New Politics
1989 - 1993: Gary W. Hart / Dale L. Bumpers (Democratic)
1988: George H. W. Bush / Elizabeth H. 'Liddy' Dole (Republican)
With New York Governor Mario Cuomo’s refusal to run for the presidency in 1988, the logical Democratic frontrunner would be Gary Hart of Colorado, who narrowly failed who advocated a kind of centrist, “new politics” that appealed to many Democrats, who felt that old-style liberalism, as advocated by Walter Mondale, had failed the Democratic party.
Hart would handily win the Democratic primaries, defeating Senator Joe Biden, who frequently - and effectively - compared himself to future Prime Minister Neil Kinnock, who established himself as Hart’s chief rival for the nomination. While Biden put up a good fight, there would truly be no contest - Hart would be nominated by acclimation at the convention, even as former primary rival Jesse Jackson futilely claimed that Hart had no appeal to black voters. As his running mate, Hart chose Arkansas Senator Dale Bumpers, a Southerner and a liberal, to appeal to the South and to liberals, both of whom eyed Hart somewhat warily.
Meanwhile, Vice President George Bush, the favorite of his party, was able to win his party’s nomination, although Bob Dole put that outcome into doubt more than once. Ultimately, Bush would, in what some observers saw as a desperate move to appeal to Dole’s camp, choose Dole’s wife, Liddy Dole, the former Secretary of Transportation, as his running mate, as well as inject ‘freshness’ into what many saw as the tired Republican party, which sought to win its third term in the White House.
Ultimately, while Bush and Dole did somewhat better than expected, Gary Hart would handily win the election, winning some 53% of the popular vote. Gary Hart was heralded by many as the first breath of a new generation, and many hoped he would prove to be a great president - the Cold War was nearly over, after all, with the Soviet Union’s democratization under Gorbachev and Anatoly Lukyanov, Gorbachev’s successor and protege.
Would Gary Hart be all he promised? His policies would initially be very popular, specifically tax reform, even if some Republicans decried what they deemed his ‘isolationism,’ and what he deemed ‘enlightened engagement,’ which successfully prevented war between Iraq and Kuwait. All in all, Gary Hart seemed to be a major success as president, even if the economy had not been quite as good as it had been. In 1989, Justices William J. Brennan, Jr, and Thurgood Marshall announced their retirement, and Hart obligingly filled their vacancies with Judge Amalya Kearse and Yale Professor Stephen L. Carter, respectively.
In 1990, however, that changed. There had been rumors about Gary Hart being a “womanizer” before the election, with the example of Marilyn Youngbird, Hart’s confidante during the 1984 election frequently used, and Lee Atwater had attempted to use these rumors as a way to discredit Hart, but there was little evidence of these accusations’ truthfulness, and many ignored them. But in the fall of 1990, evidence surfaced that Hart had been involved in an affair during his presidency, with one Donna Rice, that had been going on for nearly four years, which the tabloids called “Donnagate,” a name that came to stick. While the President vehemently denied these accusations, privately, he knew he had been found out. In 1984, his wife had warned him that, should he run, his “downfall [would] be sex.” The truth soon came out, and Hart was forced to admit that, yes, he had lied, and yes, he had been having a “relationship” with Donna Rice for the past four years, with even ‘First Friend’ Warren Beatty forced to admit that he had been complicit in the coverup. While the Republicans lacked the necessary majority in the Senate and House to impeach President Hart, as many Republicans repeatedly swore they would do, Hart’s popularity fell drastically, with his approval ratings falling from 66% to 16% in a matter of months.
Come 1992, Hart would be vastly unpopular. Seeing the writing on the wall, Hart announced that he would not run for reelection, and after the 1992 election, Gary Hart would retire to obscurity. Since the end of his administration, Gary Hart, along with Richard Nixon, has become one of the most analyzed presidents in history. Many authors have pointed to his borderline-abusive and immensely “restricted” childhood which severely stunted his ability to relate with others, with his “dark side” surfacing only after 25 years of suppression. Hart is still alive, with his Memoirs explaining little. He is still married to his wife.
1993 - 2001: A. Lamar Alexander / Jack F. Kemp (Republican)
1992: Joseph R. 'Joe' Biden / Maynard H. Jackson (Democratic); John R. Silber / Richard D. ‘Dick’ Lamm (Independent)
1996: Albert A. 'Al' Gore / Richard A. 'Dick' Gephardt (Democratic)
In the aftermath of Donnagate, Republicans saw that 1992 would be their year to reclaim the White House. Bob Dole made plans to run again, and while he was seen as potentially too old, he was certainly one of the frontrunners, along with California Senator Pete Wilson, and New York Congressman Jack Kemp, a scion of the conservative movement, or as more of dark horse, New Jersey Governor Tom Kean. Of course, there were other candidates, such as firebrand California Congressman Bob Dornan, the arch-conservative Pat Buchanan, and New York businessman Donald Trump, whose anti-establishment rhetoric won him some support in New Hampshire, but after a few defeats, dropped out in a fit of pique.
And then there was Lamar Alexander. The former Governor of Tennessee, who had been rumored as George Bush’s preference as running mate in 1987, had a certain low-key, anti-political appeal - the flannel-clad Alexander simply casually introduced himself to potential voters - which appealed to many after the Donnagate scandal. People wanted an outsider, and it soon became clear that the political insiders Dole and Wilson were not that outsider. As Alexander began winning primary after primary, Alexander, previously treated as a joke, would soon become the frontrunner. Ultimately, Alexander would win the nomination, and, cognizant of his status as something of a moderate, a stance increasingly at odds with the Republican party as a whole, he would choose his primary rival, Jack Kemp, as his running mate.
Meanwhile, the Democrats were in disarray. Vice President Bumpers, the most popular member of the Hart administration, was still tainted by his previous support for President Hart, and, besides, he had never been particularly fond of the idea of high office, particularly the presidency. Thus, Bumpers declined to run, as would Secretary of Defense and former Senator Sam Nunn, a potential frontrunner, too tarred by the sins of Gary Hart. Mario Cuomo refused to run once more, privately deeming the election “unwinnable.” Ultimately, Joe Biden would run for the presidency once more, opposed by Jesse Jackson, as he had been in 1988, as well as a number of low-profile Democrats, like former Governor Jerry Brown of California, as well as Massachusetts Governor John R. Silber, far more conservative than most Democrats, elected in the anti-establishment year of 1990.
Biden, a long-time critic of President Hart - their feud born from the 1988 primaries - running on effectively a platform of “I told you so,” was able to win handily, although Silber was able to garner quite a bit of support. While Biden disliked Silber, who he saw as something of a bigot, the voters had determined that Silber was a force to be taken seriously, and Biden tried to make amends with him. However, Silber refused all overtures, and announced that he would running for president as an independent, with former Colorado Governor Dick Lamm, an early and fervent supporter, as his running mate. Silber’s anti-establishment message was very appealing to many in both parties in 1992, even if his ticket was technically two Democrats. Biden, meanwhile, attempting to court some sort of ‘outsider’ credential, chose as his running mate Atlanta Mayor Maynard Jackson, the first African-American on a major party’s ticket, who had the tacit endorsement of Jesse Jackson.
Going into the election, it was clear that Lamar Alexander would be the victor. While Biden did better than expected, the Democratic name was simply too tarnished by Gary Hart’s scandals. While Biden would later blame Silber for his defeat, the fact of the matter is that Silber took almost evenly from Democrats and Republicans. Biden would graciously concede the election to Alexander.
As president, Lamar Alexander would not seek to be a transformative leader. In his campaign, he had pledged to uphold “family values,” infamously stating that his “mother gave him his library card, not the government.” While UN Secretary-General Hamid Algabid and other world leaders viewed Alexander with some puzzlement, Alexander enjoyed popularity at home, even as Barend du Plessis’ South Africa disintegrated, to soon be replaced by Clarence Makwetu’s Azania, with much fanfare coming from Zimbabwe. Lamar Alexander’s true test, however, would come from the breakup of Yugoslavia.
The increasing violence in Yugoslavia led to the formation of a United Nations task force in 1995, which Alexander participated in alongside Neil Kinnock, Laurent Fabius, and Michael Wilson. The war, however, soon became something of a quagmire - but Alexander swore he could win it. The 1996 election soon became a referendum on whether or not the country thought that either Alexander - handily crushing Pat Robertson in the primaries - or his fellow Tennesseean, Al Gore, would be a better war leader, and, ultimately, the country chose Alexander once more, although by a smaller margin than in 1992.
The Yugoslav War would ultimately be mostly concluded by 1999, although remnants of unrest would remain into the 21st century. Looking into 2000, Alexander had no thoughts on his successor, seeking only to preserve the normalcy he had ultimately tried to retain. Today, Lamar Alexander is a popular president, although he himself has admitted that his leadership during the Yugoslav War was “worse than flawed.”
2001 - present: C. Jeanne Shaheen / James B. 'Jim' Hunt (Democratic)
2000: Jack F. Kemp / John R. Kasich (Republican)
2004: Linda Smith / Charles T. 'Chuck' Hagel (Republican)
In 2000, the world had moved into a new millennium, and America was looking for new faces to accommodate that. Thus, when New Hampshire Governor Jeanne Shaheen announced her run for the presidency, many Democrats were excited, seeing in her an alternative. “A New Choice,” her banners said, and that idea, of a new choice, excited many Democrats. Shaheen won the primaries against centrist Southerner Zell Miller and Massachusetts Senator John Kerry, and, seeing that her appeal was somewhat less in the South, she chose for her running mate North Carolina Senator Jim Hunt, an old warhorse of the Democrats.
Meanwhile, Vice President Kemp ran for the Republican nomination, seen as something less than ideal in 2000 - after all, the Republicans were seen as tired - and won it against a field that truly did not want the position. To inject some sort of life into his campaign, Kemp chose youthful Ohio Congressman John Kasich as his running mate, although Kasich was frequently deemed a lightweight.
Shaheen entered the election with a wide lead over Kemp, and even the revelations that she had briefly defended President Hart did little to upset her momentum. In the end, Jeanne Shaheen would win the election, becoming the first female president of the United States. Shaheen would push through a liberal agenda, and it would be during her tenure, in 2003, that a joint US / USSR mission would land the first people on Mars. In 2004, Shaheen would face Washington Governor Linda Smith, an arch-conservative, who chose centrist Virginian Chuck Hagel as her running mate. 2004, in which Shaheen won handily, would be seen as ‘the year of the woman,’ and while it is unsure of what will happen in the future - there are strange rumblings in the USSR, now under Shoygu - it is clear that Shaheen will have cemented herself as a truly remarkable president and a truly remarkable woman.
