I Digress: An Open & Collaborative John McCain 2008 Timeline

How Long Should John McCain be President?

  • One Term - Loses Re-Election in 2012

    Votes: 13 50.0%
  • One Term - Does Not Run for Re-Election

    Votes: 5 19.2%
  • Two Terms

    Votes: 8 30.8%

  • Total voters
    26
  • Poll closed .
I felt like doing this timeline at the same time as my Al Gore Timeline. Feel free to add to this timeline as you like or PM me for any questions, comments, concerns, or suggestions.

POD: John McCain does slightly better in the Republican Presidential Primaries of 2000. George W. Bush in a concession to McCain, reluctantly offers the retiring Arizona Senator VP, which he accepts. Dick Cheney serves as Secretary of State throughout Bush's eight-year presidency. Sometime in November 2004, Donald Rumsfeld announces he does not want to serve a second term as Secretary of Defense, and so Bush nominates Colin Powell for the post. McCain, being Vice President and Bush's heir-apparent, delivers a cake-walk landslide in the Republican Party Presidential Primaries of 2008, with potential rivals, such as Former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney and Former Ark. Gov. Mike Huckabee endorsing him early on.

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Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of Illinois (see Senator list below) was speculated to run in 2008, however, due to her lack of electoral experience, she would decline. The Democratic Party would nominate runner-up from 2004, Senator John Edwards of North Carolina. (In ATL, Kerry taps Gephardt for VP in 2004 and does slightly better). John Edwards was branded as a fresh face president in contrast to senior-citizen John McCain. McCain selected moderate, Former Pennsylvania Governor (1995-2003), and Homeland Security Advisor Tom Ridge (2005-09) as his running mate. Edwards picked Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius for someone unconventional. Edwards was initially leading Vice President McCain, however, revelations of an extra-marital affair between Edwards and his videographer would plague the Edwards campaign following the Democratic Party's convention boost. Edwards struggled to recover, as the Maverick touted his experience as both a two-term Senator (in contrast to Edwards' one term) and Vice President. The debates were a brutal beating for Edwards and Sebelius, with McCain scolding Edwards for the affair (even referring to him by his full name) and Sebeilus struggling to defend Edwards' actions. As voters went to the polls on Nov. 4, 2008, they sought a tried and tested candidate and normalcy, rather than the drama of a President of the United States divorcing and not paying child support to a mistress.

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Here is a list of Alternate US Senators TTL it's slightly different than the list I have in "Opening Pandora's Lockbox" (see Arizona, New Jersey, and North Carolina). Like the list in "Opening Pandora's Lockbox", I wanted to avoid death and resignation from the Senate where possible.
Alabama:
  • Richard Shelby (R) Jan. 3, 1979-Inc.
  • Howell Heflin (D) Jan. 3, 1981-Jan 3, 1999. Retired.
  • Jeff Sessions (R) Jan. 3, 1999-Inc.
Alaska:
  • Mike Gravel (D) Jan. 3, 1967-Jan. 3, 1979, Incumbent Bob Bartlett retires in 1966.
  • Ted Stevens (R) Jan. 3, 1969-Inc.
  • Frank Murkowski (R) Jan. 3, 1979-Dec. 2, 2002. Resigned early to be sworn-in as Governor.
Arizona:
  • Dennis DeConcini (D) Jan. 3, 1975-Jan. 3, 1993
  • John McCain (R) Jan. 3, 1989-Jan. 3, 2001. Retired.
  • Jon Kyl (R) Jan. 3, 1993-Jan. 3, 2011
Colorado:
  • Wayne Allard (R) Jan. 3, 1999-Inc.
  • Ken Salazar (D) Jan. 3, 2003-Inc.
Georgia:
  • Paul Coverdell (R) Jan. 3, 1993-Jan. 3, 1999. Retired.
  • Johnny Isakson (R) Jan. 3, 1999-Inc.
Hawaii:
  • Daniel Inouye (D) Jan. 3, 1963-Jan. 3, 2011. Retired.
Illinois:
  • Alan J. Dixon (D) Jan. 3, 1981-Jan. 3, 1999
  • Paul Simon (D) Jan. 3, 1985-Jan. 3, 2003
  • Dick Durbin (D) Jan. 3, 1999-Inc.
  • Hillary Clinton (D) Jan. 3, 2003-Inc.
Massachusetts:
  • Ted Kennedy (D) Jan. 3, 1961-Jan. 3, 2009. Retired.
  • Paul Tsongas (D) Jan. 3, 1977-Jan. 3, 1983
  • John Kerry (D) Jan. 3, 1983-Inc.
Minnesota:
  • Paul Wellstone (D) Jan. 3, 1989-Jan. 3, 2001. Retired.
  • Rod Grams (D) Jan. 3, 1997-Jan. 3, 2003
  • Mark Dayton (D) Jan. 3, 2003-Inc.
  • Norm Coleman (R) Jan. 3, 2001-Jan. 3, 2007
Mississippi:
  • Trent Lott (R) Jan. 3, 1991-Jan. 3, 2009
  • Thad Cochran (R) Dec. 27, 1978-Inc.
Missouri:
  • Jim Talent (R) Jan. 3, 2001-Jan. 3, 2007. IATL, John Ashcroft retires. Jim Talent is nominated and defeats deceased Governor Mel Carnahan by 0.1%.
Nevada:
  • Richard Bryan (D) Jan. 3, 1987-Jan. 3, 1999
  • John Ensign (R) Jan. 3, 1999-Jan. 3, 2011
  • Harry Reid (D) Jan. 3, 1989-Inc.
New Jersey:
  • Frank Lautenberg (D) Dec. 27, 1982-Inc.
  • Jon Corzine (D) Jan. 3, 1997-Jan. 3, 2003. Retired.
  • Robert Torricelli (D) Jan. 3, 2003-Jan. 3, 2009. Retired.
New York:
  • Nita Lowey (D) Jan. 3, 2001-Inc.
North Carolina:
  • Elizabeth Dole (R) Jan. 3, 1999-Jan. 3, 2005. Elizabeth Dole doesn't run in 2000 due to her having been recently elected a Senator. Retires in 2004.
  • John Edwards (D) Jan. 3, 2003-Jan. 3, 2009
  • Richard Burr (R) Jan. 3, 2005-Inc.
  • Kay Hagan (D) Jan. 3, 2009-Inc.
Oklahoma
  • David Boren (D) Jan. 3, 1981-Jan. 3, 1993
  • Jim Inhofe (R) Jan. 3, 1993-Inc.
  • Don Nickles (R) Jan. 3, 1979-2003
  • Tom Coburn (R) Jan. 3, 2003-Inc.
Rhode Island:
  • Claiborne Pell (D) Jan. 3, 1959-Jan. 3, 1995
  • Jack Reed (D) Jan. 3, 1995-Inc.
  • John Chafee (R) Jan. 3, 1973-Jan. 3, 1997
  • Lincoln Chafee (R) Jan. 3, 1997-Jan. 3, 2003. Retired.
  • Sheldon Whitehouse (D) Jan. 3, 2003-Inc.
South Carolina
  • Jim DeMint (R) Jan. 3, 2005-Jan. 3, 2011. Retired.
West Virginia:
  • Robert Byrd (D) Jan. 3, 1961-Jan. 3, 2009. Retired.
  • Joe Manchin (D) Jan. 3, 2009-Inc.
  • Jennings Randolph (D) Jan. 3, 1959-Jan. 3, 1983. Retired.
  • Jay Rockefeller (D) Jan. 3, 1983-Inc.
Wyoming:
  • Craig Thomas (R) Jan. 3, 1995-Jan. 3, 2007. Retired.
  • John Barrasso (R) Jan. 3, 2007-Inc.
 
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November 5th, 2008: President-elect John McCain meets with outgoing President George W. Bush in the Oval Office to discuss presidential transition. Incoming First Lady Cindy McCain also met with First Lady Laura Bush.

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January 20th, 2009: John Sidney McCain inaugurated as 44th President of the United States. Thomas Joseph "Tom" Ridge inaugurated as 47th Vice President of the United States.
 
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Very ASB, you would have to butterfly the meltdown that took place in September 2008.
If McCain was the Vice President under GWB, he would have lost even bigger then he did IOTL.
HRC not running in 2008 because she felt that she was not experienced enough is also very ASB.
 
(1) Why is HRC Senator from Illinois instead of New York, and why does she feel she doesn't have enough experience to run for president in 2008? Her decision to run in New York in 2000 was made long before it was known who would win the Republican presidential primaries in 2000. http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/stories/1999/03/11/hillary.blitzer/ Moreover, she won by a sufficient margin (12.3 points) so that it seems pretty clear that she would have won regardless of who was on the GOP national ticket. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Senate_election_in_New_York,_2000

(2) As for Edwards: The Hunter affair was well-known for a long time, and if Edwards really seemed to be on the verge of winning the nomination, some of his ex-staffers would probably have gone public with it. Moreover it is likely that in OTL the reason the mainstream media didn't cover it more before August 2008 was that he had been eliminated as a presidential candidate, so covering it seemed to be unnecessarily adding to Elizabeth Edwards' pain. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Edwards_extramarital_affair

Really, the only plausible way Edwards could have won the nomination is if there had been no Hunter affair. In which case, Edwards, if he won the nomination (which is unlikely in any event) would have won in November.

(3) I don't see how McCain being VP instead of Cheney would prevent the financial meltdown that made 2008 unwinnable for the GOP. If anything, it would make McCain even more vulnerable on the issue, because it would be harder for him to disassociate himself from the Bush administration's economic policies.
 
Very ASB, you would have to butterfly the meltdown that took place in September 2008.
If McCain was the Vice President under GWB, he would have lost even bigger then he did IOTL.
HRC not running in 2008 because she felt that she was not experienced enough is also very ASB.
(1) Why is HRC Senator from Illinois instead of New York, and why does she feel she doesn't have enough experience to run for president in 2008? Her decision to run in New York in 2000 was made long before it was known who would win the Republican presidential primaries in 2000. http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/stories/1999/03/11/hillary.blitzer/ Moreover, she won by a sufficient margin (12.3 points) so that it seems pretty clear that she would have won regardless of who was on the GOP national ticket. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Senate_election_in_New_York,_2000

(2) As for Edwards: The Hunter affair was well-known for a long time, and if Edwards really seemed to be on the verge of winning the nomination, some of his ex-staffers would probably have gone public with it. Moreover it is likely that in OTL the reason the mainstream media didn't cover it more before August 2008 was that he had been eliminated as a presidential candidate, so covering it seemed to be unnecessarily adding to Elizabeth Edwards' pain. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Edwards_extramarital_affair

Really, the only plausible way Edwards could have won the nomination is if there had been no Hunter affair. In which case, Edwards, if he won the nomination (which is unlikely in any event) would have won in November.

(3) I don't see how McCain being VP instead of Cheney would prevent the financial meltdown that made 2008 unwinnable for the GOP. If anything, it would make McCain even more vulnerable on the issue, because it would be harder for him to disassociate himself from the Bush administration's economic policies.
HRC being an IL Senator was a concept I recycled from my Al Gore timeline, where Alan J. Dixon and Paul Simon are re-elected in 1992 and 1996 respectively, but then retire in 1998 and 2002 respectively. This makes room for Duck Durbin wins in '98 and HRC wins in '02 (that's why I wrote she wasn't experienced enough). One of my biggest pet peeves about HRC being a NY Senator is, she just seems so inauthentic and fake.

I had my concerns about John Edwards as well. Would Chris Dodd or Howard Dean work better as a nominee?

McCain being VP indeed does not prevent the meltdown, however, I was trying to write the timeline so that VP McCain is considered a better alternative than a scandal-hung Dem. I will revise all of this later today.
 
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Anchises

Banned
Is there a way to delay the meltdown after the election ? With McCain as VP the Bush Administration might have used a more sensible approach in Iraq.

This would allow McCain to win an honest victory in 08, especially if the Dems nominate a weak candidate.
 
Is there a way to delay the meltdown after the election ? With McCain as VP the Bush Administration might have used a more sensible approach in Iraq.

This would allow McCain to win an honest victory in 08, especially if the Dems nominate a weak candidate.
I remember reading one timeline in which Cheney as president nominated a different chairman of the Fed, avoiding the Housing Bubble with a different program.
 
Any suggestions for John McCain's cabinet? I was thinking a Joe Lieberman that retired in 2006 for Secretary of Defense and (from an infobox) Jeb Bush as Secretary of Commerce. I wanted to give Matt Blunt, John Sununu, Mike Huckabee, and Mitt Romney positions, but I wasn't sure what to give them. Same for Tim Pawlenty and Mark Sanford, but they wouldn't get their positions until 2011. Maybe Carly Fiorina for Administrator of the Small Business Administration? David Petraeus as Secretary of Veterans Affairs? Mike Bloomberg for Secretary of Housing and Urban Development? Bill Frost for Secretary of Health and Human Services?
 
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Is there a way to delay the meltdown after the election ? With McCain as VP the Bush Administration might have used a more sensible approach in Iraq.

This would allow McCain to win an honest victory in 08, especially if the Dems nominate a weak candidate.

Probably better to have McCain in the Senate, so at least he doesn't have the stench of the Bush administration on him. Also helps if he warns about Bush's mistakes before they blow up so he can roll the video if Edwards tries to hang it around his neck.

Also need a handwave - Elizabeth Edwards never has cancer. An affair won't cost him the nomination. It was a career ender for John Edwards because it happened when she was battling cancer. That's a bridge too far for most people... Take cancer out of the equation and he's just Clinton/McCain/Trump.
 
Probably better to have McCain in the Senate, so at least he doesn't have the stench of the Bush administration on him. Also helps if he warns about Bush's mistakes before they blow up so he can roll the video if Edwards tries to hang it around his neck.

Also need a handwave - Elizabeth Edwards never has cancer. An affair won't cost him the nomination. It was a career ender for John Edwards because it happened when she was battling cancer. That's a bridge too far for most people... Take cancer out of the equation and he's just Clinton/McCain/Trump.
So McCain can't be Bush's heir-apparent whatsoever? Someone on this site once pitched an idea where Bush replaces Colin Powell as Secretary of State in 2005 with a retiring John McCain. McCain being heir-apparent might get him past the bloody primary he had against Romney and Huckabee.
 
HRC being an IL Senator was a concept I recycled from my Al Gore timeline, where Alan J. Dixon and Paul Simon are re-elected in 1992 and 1996 respectively, but then retire in 1998 and 2002 respectively. This makes room for Duck Durbin wins in '98 and HRC wins in '02 (that's why I wrote she wasn't experienced enough). One of my biggest pet peeves about HRC being a NY Senator is, she just seems so inauthentic and fake.

I had my concerns about John Edwards as well. Would Chris Dodd or Howard Dean work better as a nominee?

McCain being VP indeed does not prevent the meltdown, however, I was trying to write the timeline so that VP McCain is considered a better alternative than a scandal-hung Dem. I will revise all of this later today.

(1) HRC had never lived in NY, but she also hadn't lived in IL for decades , and it's doubtful that in 1999, looking for a Senate seat, she would want to wait until 2002. (There's a lot that can happen in three years.) Moreover, unless she wanted to openly separate from her husband, she would have to live in the same state as him, and I don't see Bill wanting to spend his post-presidential years in Chicago--NYC is a lot closer to the Wall Street and world business leaders he (and she!) is interested in cultivating. (As early as the summer of 1999, the Clintons were looking around in Westchester for a home. https://www.nytimes.com/1999/09/03/nyregion/with-some-help-clintons-purchase-a-white-house.html) But in any event, why would she consider six years experience in the Senate insufficient to run for president? Obama had only four when he ran in OTL, Edwards six in 2004

(2) I don't know who the Democrats would nominate in 2008 if neither Obama nor HRC ran, but it seems very unlikely that he or she could be involved in a scandal big enough to offset the tremendous disadvantage the GOP would be under after the economy melted down. The nominating process does after all offer plenty of time for intra-party opponents and the press to find scandals. That they fail to find them, that the scandal is nevertheless uncovered after the candidate is nominated, and is big enough to offset the worst economic crisis in almost 80 years (but not big enough to make the nominee stand down) seems unlikely to me.

Scandals can matter in otherwise close election years, but 2008 just does not look like one of those years to me.
 
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