on Bin Laden and we'd've caught the bugger by now. Probably put him on a messy trial though, nothing "cut and dried" like we got from Bush with Hussein.

I also wonder whether Obama could have done something more with the economy? Whatever he did, I'm sure it'd be called socialism, wot? :)

And I know this isn't nearly as significant, but.... Obama's campaign was just rife with optimism. I remember my mother strongly compared it to.... uhm.... okay I don't know. Somebody who lost to Nixon, maybe? Anyway, the way she described it, it's exactly the cultural disappointment my generation felt in '08. If everyone in California was all touchy-feely in the aftermath of an Obama victory.... perhaps The Dark Knight wouldn't have won best picture? Face it, as it was, it was the dark movie to describe the dark time we were in.
 
If Obama dies in office (asuming he doesn't pick a different running mate) you get president Edwards.
Of course Obama would have almost certainly won with a different VP pick anyway, considerring he won the popular voat IOTL with Edwards dragging him down.
I never really understood the logic of picking Edwards myself (yes he was a former aponent for the nomination, but even before the hunter story broke, he wasn't exactly a great electeral asset, was he?).
As an aside, how do you think things would turn out without "the second 2000"?
 
As an aside, how do you think things would turn out without "the second 2000"?

For starters, the Democrats wouldn't have just pushed the Nationwide Popular Vote Amendment through Congress. I think it was twelve states that have ratified it already?

Over all, we'd probably be better off. McCain has been a decent President for the bad situation he was in, but his resistance to deficit spending has had very real and very serious consequences, particularly on infrastructure, like the horrible bridge collapse that just happened in Pennsylvania.
 
Ugh, if only. The Republicans are ruining this country. They refused to pass an adequate stimulus, extended the Bush tax cuts despite the awful economy, are obfuscating the unemployment rates, have cut all kinds of social services, and are now turning their eyes on Medicare and Social Security. All the while keeping us in wars all over the world (Dear President McCain, withdrawing some of the troops you put in in 2008 is not a draw down), leaving Guantanamo open, and now spending tens of millions in Libya.

If Obama had been elected, none of that would have happened. We would have gotten a stimulus package that was big enough to fix things, we would have gotten single payer healthcare instead of McCain's pathetic neo-Bob Dole plan that just subsidizes the insurance industry, we would have gotten some real taxes on the super-wealthy, we'd be out of Iraq and never in Libya (a constitutional law professor would never even start such an unconstitutional 'intervention', let alone try to claim it wasn't really a war). I bet he would have ended Don't Ask Don't Tell on day one via executive order, not seen it forcibly ended by Congress. I think Obama is secretly a supporter of gay marriage, and he would have been a really strong advocate in the White House. I bet he would have done much more to protect abortion rights, too.

Ugh, the Republicans are so terrible!
 
NEWS FLASH!!! Scott Walker has just lost the recall election to keep his job as Milwaukee County Executive.
 
Ugh, if only. The Republicans are ruining this country. They refused to pass an adequate stimulus, extended the Bush tax cuts despite the awful economy, are obfuscating the unemployment rates, have cut all kinds of social services, and are now turning their eyes on Medicare and Social Security. All the while keeping us in wars all over the world (Dear President McCain, withdrawing some of the troops you put in in 2008 is not a draw down), leaving Guantanamo open, and now spending tens of millions in Libya.

If Obama had been elected, none of that would have happened. We would have gotten a stimulus package that was big enough to fix things, we would have gotten single payer healthcare instead of McCain's pathetic neo-Bob Dole plan that just subsidizes the insurance industry, we would have gotten some real taxes on the super-wealthy, we'd be out of Iraq and never in Libya (a constitutional law professor would never even start such an unconstitutional 'intervention', let alone try to claim it wasn't really a war). I bet he would have ended Don't Ask Don't Tell on day one via executive order, not seen it forcibly ended by Congress. I think Obama is secretly a supporter of gay marriage, and he would have been a really strong advocate in the White House. I bet he would have done much more to protect abortion rights, too.

Ugh, the Republicans are so terrible!

No need to worry much, though. McCain's approval ratings are now at the absolute rock bottom. Not only this, but his support of SB1070 and our engagements in Libya & Darfur have dug us into an even deeper hole.(Russia's having similar issues, though; in fact, their recent intervention in Syria has already lost them over 2,000 troops, and there are rumors the Islamists are going to strike at them, perhaps quite hard, in fact.)
 

Zeus

Banned
The Democrats probably wouldn't have had huge filibuster-proof majorities in Congress right now and we wouldn't be about to see a new era of Democratic dominance, complete with a President Hillary Clinton and even further Congressional gains (due to the poor economy) in 2012.
 
The Democrats probably wouldn't have had huge filibuster-proof majorities in Congress right now and we wouldn't be about to see a new era of Democratic dominance, complete with a President Hillary Clinton and even further Congressional gains (due to the poor economy) in 2012.

Optimist much? :rolleyes:
 
To be honest, I don't really know what Palin's views are. She seems like a standard low-key small state Governor. Although I did read somewhere recently that she may have 2016 ambitions.

I wonder if there would have been a right-wing backlash to an Obama victory on the same scale to the left-wing backlash after McCain's victory.

By the way, sorry to go off-topic, but I've just read on Yahoo News that Senator Crist may replace Pawlenty on the ticket should McCain decide to run again. Thoughts? Oh, and a new poll puts Senator Kucinich at 21% nationally on the Democratic side.


Kucinich may be a a bridge too far for the Democrats. I'm convinced that after the "McCain Healthcare Fix", health care is likely to be a sinking issue. The American People just don't want things like a public option; in spite of spending three times as much as European States, American Health Care roughly on the same level as Cuba or South Africa; people are merrily celebrating "the world's best healthcare". The vision of the future is plain: Medicare simply stops covering highly expensive drugs, and turns into a band of cash.



I'm favoring New York Governor Elliott Spitzer in the primaries. He's fought corporate titans for most of his career, and I think he can go all the way! We DO, though, need to stop guys like Arrin Hawkins and Rosa Clemente from winning the nomination.


The Democrats probably wouldn't have had huge filibuster-proof majorities in Congress right now and we wouldn't be about to see a new era of Democratic dominance, complete with a President Hillary Clinton and even further Congressional gains (due to the poor economy) in 2012.


Easy, Tiger!



Hillary isn't running in 2012; she's too old. We may get those gains, but let's pick a candidate who trashes the GOP to win as hard as you say we will.
 

Zeus

Banned
Optimist much? :rolleyes:

Perhaps I'm being optimistic, but I'm also being a realist. The poor economy allowed the Democrats to gain 27 seats in the House and 5 seats in the Senate in 2010. This pattern (which started in 2006) will only continue into 2012, especially since McCain's refusal to support large stimulus spending has slowed down the already sluggish economic recovery.
 

Zeus

Banned
Easy, Tiger!



Hillary isn't running in 2012; she's too old. We may get those gains, but let's pick a candidate who trashes the GOP to win as hard as you say we will.

Hillary hasn't officially announced yet, but she will run. Even though she is kinda old, Reagan, Dole, and McCain were older than her when they ran. There is no way Hillary will blow a good Presidential opportunity, especially considering how close she came to the nomination in 2008 and considering the very good atmosphere for the Democrats in 2012.
 
Perhaps I'm being optimistic, but I'm also being a realist. The poor economy allowed the Democrats to gain 27 seats in the House and 5 seats in the Senate in 2010. This pattern (which started in 2006) will only continue into 2012, especially since McCain's refusal to support large stimulus spending has slowed down the already sluggish economic recovery.

Heh, define large - if that stimulus spending was small change, I'll sure like to ask him if he has some to spare! But yeah, I know what you mean, it's a safe bet Obama would have spent more on it.

I suppose you are being a realist. It's just my own issues going on, really. I think for a lot of people my age 2008 really just killed it. We just sort of.... gave up.

Especially for people with an international perspective it seemed like we'd lost the chance to show the world America wasn't about the things it had been doing through that frelled-up decade. For me Obama winning, no matter how bad he was after the fact, would have been.... I don't know. Cathartic. The end of everything that started that day in 2001.

But we are where we are. For myself, I don't think September will ever really end.
 
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