19?? - 1989: Howard Metzenbaum / Walter Mondale (Liberal) [10]
1984 def. Ernest Hollings / John Young Brown Jr. (Democratic), Howard Baker / Chuck Grassley (Republican)
1989 - 1997: Robert Dole / Patrick Buchanan (Republican)
1988 def. Jesse Jackson / Paul Simon (Liberal), Lloyd Bentsen / Richard Gephardt (Democratic) [9]
1992 def. Daniel Graham / W. Jefferson Clinton (Democratic), Tom Harkin / Lyndon LaRouche (Liberal) [8]
1997 - 2001: Warren Beatty / Paul Wellstone (Liberal)
1996 def. Joe Biden / Richard Lugar (Republican), George Wallace III / Robert Casey (Democratic), Larry Sanders / Ralph Nader (Independent Liberal) [7]
2001 - 2003: Patrick Buchanan† / Elizabeth Dole (Republican)
2000 def. Al Gore / Hillary Rodham (Democratic), Warren Beatty / Paul Wellstone (Liberal)
2003 - 2005: Elizabeth Dole / Vacant (Republican) [6]
2005 - 2013: Colin Powell / Al Gore (Democratic)
2004 def. Joseph Kennedy III / Al Sharpton (Liberal), Elizabeth Dole / Lincoln Chafee (Republican) [5]
2008 def. Chuck Hagel / Cindy McCain (Republican), Cornel West / Tony Evers (Liberal) [4]
2013 - 2017: Al Gore / Howard Dean (Democratic)
2012 def. Sean Penn / Bernard Sanders (Liberal), Herman Cain / Rodney Davis (Republican) [3]
2017 - 2025: John F. Kennedy Jr./ Veronica Escobar (Liberal)
2016 def. Al Gore / Howard Dean (Democratic), Rodney Davis / John Kasich (Republican) [2]
2020 def. Tom Tancredo / Brian Dahle (Democratic), John Kasich / Barbara Bollier (Republican) [1]
[10] Howard Metzenbaum and the Liberal Party were to be commended for their commitment to building an efficient and stable welfare state, yet they made one crucial mistake. The crown jewel of their program, universal healthcare under the American Health Service (AHS), remains popular to this day, but historians cannot deny that Metzenbaum's decision to name the program "New Democratic Socialism" ultimately caused its downfall. While the programs themselves proved popular, the government's rhetoric of "building a new, uniquely American form of socialism" to combat Soviet communism were deemed a failure and only served to spawn attacks from opposition parties.
[9] With the collapse of the Soviet Union (overwhelmed by its commitment to the "world revolution") a new day dawned in politics. Dole and Buchanan's "Conservative Dream Team" won a convincing victory, but were immediately beset by both national and international problems. With US troops finally able to return home from the African Peacekeeping Mission, the public was in no mood to engage forces in another conflict as Europe entered the Middle East power vacuum. While Dole was understanding and engaged American troops in humanitarian missions, he was still paralyzed by the promise of no new taxes that struggled to cover the cost of both military spending and a social service that was the envy of the Western world.
[8] The GOP were a house divided. The pairing of moderate Dole and “new Conservative” Buchanan had even inspired Democrats to attempt to widen their base, however, the growing animosity over tax changes brewed into something more serious as Buchanan began to publicly voice his opposition to both the NAEA (North American Economic Alliance) and the continued presence of American troops in the Third Middle Eastern War (which many on both the left and right saw as the last gasp of Europe’s neo-colonial efforts). While Dole managed to rein in his VP (not before the politicized resignation of Colin Powell as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff), the damage was done as the Republican looked for a more uniting leader to take them into the next election. Dole and Buchanan would never fully repair their relationship even after Elizabeth Dole brokered a public rapprochement.
[7] Warren Beatty's nomination was a gamble. Everyone knew that. The fact that he had never held elected office would either prove to be a huge boost or the death knell for the party. Thankfully, it was the former. The Democratic and Republican nominees, Governor George Wallace III and Senate Majority Leader Joe Biden, only represented "more of the same" in the eyes of the electorate. The left wing of the Liberal Party even walked out and nominated New York City Mayor Larry Sanders, but he failed to catch on. Beatty's charisma and the powerful oration of his running mate, Paul Wellstone, captured the hearts and minds of the working class and beyond. Ultimately, however, the charm wore off quick. Beatty was ultimately unprepared for the presidency. He was able to charm his fellow world leaders, but when it came time to negotiate, he floundered. Secretary of State Norman Finkelstein would later describe his main job as "criss-crossing Europe, putting out Beatty's fires." It was no wonder, then, that he would come in third in 2000.
[6] After Buchanan easily defeated the divided center-left vote (most notable for the first of Al Gore's five nominations for either president or vice president), numerous late-night presenters joked; "His greatest success is keeping his campaign promises, his greatest failure is keeping his campaign promises. ” While Buchanan claimed that he kept America insulated from Europe's worst problems, 'Fortress America' was unable to keep its doors closed forever, a point that could not have been made more clearly as Buchanan, who claimed that the MERS pandemic was a hoax, succumbed to its impact. As VP Dole tried to unite the country, the writing was already on the wall for the GOP.
[5] While everybody had expected Powell to win the election, the biggest surprise came when the Republicans fell (just) into third party status. Publicly, this was put down to a mere protest vote, with the "EEC" (European Economic Collapse) beginning to have an impact on the American economic system. Some party insiders were concerned that if things didn’t change, it might spell their long term demise although others were confident that the growing Democrats tent wouldn’t stay up for long, although this was slightly undercut by the defection of their VP candidate to the Democrats shortly after the election.
[4] Question: How did the Democrats manage to keep their big tent from bursting for so long? Answer: Nominate a war hero. Not many people could unite the left and right wings of the Democratic party quite like Colin Powell did. For all the in-party bickering, neither the radical right, led by Tom Tancredo, nor the leftist and centrist factions, could doubt his skill, track record, or acumen. Powell ran the government with a steady hand, and served as a voice of reason abroad, as social unrest grew in Europe. Powell and Secretary of State Bill Richardson were hailed for their statesmanship as Brittany and Catalonia formally declared independence from France and Spain respectively.
[3] Al Gore is a Bore! Al Gore makes me Snore! were just some of the posters seen at Gore’s public appearances - and many of these from his supports, who thought that Gore’s moderate platform a fresh contrast to the turbulent 2000’s, though critics feared he was failing to keep a rise on the growing Democratic shift to the right.
[2] In a narrow election, JFK Jr. came out on top with 270 electoral votes, beating the incumbent Al Gore.
[1] With the Liberals' popularity soaring as the Democrats pushed further and further to the right, it was no surprise that President John F. Kennedy Jr. would cruise to a second term in office.
1984 def. Ernest Hollings / John Young Brown Jr. (Democratic), Howard Baker / Chuck Grassley (Republican)
1989 - 1997: Robert Dole / Patrick Buchanan (Republican)
1988 def. Jesse Jackson / Paul Simon (Liberal), Lloyd Bentsen / Richard Gephardt (Democratic) [9]
1992 def. Daniel Graham / W. Jefferson Clinton (Democratic), Tom Harkin / Lyndon LaRouche (Liberal) [8]
1997 - 2001: Warren Beatty / Paul Wellstone (Liberal)
1996 def. Joe Biden / Richard Lugar (Republican), George Wallace III / Robert Casey (Democratic), Larry Sanders / Ralph Nader (Independent Liberal) [7]
2001 - 2003: Patrick Buchanan† / Elizabeth Dole (Republican)
2000 def. Al Gore / Hillary Rodham (Democratic), Warren Beatty / Paul Wellstone (Liberal)
2003 - 2005: Elizabeth Dole / Vacant (Republican) [6]
2005 - 2013: Colin Powell / Al Gore (Democratic)
2004 def. Joseph Kennedy III / Al Sharpton (Liberal), Elizabeth Dole / Lincoln Chafee (Republican) [5]
2008 def. Chuck Hagel / Cindy McCain (Republican), Cornel West / Tony Evers (Liberal) [4]
2013 - 2017: Al Gore / Howard Dean (Democratic)
2012 def. Sean Penn / Bernard Sanders (Liberal), Herman Cain / Rodney Davis (Republican) [3]
2017 - 2025: John F. Kennedy Jr./ Veronica Escobar (Liberal)
2016 def. Al Gore / Howard Dean (Democratic), Rodney Davis / John Kasich (Republican) [2]
2020 def. Tom Tancredo / Brian Dahle (Democratic), John Kasich / Barbara Bollier (Republican) [1]
[10] Howard Metzenbaum and the Liberal Party were to be commended for their commitment to building an efficient and stable welfare state, yet they made one crucial mistake. The crown jewel of their program, universal healthcare under the American Health Service (AHS), remains popular to this day, but historians cannot deny that Metzenbaum's decision to name the program "New Democratic Socialism" ultimately caused its downfall. While the programs themselves proved popular, the government's rhetoric of "building a new, uniquely American form of socialism" to combat Soviet communism were deemed a failure and only served to spawn attacks from opposition parties.
[9] With the collapse of the Soviet Union (overwhelmed by its commitment to the "world revolution") a new day dawned in politics. Dole and Buchanan's "Conservative Dream Team" won a convincing victory, but were immediately beset by both national and international problems. With US troops finally able to return home from the African Peacekeeping Mission, the public was in no mood to engage forces in another conflict as Europe entered the Middle East power vacuum. While Dole was understanding and engaged American troops in humanitarian missions, he was still paralyzed by the promise of no new taxes that struggled to cover the cost of both military spending and a social service that was the envy of the Western world.
[8] The GOP were a house divided. The pairing of moderate Dole and “new Conservative” Buchanan had even inspired Democrats to attempt to widen their base, however, the growing animosity over tax changes brewed into something more serious as Buchanan began to publicly voice his opposition to both the NAEA (North American Economic Alliance) and the continued presence of American troops in the Third Middle Eastern War (which many on both the left and right saw as the last gasp of Europe’s neo-colonial efforts). While Dole managed to rein in his VP (not before the politicized resignation of Colin Powell as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff), the damage was done as the Republican looked for a more uniting leader to take them into the next election. Dole and Buchanan would never fully repair their relationship even after Elizabeth Dole brokered a public rapprochement.
[7] Warren Beatty's nomination was a gamble. Everyone knew that. The fact that he had never held elected office would either prove to be a huge boost or the death knell for the party. Thankfully, it was the former. The Democratic and Republican nominees, Governor George Wallace III and Senate Majority Leader Joe Biden, only represented "more of the same" in the eyes of the electorate. The left wing of the Liberal Party even walked out and nominated New York City Mayor Larry Sanders, but he failed to catch on. Beatty's charisma and the powerful oration of his running mate, Paul Wellstone, captured the hearts and minds of the working class and beyond. Ultimately, however, the charm wore off quick. Beatty was ultimately unprepared for the presidency. He was able to charm his fellow world leaders, but when it came time to negotiate, he floundered. Secretary of State Norman Finkelstein would later describe his main job as "criss-crossing Europe, putting out Beatty's fires." It was no wonder, then, that he would come in third in 2000.
[6] After Buchanan easily defeated the divided center-left vote (most notable for the first of Al Gore's five nominations for either president or vice president), numerous late-night presenters joked; "His greatest success is keeping his campaign promises, his greatest failure is keeping his campaign promises. ” While Buchanan claimed that he kept America insulated from Europe's worst problems, 'Fortress America' was unable to keep its doors closed forever, a point that could not have been made more clearly as Buchanan, who claimed that the MERS pandemic was a hoax, succumbed to its impact. As VP Dole tried to unite the country, the writing was already on the wall for the GOP.
[5] While everybody had expected Powell to win the election, the biggest surprise came when the Republicans fell (just) into third party status. Publicly, this was put down to a mere protest vote, with the "EEC" (European Economic Collapse) beginning to have an impact on the American economic system. Some party insiders were concerned that if things didn’t change, it might spell their long term demise although others were confident that the growing Democrats tent wouldn’t stay up for long, although this was slightly undercut by the defection of their VP candidate to the Democrats shortly after the election.
[4] Question: How did the Democrats manage to keep their big tent from bursting for so long? Answer: Nominate a war hero. Not many people could unite the left and right wings of the Democratic party quite like Colin Powell did. For all the in-party bickering, neither the radical right, led by Tom Tancredo, nor the leftist and centrist factions, could doubt his skill, track record, or acumen. Powell ran the government with a steady hand, and served as a voice of reason abroad, as social unrest grew in Europe. Powell and Secretary of State Bill Richardson were hailed for their statesmanship as Brittany and Catalonia formally declared independence from France and Spain respectively.
[3] Al Gore is a Bore! Al Gore makes me Snore! were just some of the posters seen at Gore’s public appearances - and many of these from his supports, who thought that Gore’s moderate platform a fresh contrast to the turbulent 2000’s, though critics feared he was failing to keep a rise on the growing Democratic shift to the right.
[2] In a narrow election, JFK Jr. came out on top with 270 electoral votes, beating the incumbent Al Gore.
[1] With the Liberals' popularity soaring as the Democrats pushed further and further to the right, it was no surprise that President John F. Kennedy Jr. would cruise to a second term in office.
