My Dukakis Timeline (Rough Draft)

MrHola

Banned
January, 1987
Political consultant Lee Atwater dies after a tragic car accident. He was to be a major figure in Vice President George Bush’s campaign for the 1988 presidential election.

Throughout 1988
At the Democratic National Convention, the Dukakis campaign nominates Al Gore from Tennessee as Running Mate.

Democratic nominee Michael Dukakis decides not to fire his campaign manager, John Sasso.

Dukakis doesn’t contact the flu and therefore performes much better in the second debate.

Dukakis defeats George Bush with a slight electoral majority (280 – 258).

The Dukakis Cabinet
President: Michael Dukakis
Vice President: Al Gore
State: Lloyd Bentsen
Treasury: Robert Rubin
Defense: Bob Kerrey
Attorney General: Richard Holbrooke

The Dukakis Years (1989 – 1993)
The first years of the Dukakis Administration have been characterized by his appointments to the Supreme Court (namely; Mario Cuomo, Stephen Bryer,Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Harry Edwards), his meeting with Soviet General-Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev at a conference on Malta. Dukakis ratified the START I Treaty two years later, substantially reducing both countries’ nuclear stockpiles. Dukakis also vehemently condemned the Chinese government’s ruthless crushing of the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989.

Probably the greatest challenge for the Administration at the time was when tensions were rising between Iraq and Kuwait. After the Iran-Iraq War, Iraq was virtually bankrupt and heavily indebted to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. As negotiations between the two countries stalled, Iraq began to mass troops along it’s border with Kuwait. Only the interference of the US ambassador managed to prevent situations from escalating. The ambassador gave Saddam Hussein a strong warning that an invasion of Kuwait will result in US and coalition intervention.
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This is just a very rough draft (probably version 0.1 on the scale of whatever). Any comments, criticisms you want to share? Advice will also be appreciated!
 
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Should be START II (START treaty is redundant), and although it was signed in 1993 IOTL, it wasn't ratified in the U.S. until 1996. Also, the Iraq war being waved off seems to be a little too rosy for Dukakis. If you threw a butterfly in motion a little earlier, I could buy it a little easier.
 

MrHola

Banned
Should be START II (START treaty is redundant), and although it was signed in 1993 IOTL, it wasn't ratified in the U.S. until 1996. Also, the Iraq war being waved off seems to be a little too rosy for Dukakis. If you threw a butterfly in motion a little earlier, I could buy it a little easier.

But one of the main reasons of the Gulf War happening in the first place was that the Bush 41 Administration was pretty vague about the whole thing. Saddam misread that as a green light. I imagine that the Dukakis Administration would be much more clearer about the issue.

But if you have something better, please tell me.

Lloyd Bentsen was Dukakis' running mate, not Gore.

I know that, but I thought that Bentsen stole Dukakis spotlight, so to speak. It made Dukakis appear as the 'second man'.
 
Hmm...Like the start of TTL, I was actually bored and actually stumbled on a rather recent article postulated a "What If Dukakis became POTUS" TL, by the Boston Globe...I found it 2 be quite intriguing and that it might help you get some ideas... http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/magazine/articles/2008/08/03/president_duke/

Thanks for pointing that out, Historico. I particularly like the way he doesn't have anything go entirely for Dukakis or the Democratic Party. Makes it seem a little more real that way.
 
Thanks for pointing that out, Historico. I particularly like the way he doesn't have anything go entirely for Dukakis or the Democratic Party. Makes it seem a little more real that way.

Exactly, I was thinking someone should flesh it out and make it a full fledged timeline...The most plausible thing I can see Duke doing in the Article, is probably a more International Effort in trying to remove and stop Saddam into ever even going into Kuwait...
 
I doubt if anything could have kept Saddam from invading Kuwait. The gulf war would have proceeded as in OTL.

At the close of the war, General Schwartzkopf and the U.S. knew they did not have enough forces to make it all the way to Baghdad, but had they could have done considerable damage had they stayed longer in southern Iraq. Whether Duke or any other president would have made a different decision than the one of OTL, it is a toss up.
 
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