The Impossible Dream

I can't do Wiki pages. Here's the next best thing. Later I'll upload a photo gallery of the Presidents.

Robert F. Kennedy (D-NY)

64th United States Attorney General
In office
January 20, 1961- September 3, 1964
President: John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson
Preceded by: William Rogers
Succeeded by: Nicholas Katzenbach

United States Senator from New York (Class 1)
In office
January 3, 1965- December 22, 1968
Served with: Jacob Javits
Preceded by: Kenneth Keating
Succeeded by: Charles Goodell

37th President of the United States
In office
January 20, 1969- January 20, 1977
Vice President: Carl Sanders
Preceded by: Lyndon Johnson
Succeeded by: Ronald Reagan

United States Senator from New York (Class 3)
In office
January 3, 1981- January 3, 1999
Served with: Robert Garcia, Robert Abrams, Al D’Amato
Preceded by: Jacob Javits
Succeeded by: Rudy Giuliani

17th United States Senate Minority Leader
In office
February 7, 1982- January 3, 1987
Deputy: Robert Byrd
Preceded by: Ted Kennedy (D)
Succeeded by: Newt Gingrich (R)

15th United States Senate Majority Leader
In office
January 3, 1987- January 3, 1997
Deputy: Bill Clinton (1987-1988) Nancy Pelosi (1988-1997)
Preceded by: Bob Dole (R)
Succeeded by: Newt Gingrich (R)

Ronald Reagan (R-CA)

33rd Governor of California
In office
January 1, 1967- January 7, 1975
Preceded by: Edmund G. “Pat” Brown, Sr.
Succeeded by: Robert Finch

38th President of the United States
In office
January 20, 1977- November 5, 1980
Vice President: Richard Schweiker
Preceded by: Robert Kennedy Sr.
Succeeded by: Richard Schweiker

Richard Schweiker (R-PA)

U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania’s 13th District
In office
January 3, 1961- January 3, 1969

United States Senator (Class 3) from Pennsylvania
In office
January 3, 1969- December 14, 1976
Preceded by: Joseph S. Clark
Succeeded by: Arlen Specter

40th Vice President of the United States
In office
January 20, 1977- November 5, 1980
President: Ronald Reagan
Preceded by: Carl Sanders
Succeeded by: Richard Lugar

39th President of the United States
In office
November 5, 1980- April 26, 1987
Vice President: Richard Lugar (1981-1987)
Preceded by: Ronald Reagan
Succeeded by: Richard Lugar

Richard Lugar (R-IN)

44th Mayor of Indianapolis
In office
January 1, 1968- January 1, 1975

United States Senator (Class 1) from Indiana
In office
January 3, 1975- December 17, 1980
Preceded by: Birch Bayh

41st Vice President of the United States
In office
December 17, 1980- April 26, 1987
President: Richard Schweiker
Preceded by: Richard Schweiker
Succeeded by: Ann Richards

40th President of the United States
In office
April 26, 1987- January 20, 1989
Vice President: Paul Trible
Preceded by: Richard Schweiker
Succeeded by: Bill Clinton

Bill Clinton (D-AR)

U.S. Representative from Arkansas’ 3rd District
In office
January 3, 1973- January 3, 1975

United States Senator (Class 3) from Arkansas
In office
January 3, 1975- December 11, 1988
Preceded by: William Fulbright

21st United States Senate Majority Whip
In office
January 3, 1987- December 11, 1988
Leader: Robert Kennedy Sr.
Preceded by: Newt Gingrich
Succeeded by: Nancy Pelosi

41st President of the United States
In office
January 20, 1989- January 20, 1997
Vice President: Ann Richards
Preceded by: Richard Lugar
Succeeded by: Maureen Reagan

Maureen Reagan (R-CA)

Chairman of the Republican National Committee
In office
January 29, 1980- January 29, 1986
Preceded by: George H.W. Bush
Succeeded by: Lee Atwater

37th Governor of California
In office
January 7, 1987- January 3, 1995
Lieutenant: Pete Wilson
Preceded by: Edmund G. “Jerry” Brown Jr.
Succeeded by: Pete Wilson

42nd President of the United States
In office
January 20, 1997- January 20, 2001
Vice President: George W. Bush
Preceded by: Bill Clinton
Succeeded by: Robert Kennedy Jr.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (D-NY)

U.S. Representative from New York’s 18th District
In office
January 3, 1983- January 1, 1991

Governor of New York
In office
January 1, 1991- December 12, 2000
Lieutenant: Betsy McCaughey Ross (1991-1999), Andrew Cuomo (1999-2000)
Preceded by: Mario Cuomo
Succeeded by: Andrew Cuomo

43rd President of the United States
In office
January 20, 2001- January 20, 2009
Vice President: Joe Lieberman (January 20- November 22, 2001), Evan Bayh (December 7, 2001-2009)
Preceded by: Maureen Reagan
Succeeded by: Bobby Jindal

Bobby Jindal (R-LA)
U.S. Representative from Louisiana’s 1st District
In office
January 3, 2001- January 1, 2004

Governor of Louisiana
In office
January 15, 2004- December 1, 2008
Preceded by: Mike Foster
Succeeded by:

44th President of the United States
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 20, 2009
Vice President: Tim Pawlenty
Preceded by: Robert Kennedy Jr

Newt Gingrich (R-GA)
U.S. Representative from Georgia’s 6th District
In office
January 3, 1973- January 3, 1981

United States Senator (Class 3) from Georgia
Assumed office
January 3, 1981
Preceded by: Herman Talmadge

22nd United States Senate Minority Whip
In office
January 3, 1985- January 3, 1987
Leader: Bob Dole
Preceded by: Howard Baker
Succeeded by: Bob Kasten

18th ­ and 20th United States Senate Minority Leader
In office
January 3, 1987- January 3, 1997
Deputy: Bob Kasten
Preceded by: Robert Kennedy Sr. (D)
Succeeded by: Nancy Pelosi (D)

In office
January 3, 2001- January 3, 2007
Deputy: Bob Kasten
Preceded by: Nancy Pelosi (D)
Succeeded by: Bob Torricelli (D)

16th and 18th United States Senate Majority Leader
In office
January 3, 1997- January 3, 2001
Deputy: Bob Kasten
Preceded by: Robert Kennedy Sr. (D)
Succeeded by: Nancy Pelosi (D)

Incumbent
Assumed office
January 3, 2007
Deputy: Tom Coburn
Preceded by: Nancy Pelosi (D)

Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-IL)
U.S. Representative from Illinois’ 3rd District
In office
January 3, 1977- January 3, 1985

United States Senator (Class 2) from Illinois
In office
January 3, 1985- January 15, 2001
Served with: Alan Dixon, Carol Moseley-Braun
Preceded by: Charles Percy
Succeeded by: Barack Obama

72nd United States Attorney General
In office
January 20, 2001- November 12, 2007
President: Robert Kennedy Jr.
Preceded by: John Ashcroft
Succeeded by: Eric Holder
 
*sniff* And so ends a glorious TL. Superb work on creating that most nuanced and difficult of counterfactual worlds - that which is ultimately 'the same' as ours (no massive changes, Nazi UFOs or Soviet takeovers of Europe etc) but with the players plausibly rearranged enough to create a significantly different world within those boundaries. If that makes sense to you - I most certainly mean it as a compliment.
 
Since joining I've been slowly slogging through the archives reading threads that catch my many interests.

Until this thread I had yet to find a time line that made me actually wish I could live there.

Thank you very much for this.
 
Once again RB, many thanks for what has been an extensive, well-written, entertaining and realistic counter-factual. The differences from OTL are many and distinct but the fact that the America we see here is no worse off for having three political dynasties in charge is very good to see.

An excellent timeline indeed, bravo!

:)
 
The government is lead by Jindal, Cantor, and Gingrich? That's too perfect. Too awesome.

Great end to a great timeline. Next time don't kill Reagan. :p
 
I know it's awesome. We began with Bobby's survival and ended with Bobby's inauguration. Yes, that was planned. ;) 2 Bobbies and 1 Bob (RFK Jr.). :p The only ones who are disenfranchised are the Religious Right and the Democratic progressives. The first was mostly due to RFK keeping them divided between the parties- his social views on most issues mirror Reagan's or Gingrich's. The second was due to the Dual Monarchy and the unquestioned Federalist control of the Democratic Party, giving way to a Federalist-Yellow Dog-GOP Congressional coalition during RFK Jr.'s presidency. All the important legislation of Bob Jr.'s presidency- free trade, energy independence, Social Security and the Manila Pact- was all passed with Republicans providing the ratification margins.

How are their legacies seen? Mostly positively...

RFK: Somewhat like Nixon IOTL (they are alike in many ways, but that's for another time) he inherited a deeply divided and unhappy country from LBJ. Like Clinton he revived the economy with the decade long 1970s boom that lasted during his and Ronald Reagan's presidency. Especially high marks for foreign policy and passing universal healthcare, welfare reform, free trade with Britain, and promoting energy independence. Both the Democratic left and GOP right loathed him- one for permanently shutting them out of ideological debates, the other for being so successful. Later of course he and the GOP would become allies on social issues, even in the 1990s when he was the only remaining Northern Democratic social conservative in the Senate. A beloved figure among Democrats and respected by Republicans. On the downside, he is criticized for excessive secrecy and encouraging Syria to occupy Lebanon in 1975 as part of his realpolitik in dealing with the Arabs. Like George H.W. Bush IOTL, RFK was seen (ITTL and IOTL) as a soft Arabist in the Middle East IOTL which makes him unique among Democratic Presidents- quite different from his son and Bill Clinton. In his second career in the Senate both parties looked to him as a bipartisan figure with much advice to offer. He redeemed himself partially with progressives by defeating Gingrich and Cheney's government shutdown in 1995.

Ronald Reagan: Reagan, as per OTL, is worshipped by Republicans but loathed by Democrats for his attempt to gut the social programs established during 16 years of Democratic rule. He is given credit for continuing the monetarist approach begun in RFK's second term without unbalancing the budget- eventually leading to the passage of the 28th (Balanced Budget) Amendment in 1998 during his daughter's presidency. Like JFK IOTL, Republicans still wonder "what if Reagan had lived?" thinking he could have done a lot more in his second term.

Richard Schweiker: Schweiker had significant foreign policy achievements but presiding over 2 recessions (1981-2 and 1987-8) and being the only President in US history to be successfully impeached and removed give him a ranking in the lowest quartile of US Presidents. Historians still cannot rehabilitate his legacy despite their best efforts.

Richard Lugar: Like Bush Sr., a respected foreign policy guru in both parties who could not escape the recession he inherited from Schweiker and the tainting of the GOP with Iran-Contra. Still, historians give his extremely short presidency an above-average rating.

Bill Clinton: Presiding over the end of the Cold War and being RFK's Federalist heir on domestic policy give him an above-average rating. Rumours of marital infidelity still bedevil Clinton. He never completely shook off being portrayed as not just RFK's protege of 20+ years but also his proxy in the White House. Progressives were infuriated with Clinton's refusal to confront his mentor over gays in the military, federal abortion funding and stem-cell research. Clinton's supporters argue that doing so would have caused a rift in the Democratic Party and Kennedy would have slapped Clinton down using GOP votes to override his vetoes.

Maureen Reagan: Liked by Republicans on domestic policy for her anti-poverty and educational reform agenda, as well as the Balanced Budget Amendment. Her foreign policy alienated many former neoconservative supporters with her support of realpolitik and opposition to nation-building. The 2000-1 recession sealed her defeat at RFK Jr.'s hands, but she is also rated above-average.

RFK Jr.: Too early to tell, but while the Democratic base learned to respect his goals of education reform and anti-poverty efforts through market-based methods, they loathed Social Security reform and his hard sell and enactment of free trade along with the Manila Pact. Most of his financial and trade legislation passed with Republican votes. RFK Jr. is seen, like Bill Clinton, as governing largely as a "middle-class" President with their interests at heart. Unlike his father, he has never shaken the image of a coolly calculating strategist and embraced the notion of being "ruthless". Statehood for Puerto Rico and being a Congressman from the Bronix attentive to community needs, speaking the language fluently and of course being a family-value Catholic earns him godhood among Hispanics, a status which both his father and the Clintons had/have IOTL/ITTL.
 
POTUS List in The Impossible Dream

36. Lyndon B. Johnson (D-TX): November 22nd 1963-January 20th 1969
37. Robert F. Kennedy (D-NY): January 20th 1969-January 20th 1977*

38. Ronald W. Reagan (R-CA): January 20th 1977-November 5th 1980**
39. Richard S. Schweiker (R-PA): November 5th 1980-April 26th 1987***
40. Richard G. Lugar (R-IN): April 26th 1987-January 20th 1989

41. William J. “Bill” Clinton (D-AK): January 20th 1989-January 20th 1997
42. Maureen E. Reagan (R-CA): January 20th 1997-January 20th 2001*
43. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (D-NY): January 20th 2001-January 20th 2009*
44. Piyush A. “Bobby” Jindal (R-LA): January 20th 2009-???*

Notes

37. First Presidential Sibling to be elected and first Silent Generation President
38. Assassinated via handgun by John Hinckley
39. First President to be Impeached; on charges of abuse of power and contempt of charges
41. First Baby Boomer President
42. First Female President as well as First Daughter of a former President to be elected
43. First Son of a former President to be elected in two different centuries.
44. First Indian-American President, First Generation X President, and Youngest President to be inaugurated at age 37

VEEP List in The Impossible Dream

38. Hubert H. Humphrey (D-MN): January 20th 1965-January 20th 1969
39. Carl E. Sanders (D-GA): January 20th 1969-January 20th 1977*

40. Richard S. Schweiker (R-PA): January 20th 1977-November 5th 1980
Vacant: November 5th 1980-January 20th 1981
41. Richard G. “Dick” Lugar (R-IN): January 20th 1981-April 26th 1987
Vacant: April 26th-June 20th 1987
42. Paul S. Trible JR. (R-VA): April 26th 1987-January 20th 1989*
43. Dorthy Ann Willis Richards (D-TX): January 20th 1989-January 20th 1997*
44. George W. Bush (R-TX): January 20th 1997-January 20th 2001
45. Joseph I. Lieberman (D-CT): January 20th-October 17th 2001**
Vacant: October 17th-Novemeber 30th 2001
46. Birch E. “Evan” Bayh III (D-IN): November 30th 2001-January 20th 2009
47. Timothy J. “Tim” Pawlenty (R-MN): January 20th 2009-???

Notes

39. First Silent Generation Vice President
42. First Baby Boomer Vice President
43. First Female Vice President
45. First Jewish-American Vice President, and the first to be assassinated via Anthrax poisoning

Defeated Tickets in The Impossible Dream

1968: Richard M. Nixon (R-NY)/Spiro T. Agnew (R-MD) ; George C. Wallace (AI-AL)/Curtis LeMay (AI-CA)
1972: Peter H. Dominick (R-CO)/Charles H. Percy (R-IL)
1976: Carl E. Sanders (D-GA)/Robert Garcia (D-NY)
1980: Ernest F. Hollings (D-SC)/Gary W. Hart (D-CO)
1984: Lloyd M. Bentsen (D-TX)/Rueben O.D. Askew (D-FL)
1988: Richard G. Lugar (R-IN)/Paul S. Trible (R-VA)
1992: William P. Gramm (R-TX)/ Maureen E. Reagan (R-CA)
1996: Ann W. Richards (D-TX)/ Melvin E. Carnahan (D-MO)
2000: Maureen E. Reagan (R-CA)/ George W. Bush (R-TX)
2004: Michael R. Huckabee (R-AK)/ Peter F. Fitzgerald (R-IL)
2008: Harold E. Ford Jr. (D-TN)/ Robert P. Casey Jr. (D-PA)

What would a…Victory look like?

2008

Ford Victory

genusmap.php


Harold E. Ford Jr. (D-TN)/ Robert P. Casey Jr. (D-PA): 274 Electoral Votes
Piyush Jindal (R-LA)/ Timothy J. Pawlenty (R-MN): 264 Electoral Votes

***************

So as I bid The Impossible Dream farewell, and after reading your recap's on the legacies of the POTUSes of TTL a small question sparked intrest. So what will Political Scientists/Historians call this period from 1968-2008(aka the Sixth Party System) in which the Demoocratic Party won Six out of Ten Presidential elections, threw out two Incumbent Republican Presidents and the GOP Presidents that made it into office largely maintanied the "Social Consensus" created by Bobby Kennedy, which didn't allow the nation to shift to shift dramatically to the left or the right.

Most historians kinda term the Age of Reagan as being fro 1966(The start of Reagan's term as Governor)-to-2006 with the Democratic takeover of both houses Congress. With Bobby having a much more active and direct role in influencing both national policy and the shaping of TTL's modern Democratic Party in his Post-Presidency. The man has a much longer shadow than Reagan ever had IOTL. So what do we call it the Age of Kennedy(But with three Kennedy Presidents in different era it could get kinda messy), The Second Federalist Era? The Times of RFK? Bobby's World lol:D
 
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Historico: one note there is another Father-Son Presidential team that of John Adams and John Quincy Adams. so ITTL there are now two with RFK-RFK jr. being the second. :)
 
Excellent TL, RB!:)
It ended with the first non-white US president (and another Catholic).
This TL was luckier than OTL for Catholics, and with some fundamental measures (Healthcare and energetic independence) being taken.:cool:
 
Great timeline so far, RB, though I'm very sad to see it end.:( Wonderful job.

Maybe, in a few years, we can see how the 2012 election turns out, with President Jindal vs. whoever the Dems nominate?:)
 
Historico: one note there is another Father-Son Presidential team that of John Adams and John Quincy Adams. so ITTL there are now two with RFK-RFK jr. being the second. :)

Also, the edit "First Son of a former President to be elected in two different centuries" isn't quite true either. John Adams was elected in 1796 (18th century) while his son was elected in 1824 (19th century). Those Adamses are messing up the Kennedy legacy.

How's this for a Wiki-sidebar?
BobbyKennedy.png

I blame Kennedy's 11 children for the length.

Oh, and I made this thing:
theimpossibleteam.png


BobbyKennedy.png
 
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A big thanks on my behalf to Tim, but I have to ask everyone else to stop bumping the thread, which I will eventually modify and post in T&S. There's another American project of mine with an early 1960s POD in the pipeline which will be coming to the Board by mid-December, so stay tuned.
 
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