After 1984 I imagine Hart is going to want safe as safe can get for his VP. Biden can bring blue collar bonafides, but he nearly died that year. So that's right out.

That aneurism could be butterflied away, but yeah, not the best choice when Hart would likely want to attack Bush for choosing Quayle.

Gore ran a fairly conservative campaign in 1988, but that's not necessarily a bad thing for that year. Young, decent experience, could help in the South. Certainly another person on the shortlist.

I think Hart would want to balance the ticket. Choosing a conservative would not bring left-wingers into the fold.
 

DTanza

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I think Hart would want to balance the ticket. Choosing a conservative would not bring left-wingers into the fold.

True. For that he may well choose Dukakis as his running mate. Dukakis could bring left wing credentials, executive experience, and as running mate would be able to serve as an attack dog.

While we all remember his horrifically fumbling the death penalty question, outside of that he wasn't all that bad. It's fairly sure he would hold his own against Quayle, assuming Bush still picks him.
 
Gephardt could work to, with his ties to the Unions and he could also put Missouri in play, which was a state the Democrats had a chance in at the time.
 
True. For that he may well choose Dukakis as his running mate. Dukakis could bring left wing credentials, executive experience, and as running mate would be able to serve as an attack dog.

I agree, except for the part underlined. I don't think Hart would consider the stiff, technocratic Dukakis as his running mate because he would serve as an attack dog.

While we all remember his horrifically fumbling the death penalty question, outside of that he wasn't all that bad. It's fairly sure he would hold his own against Quayle, assuming Bush still picks him.

That's a good point. If he's able to goad Quayle into fumbling, mission accomplished.
 
Illinois was red in every Presidential election from 1968-1988. 1992 was the first time the Democrats won it since 1964, Illinois is not safely Democratic in the '80s and while Simon has negatives, coming from a safe state wasn't one of them.

I checked and you're right. I regret the error, though it's a really telling thing as to how polarized US politics has become in the modern era that Illinois was once a battleground state and not so long ago at that. So, I guess that might put Paul Simon on the radar if Hart needed to do some fence mending with the party's liberal wing. At a minimum, assuming Simon had a decent run in 1988, he should get a spot on the list of candidates who get a serious look.
 
I'm still pushing for Bumpers -- governor, senator, southerner, and they were VERY good friends in the Senate.
 
OK, let's assume that the aneurysm for Biden did happen in this timeline. Tactically couldn't that give some votes to Hart's campaign ala "wow he overcame the odds", etc.?
 
OK, let's assume that the aneurysm for Biden did happen in this timeline. Tactically couldn't that give some votes to Hart's campaign ala "wow he overcame the odds", etc.?
I think it would still be an issue on the campaign trail given that he'd be a heartbeat away from one of the most stressful jobs, if not the most stressful job in the world.
 
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