On March 30th, 1981, John Hinckley, Jr., fired a revolver six times at President Reagan as he was exiting the Hilton Hotel. President Reagan survived the attempt, and went on to forge one of the most enduring Presidential legacies in American history.
But what if the shooter had been successful? I see this as the opportunity for history to make note of a longer Cold War.
Acting-President is never able to push through tax cuts, and if he is, they are severely moderated. His support of the Equal Rights Amendment and milquetoast stance on abortion offends the religious right of the Republican Party, now certainly looking to deal some damage as they became a political entity only to have their hero gunned down in front of a hotel by a madman, only to have a center-right President almost as bad as President Ford in the White House.
Furthermore, there is no Strategic Defense Initiative, or if there is, it is a smaller one, used as a bargaining chip to trade for promised detente.
With this, the Republicans embattle President H.W. Bush from the right in 1984 and the Democrats from the left, meaning a much smaller victory than in 1980, but a victory nonetheless.
The Cold War carries on the same, however, with a much more amenable President in the Oval Office, the Soviet Union is not bankrupting itself on catching up with the Strategic Defense Initiative, or a U.S. military buildup as would have been the case under Reagan.
In 1988, a Democrat defeats the Republican nominee, and so on.
Considering this scenario, how likely would it be for a continued Cold War, perhaps into the 21st century, to occur?
But what if the shooter had been successful? I see this as the opportunity for history to make note of a longer Cold War.
Acting-President is never able to push through tax cuts, and if he is, they are severely moderated. His support of the Equal Rights Amendment and milquetoast stance on abortion offends the religious right of the Republican Party, now certainly looking to deal some damage as they became a political entity only to have their hero gunned down in front of a hotel by a madman, only to have a center-right President almost as bad as President Ford in the White House.
Furthermore, there is no Strategic Defense Initiative, or if there is, it is a smaller one, used as a bargaining chip to trade for promised detente.
With this, the Republicans embattle President H.W. Bush from the right in 1984 and the Democrats from the left, meaning a much smaller victory than in 1980, but a victory nonetheless.
The Cold War carries on the same, however, with a much more amenable President in the Oval Office, the Soviet Union is not bankrupting itself on catching up with the Strategic Defense Initiative, or a U.S. military buildup as would have been the case under Reagan.
In 1988, a Democrat defeats the Republican nominee, and so on.
Considering this scenario, how likely would it be for a continued Cold War, perhaps into the 21st century, to occur?