"Maine is proud of her Native Daughter": Samantha Smith lives?

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samantha_Smith

I'm starting work on a Samantha Smith timeline and I'm looking for suggestions on what my readers would like to see?

One question I have for example is... Would being a "Ms." rather than a "Mrs." harm her prospects at political office?
 

shiftygiant

Gone Fishin'
I doubt anyone would notice/care.

For goodness sake m8, what kind of attitude is that? The young girl who was goodwill ambassador to the Soviet Union and Japan is an interesting person to follow if they didn't die, given the impact she had in the USSR during her lifetime. Even if she was a minor figure, it's interesting enough.

Assuming she goes into politics, I can see her entering an Ambassadorial position; on the note of her relationship, she'd be entering political offices in the late 90's early 00's, so I doubt that her marriage statues would matter.
 
Oops, my bad

Sorry, I meant that nobody would notice/care if she used Ms. instead or Mrs. or vice versa. The TL itself sounds interesting. :eek:
 
And what kind of role her would has on 2016 election? Probably pro-Democrat. And if candidates are almost same as in OTL would she support Sanders?
 
Would Smith be a plausible Representative/Senator? As for POTUS, she's from Maine and a liberal peace activist which would impede her electability... but maybe she could be the running mate to a midwestern/southern nominee?
 
she wasn't a liberal peace activist.

She was just a regular American girl who had the guts to write to Andropov and ask, Hey, why is the Soviet Union trying to take over the world?
 
And maybe some quirky, offbeat activism?

For example, maybe the marketing practices for infant formula, which is not too much on the political radar today. But the more you look at it, affects a heck of a lot of people.
 
the average age of a U.S. president is 54. Given that, Samantha might not be seen as presidential or vice-presidential until the 2020s?
 
Good idea, geography dude. Also, in terms of the "Ms." or "Mrs." debate, if she's married, she can support the whole "family values" thing even further, while being single would support the notion that she is a self-made woman who didn't have to rely on a husband. . .
Maybe she picks up on the fact that if you kind of know a topic, you can present an 80% case. If you really know the topic, a 95% case. But, if you overstate the case by one-tenth of 1%, people will feel they've been played and kick at the whole thing. This is almost a cognitive processing fault on the part of human beings.

But all the same, when you really know something and feel passionate, it's sometimes hard not to overstate. Maybe Samantha could have a couple of irons in the fire and a couple of different causes.

I still want her to be able to be a young person and later on a young adult!
 
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