Roedecker
Banned
On the television show The West Wing, the Presidential Election cycle was altered by two years at some point in the past.
On the show there have been two indirect references to President Gerald Ford. The first is that of a mention of Donald Rumsfeld who served as Ford's Chief of Staff and later as Secretary of Defense until 1977. The second reference is to Executive Order 11905 which was signed by President Ford in 1976. There has also been a reference to President Ronald Reagan. In the second season President Bartlet and Josh Lyman were treated for gun shot wounds at the Ronald Reagan Institute of Emergency Medicine as can be seen during exterior shots of Toby Ziegler and Ron Butterfield talking outside the hospital.
So Ford and Reagan both served as president in the West Wing Universe.
The following is what lead to the change in the election cycle:
The 25th Amendment, that was passed in 1967 in OTL wasn't passed in the West Wing Universe. So after President Richard Nixon resigned on noon of August 9, 1974, as there was no current Vice-President in office as Spiro Agnew had resigned in 1973, the presidency passed to the Speaker of the House Democrat Carl Albert of Oklahoma. President Albert refused to effectively reverse the mandate of the Republican landslide victory of 1972, and announced he would request for Congress to pass a bill to hold a special presidential election on Tuesday November 5, 1974. A bill was passed just weeks later, and a presidential election was set for that date. Both the Democrats and the Republicans held conventions in early September. The Republicans chose the Minority Leader in the House of Representatives, Congressman Gerald Ford of Michigan as their candidate. The Democrats chose Acting-President Albert as their candidate, however in the election various other Democrats also chose to run for president. This fractured the Democrat vote and enabled Congressman Ford to not only win a plurality in the popular vote, but a majority in the Electoral College and therefore the presidency.
As a result of the 1974 Presidential Election, the four-year cycle of presidential elections was shifted.
During the presidency of Gerald Ford, an amendment eventually was passed that clarified provisions regarding succession to the Presidency, and established procedures both for filling a vacancy in the office of the Vice President as well as responding to Presidential disabilities. As a result of this amendment in 2003, President Bartlet had to pick a new Vice-President following the resignation of John Hoynes.
President Ford chose to only serve one term and in 1978, Ronald Reagan won the Republican nomination. He defeated Jimmy Carter in the presidential election and went on to serve from 1979 to 1987.
In '86, Democrat D. Wire Newman defeated Vice-President Bush. However, President Newman was defeated in his bid for re-election in 1990 by Republican Owen Lassiter. President Lassiter served from 1991 to 1999. His Vice-President was defeated in the Electoral College by Democrat Governor Josiah "Jed" Bartlet.
President Bartlet will have served from from 1999 to 2007.
The current presidential election is taking place in 2006. It's between Republican Senator Arnold Vinick of California and Democrat Congressman Matt Santos of Texas.
So then, this is the history of presidential politics in the West Wing Universe since from 1969:
Richard Nixon (Republican) - 1969-1974
Carl Albert (Democrat) - 1974-1975
Gerald Ford (Republican) - 1975-1979
Ronald Reagan (Republican) - 1979-1987
D. Wire Newman (Democrat) - 1987-1991
Owen Lassiter (Republican) - 1991-1999
Josiah Bartlet (Democrat) - 1999-2007
Arnold Vinick (Republican) - 2007-2015? (Hopefully)
On the show there have been two indirect references to President Gerald Ford. The first is that of a mention of Donald Rumsfeld who served as Ford's Chief of Staff and later as Secretary of Defense until 1977. The second reference is to Executive Order 11905 which was signed by President Ford in 1976. There has also been a reference to President Ronald Reagan. In the second season President Bartlet and Josh Lyman were treated for gun shot wounds at the Ronald Reagan Institute of Emergency Medicine as can be seen during exterior shots of Toby Ziegler and Ron Butterfield talking outside the hospital.
So Ford and Reagan both served as president in the West Wing Universe.
The following is what lead to the change in the election cycle:
The 25th Amendment, that was passed in 1967 in OTL wasn't passed in the West Wing Universe. So after President Richard Nixon resigned on noon of August 9, 1974, as there was no current Vice-President in office as Spiro Agnew had resigned in 1973, the presidency passed to the Speaker of the House Democrat Carl Albert of Oklahoma. President Albert refused to effectively reverse the mandate of the Republican landslide victory of 1972, and announced he would request for Congress to pass a bill to hold a special presidential election on Tuesday November 5, 1974. A bill was passed just weeks later, and a presidential election was set for that date. Both the Democrats and the Republicans held conventions in early September. The Republicans chose the Minority Leader in the House of Representatives, Congressman Gerald Ford of Michigan as their candidate. The Democrats chose Acting-President Albert as their candidate, however in the election various other Democrats also chose to run for president. This fractured the Democrat vote and enabled Congressman Ford to not only win a plurality in the popular vote, but a majority in the Electoral College and therefore the presidency.
As a result of the 1974 Presidential Election, the four-year cycle of presidential elections was shifted.
During the presidency of Gerald Ford, an amendment eventually was passed that clarified provisions regarding succession to the Presidency, and established procedures both for filling a vacancy in the office of the Vice President as well as responding to Presidential disabilities. As a result of this amendment in 2003, President Bartlet had to pick a new Vice-President following the resignation of John Hoynes.
President Ford chose to only serve one term and in 1978, Ronald Reagan won the Republican nomination. He defeated Jimmy Carter in the presidential election and went on to serve from 1979 to 1987.
In '86, Democrat D. Wire Newman defeated Vice-President Bush. However, President Newman was defeated in his bid for re-election in 1990 by Republican Owen Lassiter. President Lassiter served from 1991 to 1999. His Vice-President was defeated in the Electoral College by Democrat Governor Josiah "Jed" Bartlet.
President Bartlet will have served from from 1999 to 2007.
The current presidential election is taking place in 2006. It's between Republican Senator Arnold Vinick of California and Democrat Congressman Matt Santos of Texas.
So then, this is the history of presidential politics in the West Wing Universe since from 1969:
Richard Nixon (Republican) - 1969-1974
Carl Albert (Democrat) - 1974-1975
Gerald Ford (Republican) - 1975-1979
Ronald Reagan (Republican) - 1979-1987
D. Wire Newman (Democrat) - 1987-1991
Owen Lassiter (Republican) - 1991-1999
Josiah Bartlet (Democrat) - 1999-2007
Arnold Vinick (Republican) - 2007-2015? (Hopefully)
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