How would Gore have handle 9/11 ???
Was there any mention of what he would have done to US Defense spending if he did become President in 2000??
If he reduce the US military to allow domestic spending to promote whatever his social policies that he might have been planning......
What military assets would / might still be available for him to use when and after 9/11 losses are finally realized...?
McCain, a few others. McCain wins both the nomination and the general, but probably loses to Hillary in 2008 due to the economy. So you have 2 one-term presidents in a row, something which hasn't occurred since the 1920s.
He might have read the bloody warnings and got the FBI to arrest the plotters beforehand for a bloody start!
(edit...)
arguably, world-wise, the best thing about a Gore administration would have been not invading Iraq and occupying it disastrously.
domestically, the best thing would likely have been a more comprehensive and responsible set of actions after Katrina.
I don't see any reason why the recession wouldn't happen on cue, though.
I agree. From what I've read, the proximate cause of the recession is a countrywide push to increase the rate of home ownership. A Clinton Administration policy. Still, without the Iraq War and the Bush tax cuts the budget would be in better shape.
He might have read the bloody warnings and got the FBI to arrest the plotters beforehand for a bloody start!
If Gore wins in 2000. He might have got the rematch with Bush. That would be a very tough race. It all depends on how Gore won the election of 2000. 9-11 may or may not have happened . But Gore vs Bush or McCain is a tough race. The last time a political party won 4 elections in a row was FDR in 44. But i believe if Gore had a 9-11 war to fight he might have used "don't change in midstream" argument that other war Presidents used to win re election. Many so called experts thought Bush would be an one term President on 9-10. But the war changed everything.
Republicans have never, Nixon being the only exception, renominated a losing presidential candidate. Chances are extremely high that McCain would have been the nominee in '04 had Bush lost the presidency in '00. A Gore-McCain race would have indeed been very close for the reasons you state.
9-11 is an interesting, if sensitive point. A continued law-enforcement approach to terrorism (or any approach to terrorism - it seems pretty clear from the record that the upper levels of the Bush national-security team simply weren't interested when they came into office) could have, at the very least, noticed the suspicious activity by the hijackers and placed them under surveillance, or questioned them. Plots like this, requiring a lot of sophisticated training and coordinated timing, are disrupted easily.
But even if it goes ahead, what would Gore's response be? The war in Afghanistan, at least early on, would be virtually identical, I'd guess, but I agree that it's hard to see an invasion of Iraq. Indeed, given that Iran was (and is) much more active in sponsoring terrorism than Saddam, would we start to consider Iraq as a counterweight, much as the Gulf states did?
Repealing Glass-Steagall was pretty important, as it allowed investment and commercial banking to merge again. That was a Clinton-era law, I believe, too early for a 2000 POD, and there's no way the Dems push to reverse that even if they somehow get Congress back.
The fetishization of derivatives and reckless loanmaking in the financial industry went under the radar, and I don't see why a Gore Administration would even notice, let alone act.
I think Gore would still invade Afghanistan like Bush did, but with more resources. He supported the Gulf War IOTL. And OBL could easily get killed at Tora Bora or something. If that happens, game over for McCain.In terms of 9/11 response rather than prevention, no war with Iraq and a Clinton-in-the-Balkans-style limited UN or NATO operation in Afghanistan. Gore's presidency would be marred by never catching OBL and Republicans would forever speculate that Bush or another Republican would have caught him.