2007
June 26th, 2007 Newt Gingrich former Speaker of the House from Georgia announces his candidacy for President. Gingrich runs a campaign targeted at Republicans who still supported the measures from the "Contract with America". Gingrich talked big on more tax cuts for small businesses, anti-crime legislation, National Security legislation, and some balancing of the budget.

1659037359867.png

July 4th, 2007 The International Olympic Committee awards Pyeongchang, South Korea the right to host the 2014 Winter Olympics.

July 7th, 2007 Citing major financial issues John McCain suspends his campaign for President but withholds from endorsing any remaining candidates.

July 11th, 2007 Senator Ted Kennedy from Massachusetts introduces the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act as an amendment to the Senate Defense Reauthorization bill in order to pull bipartisan support to avoid a filibuster. From the moment of it's introduction to the Senate the amendment holds 44 cosponsors including 4 Republicans.

1659038438772.png

July 14th, 2007 Jim Gilmore former Governor of Virginia drops out of the Presidential race.

July 19th, 2007 The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above 14,000 for the first time in history.

July 21st, 2007 Vice President Dick Cheney serves as acting president for a few hours while President George W. Bush undergoes a colonoscopy procedure under sedation.

1659038532081.png

July 27th, 2007 Bumblebee, directed by Alex Kurtzman and produced by Steven Spielberg was the first film in the "Transformers film series". The movie takes place during the 80's and it mainly about the robot/car Bumblebee and his human friend Spike played by Anton Yelchin. The movie is praised by fans of the television and comics series for adhering closely to the lore of Transformers. The movie brought in a $509.7 million box office on a budget of $150–200 million. The movie had a good reception especially internationally and spawned immediate sequel discussion.
1659039375833.png
 
2007
August 9th, 2007 The Dow Jones Industrial Average loses 387.18 points, its largest single-day drop since February.

1659165132256.png

August 11th, 2007 The Ames Straw Poll is won by Mitt Romney, with 31.5 percent of the vote. 14,302 ballots are cast.

1659165186930.png

August 18th, 2007 The remnants of Tropical Storm Erin re-strengthen into a tropical storm over Oklahoma, causing widespread flooding and wind damage.

August 19th, 2007 A Democratic Debate is held in Des Moines, Iowa with most of the Democratic candidates in attendance. Most viewers believe the debate was spun by ABC giving more time allotted to Clinton and Gore than the other candidates.

August 27th, 2007 United States Attorney General Alberto Gonzales announces his resignation, to be effective September 17.

August 30th, 2007 The 2007 United States Air Force nuclear weapons incident in which a B–52 flies from Minot AFB, North Dakota to Barksdale AFB, Louisiana carrying 6 nuclear warheads.

1659165233486.png

September 5th, 2007 Senator Walter Mondale indicates a final decision on his re-election will be made in December. In the meantime Minnesotans speculate possible candidates if Mondale chooses to retire. Some names include former Governor Arne Carlson, Former Minnesota Attorney General Mike Hatch, Mayor of Minneapolis R. T. Rybak, and Former Chairman of the Metropolitan Council Ted Mondale.

1659165410467.png

September 15th, 2007 Over 3,000 Taiwanese Americans and their supporters rally in front of the UN in New York City to demand that the UN accept Taiwan. At the same time, over 300,000 Taiwanese people rally in Taiwan to make the same plea.
 
August 9th, 2007 The Dow Jones Industrial Average loses 387.18 points, its largest single-day drop since February.


August 11th, 2007 The Ames Straw Poll is won by Mitt Romney, with 31.5 percent of the vote. 14,302 ballots are cast.


August 18th, 2007 The remnants of Tropical Storm Erin re-strengthen into a tropical storm over Oklahoma, causing widespread flooding and wind damage.

August 19th, 2007 A Democratic Debate is held in Des Moines, Iowa with most of the Democratic candidates in attendance. Most viewers believe the debate was spun by ABC giving more time allotted to Clinton and Gore than the other candidates.

August 27th, 2007 United States Attorney General Alberto Gonzales announces his resignation, to be effective September 17.

August 30th, 2007 The 2007 United States Air Force nuclear weapons incident in which a B–52 flies from Minot AFB, North Dakota to Barksdale AFB, Louisiana carrying 6 nuclear warheads.


September 5th, 2007 Senator Walter Mondale indicates a final decision on his re-election will be made in December. In the meantime Minnesotans speculate possible candidates if Mondale chooses to retire. Some names include former Governor Arne Carlson, Former Minnesota Attorney General Mike Hatch, Mayor of Minneapolis R. T. Rybak, and Former Chairman of the Metropolitan Council Ted Mondale.


September 15th, 2007 Over 3,000 Taiwanese Americans and their supporters rally in front of the UN in New York City to demand that the UN accept Taiwan. At the same time, over 300,000 Taiwanese people rally in Taiwan to make the same plea.
Mondale for President '08!
 
2007
October 9th, 2007 The Dow Jones Industrial Average hits an all-time high of 14,164.

October 13th, 2007 Mike Gravel withdraws from the Democratic Nomination citing poll numbers and funds.

October 20th, 2007 Georgia's governor Sonny Perdue declares a state of emergency due to drought conditions.

October 20th, 2007 - November 9th, 2007 Wildfires in Southern California result in the evacuation of more than 1,000,000 people and destroys over 1,600 homes and businesses.

October 28th, 2007 The Boston Red Sox win the 2007 World Series in a four-game sweep against the Colorado Rockies.

1660204695928.png

October 30th, 2007 A Democratic Debate is held in Philadelphia by NBC and MSNBC. Al Gore, Hillary Clinton, Bill Richardson, and Chris Dodd all attend. Governor Richardson got attention after going after Bush over spending his entire tenure worsening American foreign policy instead of developing or fixing it. Richardson also contrasted himself from the other candidates by drawing on his executive experience with those statements targeted at Clinton. Al Gore was put on the spot after a recent Clinton rally had Bill Clinton in attendance speaking. Gore was asked if he felt in any way disappointed by Bill Clinton taking his position. Gore, "I mean is this really a question?, Hillary is running!". Gore's remark would trend throughout the internet and the media over the next few days, people would compare it to James Carville's "It's the economy, stupid" with how blatant it was of an answer.

November 6th, 2007 The United States 2007 elections begin with 5 House seats and 3 Governor races alongside several Mayoral elections.

In all the House races the incumbent had either died or resigned prompting a special election in 2007. In the end neither the Republicans or Democrats had a net loss or gain of seats. However elected Representatives included Niki Tsongas widow of late Senator Paul Tsongas won Massachusetts' 5th district seat.

Governor races results:
1660202366477.png
1660204405382.png
1660204477213.png


In the Mayoral elections Democrats won in cities like Baltimore, Philadelphia, and San Francisco and Republicans won in Charlotte, Jacksonville, and Indianapolis.
 
Last edited:
2007
November 7th, 2007 Whistleblower website WikiLeaks leaks the standard US army protocol at Guantanamo Bay.

November 27th, 2007 The Annapolis Conference in Annapolis, Maryland ends with both Israel and Palestine committing to immediately implement their respective obligations under the "Roadmap for peace" and to continue the implementation of it until they had reached a peace treaty.

1660289602641.png

December 1st, 2007 At the age of 81 years, 244 days, Queen Elizabeth II becomes the oldest ever reigning British monarch, surpassing Queen Victoria who was aged 81 years, 243 days upon her death on January 22, 1901.

1660289508375.png

December 6th, 2007 Reverend Al Sharpton in an exclusive interview with the New York Times indicates his consideration of running again for President in 2008. "I think my base and I still have the resolve to win in 08'.".

December 13th, 2007 Former U.S. Senator George J. Mitchell publicly releases a report, accusing 89 retired and active Major League Baseball players of anabolic steroid use.

December 20th, 2007 Republican candidate for President Duncan Hunter withdraws from the race endorsing Newt Gingrich.
 
2008
January 3rd, 2008 Both the Democratic and Republican Iowa caucus occur being the first primary state for the primary period of the 2008 Presidential election.

Results:
1660386133623.png
1660384568408.png


After the Iowa primaries are concluded, Republican Candidate Tommy Thompson announces he will drop out if he doesn't finish within the top three in the New Hampshire primary.

January 5th, 2008 After an announcement for December was rescheduled for early January, Senator Mondale announces his intention to not seek re-election in 2008. "I effectively was a last minute candidate, and I probably never was supposed to win but I guess god threw me a bone", "Minnesota would be better suited in choosing a future than keeping the old around, however I will say Vice-President again doesn't sound too bad "laughs..."".

January 8th, 2008 After Iowa comes New Hampshire the second biggest primary contest in America.

Results:
1660386436826.png
1660387609012.png


Bill Richardson and Tommy Thompson both withdraw from their candidacies for President. Richardson chooses to withhold any endorsement, while Thompson endorses Romney. Richardson's withdraw is seen as a bit of a shock after he finished so well in Iowa although most credit it to him putting almost 40% of his funding into Iowa and less in states like New Hampshire. Despite other candidates still being in the race, most of the media and county expect a Hillary v. Gore and a Romney v. Giuliani primaries.

January 10th, 2008 Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte arrives in Nairobi, Kenya to meet with the respective sides of an ongoing political crisis in the nation. Negroponte meets with both Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga, both men claim the Presidency as their followers clash in the streets of Kenya. The United States got involved after the violence became too rapid and common to ignore and Bush wanted the US to serve as a mediator to hopefully end the conflict.

1660388206741.png

January 15th, 2008 Just a week after Mondale's announcement that he would not be seeking re-election. The Duluth News Tribune conducts an interview with former Governor Jesse Ventura. Ventura admits since the announcement he'd put more and more thought into a run for Senate as either a Republican or a Independent just like 1998. Several Minnesotan politicians at the local and federal level scoff off Ventura's idea especially Republicans who didn't take well to the idea of him running as a Republican.

1660390200177.png

January 21st, 2008 Stock markets around the world plunge amid growing fears of a U.S. recession, fueled by the 2007 subprime mortgage crisis.
 
Last edited:
2008
February 3rd, 2008 The New England Patriots win Super Bowl XLII against the New York Giants, Patriots become the first 19-0 team in NFL history not losing a single game all season.

1660477478732.png

February 5th, 2008 Super Tuesday in America where a total of 25 primaries and caucuses are held across the nation. For many especially Republicans it's their last chances to stay in the race for the long haul.

(x)* delegates

Democratic Results:

Al Gore wins in Alabama (27), Alaska (9), Arkansas (27), Delaware (9), Georgia (59), Idaho (15), Illinois (104), Kansas (23), Missouri (36), New Mexico (14), North Dakota (8), Oklahoma (24), Tennessee (60), Utah (14).

Hillary Clinton wins American Samoa (2), Arizona (31), California (190), Colorado (33), Massachusetts (55), Minnesota (48), New Jersey (59), New York (139).

Chris Dodd wins in Connecticut (20).

Republican Results:

Mitt Romney wins in Arizona (39), Arkansas (19), California (95), Connecticut (27), Delaware (18), Illinois (55), Massachusetts (40), North Dakota (8), Oklahoma (32), Utah (36).

Rudy Giuliani wins in Alaska (12), Colorado (43), Minnesota (38), Missouri (58), Montana (25), New Jersey (52), New York (101).

Newt Gingrich wins in Alabama (20), Georgia (48), Tennessee (21), West Virginia (18).

Democrat and Republican primary maps after Super Tuesday.
1660475746239.png
1660476698353.png


In the aftermath of Super Tuesday Chris Dodd and Lincoln Chafee withdraw from their respective Presidential campaigns.

Outside of politics U.S. stock market indices plunge more than 3% after a Non-Manufacturing ISM Report on Business shows signs of economic recession in the service sector. The S&P 500 fall 3.2%, The Dow Jones Industrial Average 370 points.

1660477536021.png

February 7th, 2008 The Senate passes a $170 billion economic stimulus package by a margin of 81–16.
 
2008
February 9th, 2008 After Deputy Secretary of State Negroponte left on 28th to return to the U.S. in the wake of the growing economic issue, Kenya has only gotten more divided. On January 24th some ground was made towards mediation when Kibaki and Odinga met for the first time since the crisis began. However just a day after the meeting President Kibaki assured his supporters by declaring he was still the "duly elected president", from there violence peaked again with fires and attacks breaking out across the city of Nakuru resulting in multiple deaths. Furthermore on both the 29th and 31st of January two members of the Kenyan parliament were killed by protestors and police.

On February 9th violence reached a all time high with major protests and police violence in all Kenyan provinces and cities. With that tribes of Kenya were also expecting violence and refused to listen to either government or opposition. In Nairobi the military arrived on the orders of both President Kibaki and General Jeremiah Mutinda Kianga, in the end the military fired upon crowds of protestors just in front of the State House killing around 500 men, women, and some children.

February 10th, 2008 In response to Kibaki declaring martial law, Odinga declares a rival government and flees east to the city of Eldoret. Kenya falls into a state of civil war with the country split in two and already having paramilitary fighting beginning into the night of the 10th. Alongside this conflict other smaller conflicts with tribes and the Mount Elgon Insurgents. Kenya was also suffering from spillover from the Somalian-Ethiopian War just to the Northwest.

1660524857496.png

February 12th, 2008 Newt Gingrich withdraws from the Presidential race after finishing 3rd in the Virginia Republican primary. Gingrich declares he'll endorse whoever wins the nomination.

1660524897104.png

February 24th, 2008 The 80th Academy Awards, hosted by Jon Stewart, take place at Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, with the Coen brothers' No Country for Old Men winning four awards out of eight nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director. Best Actor is won by George Clooney for Michael Clayton and Best Actress is won by Cate Blanchett for Elizabeth: The Golden Age.

March 4th, 2008 Mitt Romney basically secures the Republican Nomination for President after winning the Texas, Vermont, and Rhode Island primaries. Rudy Giuliani conceded after not having the results he wished for during the February primaries. Many pundits and Republicans believed Giuliani sold himself short by not expressing policy enough as he did his performance on and after 9/11 as Mayor of New York.

1660524601917.png
 
Great TL, just blitzed through it. Keep up the good work!

As much as I loved the OTL Sopranos cut-to-black ending an ending where Carmela may or may not flip on Tony has a ton of possibilities for sure.
 
2008
March 5th, 2008 After a extended meeting and visit to the White House, President George W. Bush endorses Mitt Romney for President. Romney made the decision to meet with Bush despite people's worries that if he was too tied to the current administration he'd lose in November given the President and cabinet poll numbers.

1660642676163.png

March 11th, 2008 Al Gore wins the Mississippi primary thanks to a big endorsements from Representative Bennie Thompson and former Clinton Secretary of Agriculture Mike Espy. Espy's endorsement was somewhat controversial as it was the first former Clinton cabinet member to endorse either of the candidates.

March 12th, 2008 New York Governor Eliot Spitzer announces his resignation (effective March 17) days after being linked to a high-priced prostitution ring. Lieutenant Governor David Paterson succeeds the governorship of New York. Spitzer's resignation and the reasons also helped to spread scrutiny and raised eyebrows to another New York politician in Hillary Clinton, Clinton had been a supporter of some of Spitzer's most unpopular positions like driving licenses for illegal immigrants. Although no one would really dare suggest Clinton had connection that deep with Spitzer it still became another smear on a long campaign for Clinton.

1660642572457.png

March 18th, 2008 The Federal Reserve System cuts the federal funds rate by 75 basis points to 2.25%.

March 25th, 2008 The African Union almost unanimously votes to intervene in Kenya after weeks of fighting. The Union decides upon a campaign to use their respective armies to help refugees and secure the borders of Kenya to prevent spillover from other conflicts. South Africa, Mozambique, and Uganda would host peace talks between the two sides and before the meetings could begin both sides were given until the 30th of March to agree to a ceasefire. If either side decided not to agree to the conditions they would receive no aid in handling their crisis, if both chose to not come to an agreement the African Union would be forced to "demilitarize the conflict by any means necessary". The news from the African Union was very shocking as it was very resolute that the conflict needed to end however it was so because the conflict combined with the worldwide economic strife had caused major issues in East Africa even outside of Kenya.

April 1st 2008 Comedian Al Franken reveals via major Minnesotan newspapers that he was running for Senator to replace Walter Mondale. Franken in a full page layout what he'd do day one in office including that'd he'd draft an amendment to the constitution codifying "the right to tell jokes" in the 1st amendment. Towards the end of a mostly humorous article which made fun of the current state of affairs in politics, Franken wrote "If you think this is a joke, find out on April 9th!". Most Minnesotans believed that Franken had aligned this message with April Fools in order to shake up the open seat race.
1660642479710.png
 
2008
April 6th, 2008 Democratic candidates Hillary Clinton makes a controversial comment referring to inhabitants of "small towns in Pennsylvania" as "bitter."

April 9th, 2008 Comedian Al Franken launches his campaign for Senator of Minnesota. Franken's campaign strikes a strong Liberal tone believing in education funding, healthcare expansion, and working class support. Many early trackers of Franken's campaign felt that he was brining similar energy as Paul Wellstone did when he ran in 1990. Many Minnesotans especially Democrats were still expecting and waiting for another more "seasoned" candidate, who could probably be more electable than an "SNL stooge" as one State Senator said.

1660906856079.png

April 15th - April 20th, 2008 Pope John Paul III visits the United States. Among his destinations are the White House, The Catholic University of America, the United Nations General Assembly, and the site of the fallen World Trade Center. John Paul III also celebrates Mass at Nationals Park and Yankee Stadium.

1660906951024.png

April 22nd, 2008 Al Gore wins the Democratic primary in Pennsylvania. Many Democrats begin endorsing Gore as the margin of Clinton still winning before the Convention wains.

April 28th, 2008 Republican and former candidate for Senate in Minnesota Norm Coleman announces no intention to run for Senate in 2008, instead working for Mitt Romney running the Romney campaign in Minnesota. At the same time the incumbent Governor Tim Pawlenty was being heavily considered to be Romney's runningmate which could open a lot of possibilities for Minnesota in 2008 and possibly 2010.

1660907061033.png

May 2nd, 2008 Iron Man, directed by Jon Favreau, is released by Marvel Studios. The movie is connected to the Sam Raimi Spider-Man trilogy and was the first film to build upon the Marvel Cinematic Universe after the Raimi movies. The movie starred actors like Tom Cruise, Terrance Howard, Brittany Murphy, and Sam Rockwell. The movie made around $565.8 million at the box office on a budget of $140 million, most fans and credits believed a sequel was inevitable however Cruise showed little intrigue in returning to the role of Tony Stark anytime soon.

1660908521973.png

May 6th, 2008 Both the North Carolina and Indiana Democratic primaries take place with the outcomes split. Gore won North Carolina after receiving and appearing with notable Democrats like John Edwards and Jim Hunt. Clinton won Indiana by close margins thanks to support from people like Joe Donnelly. All eyes were seemingly on the last few primaries as it seemed Clinton was on a "death march" for the nomination.

May 11th, 2008 Congressman from Texas Ron Paul a sort of "maverick" himself as he held strong Libertarian positions as a Republican and was even the nominee for the Libertarians in 1988. And to cement his character, Paul declares his intention to win the Libertarian Party nomination. Paul announces his decision mainly due to what he was seeing on the stage and believed that "America needs a choice between Romney and Clinton especially with the issues of today".

1660907186759.png

May 12th, 2008 A leaked video of Fox News Channel anchor Bill O'Reilly from the early-1990s of him freaking out on camera goes viral on YouTube. In the video, O'Reilly is seen shouting "We'll do it live!".
 
2008
May 15th, 2008 California becomes the second state after Massachusetts in 2004 to legalize same-sex marriage after the state's own Supreme Court rules a previous ban unconstitutional.

May 20th, 2008 Al Gore wins the Kentucky and Oregon Democratic primaries. The following day Hillary Clinton facing pressure from all sides of the party announces the suspension of her campaign and congratulates Presumptive-nominee Al Gore who thanks Hillary later that day at a Los Angeles rally.

1661080109864.png

May 22nd - 26th, 2008 The Libertarian National Convention is held in Denver, Colorado. Although not the biggest of spectacles during the 2008 election cycle the Libertarian Party is still objectively America's "third choice". In the end Dr. Mary Ruwart won the nomination over better well known candidates like Ron Paul and Bob Barr. For the runningmate the convention makes quite the decision and chooses Democrat Mike Gravel of Alaska, and somewhat surprisingly Gravel accepts even going so far to arrive just before the convention ended on the 26th. The party usually known for being just a "little" eccentric they choose a very unique ticket.

1661080184533.png
1661080219960.png

May 23rd, 2008 Former Attorney General of Minnesota Mike Hatch announces his campaign for Senate running as a moderate Democrat willing to work across the isle to help fix Minnesota problems with unemployment and taxation as high priorities.

May 25th, 2008 NASA's Phoenix spacecraft becomes the first to land on the northern polar region of Mars.

June 4th, 2008 The Pittsburgh Penguins defeat the Detroit Red Wings in the Stanley Cup Finals winning their third title in team history.

1661080328052.png

June 13th, 2008 The Incredible Hulk, directed by Joss Whedon and starring Liev Schreiber, Emily VanCamp, Tim Roth, and William Hurt was released after Iron Man expanding on the MCU. The movie made $264.8 million at the box office on a $137.5–150 million budget. The movie received fair reception with many believing it was better than the 2003 adaptation from Ang Lee, however is received criticism for having a weaker story than Iron Man or Spider-Man. After the reception of the Hulk, Sony who had signed an agreement with Marvel to build a MCU in the first place as long as it stemmed from their Spider-Man trilogy indicated little hope in Marvel's lineup of upcoming movies. The Sony fact quickly threw cold water on a pre-production Hulk 2 movie, which was pushed back.

1661080930768.png
 
Top