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!