How do you get Bill Clinton 1984

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As in, President Bill Clinton in 1984? Or just a campaign in 1984? Either way, i'd say the chances are about 0. He became Attorney General of Arkansas in 1977, and Governor (for the first time) in 1979. He then lost reelection in 1980, but managed a comeback (hence, The Comeback Kid) in '82. I guess maybe if he didn't lose in 1980, that could've put him in a position to run in 1984, but I honestly don't see him running a successful Presidential campaign at that point. He might be a good fit for the VP spot in that case, but I think even that might be a stretch.
 
Bill Clinton won't be able to overcome the Walter Mondale juggernaut, even if he won re-election in 1980. But I suppose if Clinton did win re-election in 1980 and Mondale doesn't run in 1984; you could have Gary Hart win the nomination and select the youthful Governor of Arkansas as his running mate. The Hart-Clinton Ticket loses, but it helps Clinton in 1988 (Just have Michael Dukakis, Al Gore, and/or Jesse Jackson not run in 1988 and have something go wrong during Reagan's second term.)
 
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Build up supporters within the Inner Party, convince them his oritary skills and jovel personality would make him the perfect "Face" for Big Brother. Bamm; a 1984 starring Bill Clinton.

Hail Oceania
 

Wallet

Banned
He's 39 in 1984, that's too young to be elected US president. And 4 years as governor would have been considered too inexperience. He had little to no name recognition.

Democrats had Mondale, Carter, Kennedy, Jackson, Biden, Hart, Gore, Dukakis, and Cuomo. Only if they all didn't run. That assumes Reagan is even more popular then OTL.

Clinton would be seen as the desperation candidate. His time was in 1992, when no other major front runner ran.
 
He's 39 in 1984, that's too young to be elected US president.

If by "too young to be elected" you mean his chances are hampered by being so young, then yeah. But technically, a person only has to be 35 years old to become President.
 

James G

Gone Fishin'
Fort Chaffee and the camp for Cubans - the Muriel boatlift, think Scarface - damaged Clinton's gubernatorial career. Have the Cubans sent anywhere else but Arkansas and you have a different Clinton.
Maybe, maybe this shakes everything up for him.
 

Wallet

Banned
If by "too young to be elected" you mean his chances are hampered by being so young, then yeah. But technically, a person only has to be 35 years old to become President.
As a double grad student for political science and American History, I think I know that haha x'Dx'Dx'D
 
1) Riding on the momentum of Watergate, Bill Clinton beats John Paul Hammerschmidt 51-49, and reelected by increasingly large margins in 1976 and 1978.
2) In 1980, the three term congressman is elected Governor (still keeping his charisma, but not having the truck tax baggage on him like 1980OTL)
3) Wins reelection in 1982 (AR had two year terms back then)
4) With a decade of governing experience, Bill Clinton shocks Arkansas political observers by declining to run for reelection, and announces his intention to run for President
5) Clinton connects with voters, offering a vision of new ideas, and detailed policy proposals. With long white-paper proposals and an ability to talk at length on any topic, no one would ever pose him a "where's the beef?" type line in a debate. In an upset, Clinton beats Mondale in a long primary battle.
6) Reagan is space-y in the first debate, Clinton starts to climb in the polls. In the second debate, Reagan uses 'my opponent's youth and inexperience line' on Clinton, who chuckles, and asks Americans what kind of experience they want, and lists a series of Reagan failures. Clinton gets within 5 points of Reagan.
7) INSERT OCTOBER SURPRISE
8) Clinton wins
 
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I think the interesting question is where is your POD divergence? I would suggest that any Southern governor would have a hard time winning the nomination after Carter's presidency and defeat in 1980. Look at the Askew candidacy.
 
I think one of the most interesting PODs for American political life 1976 on would be if Reagan were not a candidate in 1976 or 1980.
 
Even in 1992, Clinton normally wouldn't have been in the realistic running for the Democratic nomination. If anything, a Gore/Clinton ticket was more likely. What changed this was Bush's 90% approval rating in early 1991. The A-list Democrats sat out until it was too late, and second stringers like Clinton and Tsongas dominated in Spring '92. Maybe if something like this could happen for Reagan in early '83, Mondale, Hart et al. would decide against running. Even then, with Clinton nominated in 1984 it would take something borderline-ASB for him to beat Reagan.
 
Even in 1992, Clinton normally wouldn't have been in the realistic running for the Democratic nomination. If anything, a Gore/Clinton ticket was more likely. What changed this was Bush's 90% approval rating in early 1991. The A-list Democrats sat out until it was too late, and second stringers like Clinton and Tsongas dominated in Spring '92. Maybe if something like this could happen for Reagan in early '83, Mondale, Hart et al. would decide against running. Even then, with Clinton nominated in 1984 it would take something borderline-ASB for him to beat Reagan.
what if something like Iran-contra came out or Reagan health problems start up sooner and faster.
 
It would take a lot to bring down the Teflon President in his first term.

Agreed. Mondale has said in the past that his campaign knew it was over after Reagan had a strong second debate. They all knew they'd need a miracle, but after his very shaky performance that made people question if his age was catching up with him, they thought a second poor debate showing by Reagan could give them a small opening to start gaining momentum.
 
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