The West Wing Presidential Election (Timeline)

[elliot341]

Sorry to bump this thread after so long, but I've been thinking about this.

First things first, it's difficult to add up all the references logically anyway. TWW shares a lot of history with our own world for the sake of accuracy and relvance, but diverges randomly for the sake of artistic license. When it does diverge, it's usually quite vague for the sake of not drawing attention to it. But some of the stuff that happened with real presidents in the 70s to 90s could just be attributed to the fictional presidents in TWW version of the world.

Anyway, I'd agree that the divergance would be around the early-mid 70s with Nixon and Albert, although the 25th amendment still ended up existing. Then he would have been followed by Ford (1975-1979). But I think Newman was probably based on Carter (one term Democrat, with foreign policy interests in the Mid East similar to the real-life Carter Doctrine.) So maybe he would have served from 1979-1983 (nearest equivalent to Carter's time).

Then Lassiter, who seems very Reagenesque (two term right-wing republican who propped up regimes in other countries) would then have served 1983-1991. At that point, there would be another two term Republican, prehaps similar to Bush Snr. Although I reject the "Eisenhower" theory, that was a reference to the President from the 50s (and plus, Bartlet wouldn't have been running against a two term incumbent anyway, he'd be against the new 1998 Republican nominee.) I'd point out that the 1990s Republican President would have had to have been fairly moderate/weak/bipartisan, since Leo served as Secretary of Labor in the administration before Bartlet.

 

[Marky Bunny]

Sorry to bump this thread after so long, but I've been thinking about this.

First things first, it's difficult to add up all the references logically anyway. TWW shares a lot of history with our own world for the sake of accuracy and relvance, but diverges randomly for the sake of artistic license. When it does diverge, it's usually quite vague for the sake of not drawing attention to it. But some of the stuff that happened with real presidents in the 70s to 90s could just be attributed to the fictional presidents in TWW version of the world.

Anyway, I'd agree that the divergance would be around the early-mid 70s with Nixon and Albert, although the 25th amendment still ended up existing. Then he would have been followed by Ford (1975-1979). But I think Newman was probably based on Carter (one term Democrat, with foreign policy interests in the Mid East similar to the real-life Carter Doctrine.) So maybe he would have served from 1979-1983 (nearest equivalent to Carter's time).

Then Lassiter, who seems very Reagenesque (two term right-wing republican who propped up regimes in other countries) would then have served 1983-1991. At that point, there would be another two term Republican, prehaps similar to Bush Snr. Although I reject the "Eisenhower" theory, that was a reference to the President from the 50s (and plus, Bartlet wouldn't have been running against a two term incumbent anyway, he'd be against the new 1998 Republican nominee.) I'd point out that the 1990s Republican President would have had to have been fairly moderate/weak/bipartisan, since Leo served as Secretary of Labor in the administration before Bartlet.

Welcome to the forum!!!
No problem with bumping this thread. I love West Wing history!!!
You do make some good points, some of which I agree with. I like you think Gerald Ford was President in the WWW, (there are 2 bits of eveidence for this, the Mention of Executive Order 11905 in series 3 epsiode "Posse Comitatus" which was signed by Ford in 1976, and the mention of Donald Rumsfeld, who was Ford's Chief of Staff).
We all know the quote from Series 1, epsiode "Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics" that their have been 4 Republican Presidents in the last 30 years. The epsiode set in April 2000, so this means, Nixon, Ford, Lassiter, and one other. Now it is excepted that the adminstration directly prior to Bartlet's which served two terms was Republican, now it matters if Lassiter was that President or not. If he was it does make some sort of sense, in the timeline, the only problem I have with the President that served before Bartlet is that he must have died around nine months after leaving office, as the pilot epsiode takes place in August 1999, we never saw or heard that the President before Bartlet died.
The "Eisenhower" reference doesn't make sense in the context of the epsiode, series 7 "The Wedding", in which Leo & Josh are talking about modern electoral math. The electoral math of 1952, and 1956 doesn't make much sense.
The trouble is like you mention, none of the writters had a planned writters bible. Also if you want to work out how Bartlet got 303 electoral votes in 1998, you are more than welcome to try!!!!

 

[elliot341]

Welcome to the forum!!!
No problem with bumping this thread. I love West Wing history!!!
You do make some good points, some of which I agree with. I like you think Gerald Ford was President in the WWW, (there are 2 bits of eveidence for this, the Mention of Executive Order 11905 in series 3 epsiode "Posse Comitatus" which was signed by Ford in 1976, and the mention of Donald Rumsfeld, who was Ford's Chief of Staff).
We all know the quote from Series 1, epsiode "Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics" that their have been 4 Republican Presidents in the last 30 years. The epsiode set in April 2000, so this means, Nixon, Ford, Lassiter, and one other. Now it is excepted that the adminstration directly prior to Bartlet's which served two terms was Republican, now it matters if Lassiter was that President or not. If he was it does make some sort of sense, in the timeline, the only problem I have with the President that served before Bartlet is that he must have died around nine months after leaving office, as the pilot epsiode takes place in August 1999, we never saw or heard that the President before Bartlet died.
The "Eisenhower" reference doesn't make sense in the context of the epsiode, series 7 "The Wedding", in which Leo & Josh are talking about modern electoral math. The electoral math of 1952, and 1956 doesn't make much sense.
The trouble is like you mention, none of the writters had a planned writters bible. Also if you want to work out how Bartlet got 303 electoral votes in 1998, you are more than welcome to try!!!!

The 303-235 vote thing is odd. The clues I remember are that Hoynes helped deliver the south (meaning Georgia and Florida, but not Texas) and Governor Buckland's (D-Indiana) support helped them carry Indiana and the Midwest (most likely Ohio, Iowa and Missouri.) Bartlet also lost Maine. And he did carry Oregon, by 20,000 votes.

Based on a 1996-2000 EV count (courtesy of uselectionatlas.org), my guess is that Bartlet/Hoynes carried the West Coast (Washington, Oregon, California), all of the Upper Midwest/Great Lakes (Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota), some of the Lower Midwest/Great Plains (Indiana, Ohio, Iowa and Missouri), Georgia and Florida in the south and most of the northeast. However he narrowly loses four northeastern states: Maine (vaguely less Democratic than some other Blue states and where they're "iffy about him" for a reason Bartlet doesn't know), along with Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey (also slightly less Democratic than other blue states.) That would bring him to 303, meaning his Republican opponents took the rest of the South, West and Lower Midwest/Great Plains and narrowly beat him in those four northeast states.

The gaping hole in that theory being that it's difficult to imagine a New England Liberal governor with backed by a moderate Texas Senator would actually carry some of the south and midwest, while failing to keep all of the northeast or to make gains in the west as well.

 

[Derek Jackson]

A Demnocrat ticket carrying Indiana and losing Maine does not make sense to me without a Democrat from Indiana being on the ticket.

I also assume that being from New Hamphshire would have helped Bartlett in Maine. (Query is there some deep ill feeling between those New England states that I have not heard of)

 

[Marky Bunny]

I have spent many a hour trying to work out the result. He is what I have come out with.
With the help of the election map here http://westwing.bewarne.com/fourthquestions/4election.html
which shows the states during the 2002 election when the election was still close, it give us an idea on how the states fell four years before.
Using these figures and based on the states we know Bartlet won and lost we have this
Bartlet (230)
California (54)
Connecticut (8) DC (3)Delaware (3) Georgia (13) Florida (25)
Hawaii (4)
Illinois (22)
Maryland (10)
Massachusetts (12)
Minnesota (10) New Hampshire (4)New Jersey (15)

New York (33) Oregon (7)Rhode Island (4)
Vermont (3) Republican (165) Alabama (9)
Alaska (3)
Arizona (8)
Colorado (8)
Idaho (4)

Indiana (12)
Kansas (6)
Kentucky (8)
Louisiana (9) Maine (4)Mississippi (7)
Montana (3)

Nebraska (5)
Nevada (4)
North Dakota (3)

Oklahoma (8)
South Carolina (8)
South Dakota (3)
Texas (32)
Utah (5)
Virginia (13)
Wyoming (3)Undecided (132)
Arkansas (6)
Iowa (7)
Michigan (18)
Missouri (11)

New Mexico (5)
North Carolina (14)
Ohio (21) Pennsylvania (23)
Tennessee (11)
Washington (11)
West Virginia (5)
Wisconsin (11) My guess is that to get the 303-235 result, is first you move Delaware to Republican,then give Arkansas, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Tennessee to Bartlet which gives you 303 elec votes. Arkansas, along with Tennessee, plus Georgia and Florida helps Hoynes claim "of delivering the south". The Republican candidate takes New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin.

 

[elliot341]

I have spent many a hour trying to work out the result. He is what I have come out with.
With the help of the election map here http://westwing.bewarne.com/fourthquestions/4election.html
which shows the states during the 2002 election when the election was still close, it give us an idea on how the states fell four years before.
Using these figures and based on the states we know Bartlet won and lost we have this
Bartlet (230)
California (54)
Connecticut (8) DC (3)Delaware (3) Georgia (13) Florida (25)
Hawaii (4)
Illinois (22)
Maryland (10)
Massachusetts (12)
Minnesota (10) New Hampshire (4)New Jersey (15)

New York (33) Oregon (7)Rhode Island (4)
Vermont (3) Republican (165) Alabama (9)
Alaska (3)
Arizona (8)
Colorado (8)
Idaho (4)

Indiana (12)
Kansas (6)
Kentucky (8)
Louisiana (9) Maine (4)Mississippi (7)
Montana (3)

Nebraska (5)
Nevada (4)
North Dakota (3)

Oklahoma (8)
South Carolina (8)
South Dakota (3)
Texas (32)
Utah (5)
Virginia (13)
Wyoming (3)Undecided (132)
Arkansas (6)
Iowa (7)
Michigan (18)
Missouri (11)

New Mexico (5)
North Carolina (14)
Ohio (21) Pennsylvania (23)
Tennessee (11)
Washington (11)
West Virginia (5)
Wisconsin (11) My guess is that to get the 303-235 result, is first you move Delaware to Republican,then give Arkansas, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Tennessee to Bartlet which gives you 303 elec votes. Arkansas, along with Tennessee, plus Georgia and Florida helps Hoynes claim "of delivering the south". The Republican candidate takes New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin.

But again, the flaw with that, like with my theory, is the illogical wins and loses by a Bartlet/Hoynes ticket. It's hard to imagine them picking up those 4 southern states, but then losing Delaware, Washington and Wisconsin.

Not to mention the direct contradiction of the "You came through for us in Indiana. Really, the whole Midwest. You would've been great in the number two spot. And it was me as much as anyone pushing Hoynes." That states that he carried Indiana and most of the Midwest, and he almost certainly would have carried the 4 upper midwestern states with or without Buckland's campaigning (Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota all went for Clinton, Kerry and Gore.) Then again, Buckland then says "you needed Hoynes", which makes no sense because if they had of carried most/all of the blue states, Indiana and the lower midwest they probably wouldn't even need the south.

Again, it's just deliberate ambiguity on the part of the writers. The 303-235 thing was just a throwaway line in Memorial Day and they probably didn't make sure it fact-checked with other details they'd given. Plus, there was a bit of inaccuracy and idealism to the other two elections as well. In the 2002, the idea of Bartlet (a liberal new englander who'd just admitted he'd lied to the country about MS) destorying Ritchie (a staunchly conservative Republican governor who hadn't just lied to the entire country about MS) by a 423-115 margin just because he beat him in a debate was a bit fantastical. As was the fact that Matt Santos was even registering in polls compared to Vinick before San Andreo (imagine Sheila Jackson Lee taking on McCain or Giuliani in an election), let alone the fact that after San Andreo Vinick picked up Maine and Vermont while Santos took South Carolina and Texas and won.

 

[Marky Bunny]

But again, the flaw with that, like with my theory, is the illogical wins and loses by a Bartlet/Hoynes ticket. It's hard to imagine them picking up those 4 southern states, but then losing Delaware, Washington and Wisconsin.

Not to mention the direct contradiction of the "You came through for us in Indiana. Really, the whole Midwest. You would've been great in the number two spot. And it was me as much as anyone pushing Hoynes." That states that he carried Indiana and most of the Midwest, and he almost certainly would have carried the 4 upper midwestern states with or without Buckland's campaigning (Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota all went for Clinton, Kerry and Gore.) Then again, Buckland then says "you needed Hoynes", which makes no sense because if they had of carried most/all of the blue states, Indiana and the lower midwest they probably wouldn't even need the south.

Again, it's just deliberate ambiguity on the part of the writers. The 303-235 thing was just a throwaway line in Memorial Day and they probably didn't make sure it fact-checked with other details they'd given. Plus, there was a bit of inaccuracy and idealism to the other two elections as well. In the 2002, the idea of Bartlet (a liberal new englander who'd just admitted he'd lied to the country about MS) destorying Ritchie (a staunchly conservative Republican governor who hadn't just lied to the entire country about MS) by a 423-115 margin just because he beat him in a debate was a bit fantastical. As was the fact that Matt Santos was even registering in polls compared to Vinick before San Andreo (imagine Sheila Jackson Lee taking on McCain or Giuliani in an election), let alone the fact that after San Andreo Vinick picked up Maine and Vermont while Santos took South Carolina and Texas and won.

I had missed the line about Buckland and Indiana. Just watched that epsiode tonight. Again I agree the writers just threw in throway lines, without any idea. If you look how the states where lining up in 2002 just before the lection, then Wisconin, Washington, West Virgina where all showing as undecided, meaning they could have been won by the Republican candidate in 1998.
As regards to 2002, the result was a liberal fantasy by Sorkin. The 2006 election was going to be won by Vinick until the death of John Spencer (Leo McGarry).

 

[ColeMercury]

Anyway, I'd agree that the divergance would be around the early-mid 70s with Nixon and Albert, although the 25th amendment still ended up existing. Then he would have been followed by Ford (1975-1979). But I think Newman was probably based on Carter (one term Democrat, with foreign policy interests in the Mid East similar to the real-life Carter Doctrine.) So maybe he would have served from 1979-1983 (nearest equivalent to Carter's time).

Then Lassiter, who seems very Reagenesque (two term right-wing republican who propped up regimes in other countries) would then have served 1983-1991. At that point, there would be another two term Republican, prehaps similar to Bush Snr.

You know, I think you're right. Your timeline is better than mine - Newman fits better, Lassiter's nomination is better (I wasn't really sure about his taking it from Ford as a sitting president), and it also kinda makes more sense that Lassiter, having Reagan-level popularity, would be succeeded by a Republican.

So, then, it'd be:
1969 - 1973: Richard Nixon (resigns early)
1973 - 1974: Carl Albert (acting president)
1974 - 1979: Gerald Ford
1979 - 1983: D Wire Newman
1983 - 1991: Owen Lassiter
1991 - 1999: unnamed Republican who couldn't make it to Lassiter's funeral
1999 - 2007: Jed Bartlet
2007 - 201?: Matt Santos

By the way, does anyone think this'd be a plausible development for the 2010 election: Vinick loses the Republican nomination, but ends up running as an independent and wins/almost wins?

As regards to 2002, the result was a liberal fantasy by Sorkin.

I think the idea was that the debate showed would-be Ritchie supporters that Ritchie was an idiot and not worth voting for, so they just didn't vote instead, allowing Bartlet supporters to win the plains states.

 

[Electric Monk]

1969 - 1973: Richard Nixon (resigns early)
1973 - 1974: Carl Albert (acting president)
1974 - 1979: Gerald Ford
1979 - 1983: D Wire Newman
1983 - 1991: Owen Lassiter
1991 - 1999: unnamed Republican who couldn't make it to Lassiter's funeral
1999 - 2007: Jed Bartlet
2007 - 201?: Matt Santos

By the way, does anyone think this'd be a plausible development for the 2010 election: Vinick loses the Republican nomination, but ends up running as an independent and wins/almost wins?

That's about what my guess would be. Newman's the Carter analogue, Lassiter is the Reagan analogue, and unnamed Republican is the Clinton centrist analogue (as Leo was his Secretary of Labor).

I'd also adjust Nixon, let's say he nominates John Connally as he wanted to IOTL but he doesn't get through Congress (which is why Ford was nominated instead). Mostly because I don't think Albert would have served for more than a few months without calling an election. So:

1969 - 1974: Richard Nixon (Connally as VP choice doesn't make it through Congress)
1974: Carl Albert (acting president)
1974: Ford beats whoever the Democrats have on offer (Perhaps their nominee is a New Deal liberal like Tip O'Neill).


I think Vinick plays kingmaker in 2010, he won't run.

 

[ColeMercury]

unnamed Republican is the Clinton centrist analogue (as Leo was his Secretary of Labor).


I think Vinick plays kingmaker in 2010, he won't run.

I think unnamed Republican would be more of a melding of Clinton & Bush Sr.

Thing is, in that episode where Vinick accepts the job of Secretary of State (I can't remember the title) he seemed pretty determined to run again, and was angling himself towards that with the offers he was accepting on the lecture circuit and so on. It seems to me he wouldn't just play kingmaker, especially as he knows he could win (having won the popular vote in 2006). Plus, a three-way race would be really entertaining.

 

[Electric Monk]

I think unnamed Republican would be more of a melding of Clinton & Bush Sr.

Thing is, in that episode where Vinick accepts the job of Secretary of State (I can't remember the title) he seemed pretty determined to run again, and was angling himself towards that with the offers he was accepting on the lecture circuit and so on. It seems to me he wouldn't just play kingmaker, especially as he knows he could win (having won the popular vote in 2006). Plus, a three-way race would be really entertaining.

Either or. Bush 41 was a pretty liberal Republican himself.

"The Last Hurrah". As I recall he was determined to run again, but his staff convinced him that he couldn't do it but his run had changed the Republican Party and that there were now "Vinick Republicans". But it's been a while, I don't rewatch the non-Sorkin West Wing.

 

[ColeMercury]

"The Last Hurrah". As I recall he was determined to run again, but his staff convinced him that he couldn't do it but his run had changed the Republican Party and that there were now "Vinick Republicans".

They tried to convince him - apparently unsuccessfully.

 

[Electric Monk]

They tried to convince him - apparently unsuccessfully.

No, by taking the Secretary of State job that's him admitting he can't run. With that level of time committment he simply cannot go around and keep the party happy enough with him to give him a second shot.

Vinick is done. He's not in the 2010 race, and there's no way he mounts a third-party bid (he's not an idiot, third parties don't win). That said he'll probably do a better job at State than most people that might have got that job, and odds are when the Republicans get elected in 2010 (Santos a second term? Can't see it) he stays at State.


From the TWoP recap:

Vinick has just finished briefing Sheila and Bob on the conversation. He tells them that he turned Santos down, but that Santos asked him to sleep on it and respond the next day. Bob and Sheila both think Vinick should accept. Vinick thinks that Santos is doing this just to prevent Vinick from running for President in four years. Neither of them points out how ridiculous that idea is, but it seems clear from their expressions.

[…]

Vinick finally reads Sheila's face and asks, "You really don't think I can win, do you?" She thinks that he might have a chance if he were ten years younger, and he claims that the aging Baby Boomers will want to vote for him. Sheila delivers some hard truths, and Vinick sighs and stands up.

 

[elliot341]

No, by taking the Secretary of State job that's him admitting he can't run. With that level of time committment he simply cannot go around and keep the party happy enough with him to give him a second shot.

Vinick is done. He's not in the 2010 race, and there's no way he mounts a third-party bid (he's not an idiot, third parties don't win). That said he'll probably do a better job at State than most people that might have got that job, and odds are when the Republicans get elected in 2010 (Santos a second term? Can't see it) he stays at State.


From the TWoP recap:

In that ep, Bob and Sheila say that Vinick's running mate, Ray Sullivan, is the new frontrunner for the 2010 and is liked by both pro-lifers and by moderate "Vinick Republicans" (allowing to unify both factions and take the nomination.) Vinick wouldn't run again.

 

[Tim Thomason]

My fan-fictionesque West Wing timeline, with a POD in 1853.

• 1853 - A train car derails in Andover, Massachusetts. President-elect Franklin Pierce, his wife Jane, and his son Bennie all miraculously survive. Pierce enters the Presidency with vigor from the near-death experience, and becomes a relatively effective and successful President. He expands relations with Luxembourg, the United Kingdom, and Persia, and assists in founding the colonial nation of Equatorial Kundu near Liberia. The Pierce family becomes a noted name in New England and United States politics.
• 1870s - King William III of the Netherlands, on the advice of friend and US Ambassador Benjamin Pierce, expands his title to Grand King of Luxembourg in a later discredited attempt to expand the realm.
• Late 19th century - A descendent of Dr. Josiah Bartlett, signer of the Declaration of Independence, has his last name mistakenly registered as "Bartlet." He adopts the misspelled name in a defiant streak against his conservative family.
• Early 20th century - A group of Islamic fundamentalists and separatists in Persia are officially granted sovereignty after World War I. Their country, originally South Persia, is officially called "Land of the Moon" (Qumar in Arabic).
• 1920s - In response to the developing nation of Qumar, America allies itself with the nation of Yemen, making it a much more democratic nation. In turn, nations such as Turkey and Saudia Arabia, maintain relatively more fundamentalist regimes.
• 1964 - Josiah Bartlet, a graduate of Notre Dame, enters the London School of Economics alongside Yosh Takahashi. His work on the economies of developing nations and soft landings in grad school would eventually win him the Nobel Prize, split with Takahashi's work.
• 1971 - Professor Josiah Bartlet begins his political career in the New Hampshire State House.
• 1978 - Under fierce opposition led by aging Senator Joseph Furman, legislation introducing National Grandparents' Day is tabled.
• 1980 - Former Governor Ronald Reagan of California is nominated by the Republican Party for President. In a controversial move, he selects current California Governor Owen Lassiter as his running mate. This costs Lassiter the California electoral votes for Vice President (former President Ford is chosen instead by their electors), but the election is still narrowly won by Reagan and Lassiter. The Reagan White House Staff is mainly adopted from those who formerly worked for the Nixon administration.
• 1981 - Reagan is shot and critically injured in an assassination attempt by a Democratic activist. Lassiter invokes the 25th amendment for the first time and assumes the Acting Presidency temporarily. Although Reagan recovers, he is still badly injured and requires a cane for the remainder of his Presidency.
• 1980s - Bartlet and Takahashi win the Nobel Prize in Economics. Sometime later, he is elected to the House of Representatives for three terms.
• 1984 - Reagan is reelected along with Lassiter, amidst rumors that Lassiter is acting as secret President. A month after the election, Reagan's health diminshes immensely. Lassiter once again becomes Acting President, intentionally for the remainder of the Presidency. Speaker D. Wire Newman of the Democratic Congress passes the massive legislation, with public support against this action and calls for a special presidential election. With Supreme Court approval, the resolution is passed and an election is scheduled for November 1986. Since the Constitution still requires an election every four years, the presidential term is offset by two years.
• 1986 - Newman and Senator Roland Pierce are nominated by the Democratic Party, against Republican Senator Joseph Furman and Governor Jim Hohner. Newman wins the election in November in a surprise landslide. Lassiter begins a policy of phoning Newman about Presidential issues, much to his chagrin.
• 1990 - Newman and Pierce are renominated by their party, despite considerable criticism of their term and a tough primary against Howard Stackhouse. Owen Lassiter leaves his retirement to run and is unanimously nominated alongside young Governor Franklin Richards of Arkansas. He wins in a landslide against Newman. Former Representative Bartlet of New Hampshire wins the governorship in a landslide.
• 1991 - Lassiter surprisingly moves towards the center in his administration, appointing Democratic cabinet secretaries (including former Representative Leo McGarry for Labor) and adopting moderate policies such as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." His early end to the Gulf War is also decried by the War Hawks in Congress.
• 1994 - Former VP Pierce along with Former State Secretary Barry Goodwin are nominated by the Democratic primaries, under the assumption that their liberal views would circumvent Lassiter's moderate ones. Lassiter, although claiming to retire due to age, decides to run again after early polling show a clear win. Along with Richards he is elected for a second term, but by a much narrower margin as the country seems to be veering left.
• 1990s - Former Presidents Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford, and Ronald Reagan pass away over the course of the decade.
• 1996 - The Republicans gain control of the House for the first time in years.
• 1998 - Senator Roland Pierce (re-elected to the Senate in '96) helps fight down anti-trust legislation, as Bell Atlantic merges GTE and adopts the name "Verizon Communications." They immediately post the new name in an advertising ploy across the nation, and it becomes a contentious issue in that year's later presidential election. Governor Josiah Bartlet of New Hampshire wins the Democratic primary as a Dark Horse candidate and goes on to narrowly defeat frontrunner Republican Franklin Richards in the general election, although he loses the popular vote. The Senate reverts back to Republican control.
• 1999 - Janet Willis of Ohio dies. In a special election, the Democrats nominate Joe Willis, who despite not campaigning, wins his district. Willis considers himself "appointed" to the position. Bartlet takes office, inheriting a brief conflict with the Phillippines.
• 2000 - India and Pakistan enter into brief armed conflict. A "Theory of Everything" is first scientifically published, although the theory is highly debated and its effect is not immediately effective.
• 2001 - The Mexican economy collapses and is given a bail-out by the United States government. The MS scandal is broken and President Bartlet's reputation is ruined.
• 2002 - President Bartlet becomes the second President to be censured for hiding his multiple sclerosis from the electorate. He goes on to win the presidential election against Governor Robert Ritchie in a landslide.
• 2003 - Vice President John Hoynes resigns following a sex scandal. Zoey Bartlet, daughter of the President, is kidnapped by Qumari terrorists. President Bartlet invokes the 25th amendment, making Former Speaker Glen Allen Walken the Acting President. He proceeds with bombing Qumari terrorist bases as the FBI extracts Zoey. The Presidency is restored to Bartlet. Congressman Bob Russell of Colorado is selected as Vice President. The government is temporarily shut down.
• 2004 - Former President Owen Lassiter passes away. Mandatory minimums are dissolved, and social security is solved in a surprise bipartisan effort. Israel tests nuclear submarines in the Indian Ocean. Bartlet appoints the first female Chief Justice to the Supreme Court.
• 2005 - A congressional delegation to Palestine is attacked, killing two congressmen, Former General FitzWallace, and injuring Donna Moss and Rep. Andie Wyatt. The Gaza incident leads to Israeli-Palestinian talks hosted at Camp David. Congress passes a Patients' Bill of Rights. Representative Matt Santos of Texas begins his primary campaign for President.
• 2006 - The International Space Station has a leak, and information regarding a secret military space shuttle is leaked to the press from the White House, requiring its use. President Bartlet sends troops into Kazakhstan to ease tensions between it, Russia, and China. Santos narrowly defeats Senator Arnold Vinick of California in the Presidential race. The Democrats regain the House and have a closer margin in the Senate. Vice President-elect Leo McGarry passes on Election Day, requiring the choosing of a new Vice President after inauguration. Despite losing many races, the Republican Party gains a more liberal wing known as "Vinick Republicans."
• 2007 - Matt Santos is inaugurated President of the United States, and begins working on getting Eric Baker confirmed as VP. Bartlet retires to New Hampshire.

 

[mattep74]

[*]1999 - Janet Willis of Ohio dies. In a special election, the Democrats nominate Joe Willis, who despite not campaigning, wins his district. Willis considers himself "appointed" to the position. Bartlet takes office, inheriting a brief conflict with the Phillippines.
[*]2005 - A congressional delegation to Palestine is attacked, killing two congressmen, Former General FitzWallace, and injuring Donna Moss and Rep. Andie Wyatt. The Gaza incident leads to Israeli-Palestinian talks hosted at Camp David. Congress passes a Patients' Bill of Rights. Representative Matt Santos of Texas begins his primary campaign for President.
[/LIST]

Wrong about Mr Willis from Ohio. He was never on any ticket and just took his wifes place for a while after she died.

Wrong about Andie. She wasnt in the same car that exploded and unharmed. The episode shows her wawing at the camera while the father of her kids in a rare moment begs someone nicely

 

[Strategos' Risk]

Turn this into a Commander-in-Chief crossover in the next election.

 

[Tellus]

As was the fact that Matt Santos was even registering in polls compared to Vinick before San Andreo (imagine Sheila Jackson Lee taking on McCain or Giuliani in an election), let alone the fact that after San Andreo Vinick picked up Maine and Vermont while Santos took South Carolina and Texas and won.

I know I have the benefit of hindsight, that was not quite apparently in 12/07, but... or say, Barack Obama taking on John McCain?

Tim Thomason I must say I love your timeline, it really accounts for many loose ends!

 

[Marky Bunny]

My fan-fictionesque West Wing timeline, with a POD in 1853.

• 1853 - A train car derails in Andover, Massachusetts. President-elect Franklin Pierce, his wife Jane, and his son Bennie all miraculously survive. Pierce enters the Presidency with vigor from the near-death experience, and becomes a relatively effective and successful President. He expands relations with Luxembourg, the United Kingdom, and Persia, and assists in founding the colonial nation of Equatorial Kundu near Liberia. The Pierce family becomes a noted name in New England and United States politics.
• 1870s - King William III of the Netherlands, on the advice of friend and US Ambassador Benjamin Pierce, expands his title to Grand King of Luxembourg in a later discredited attempt to expand the realm.
• Late 19th century - A descendent of Dr. Josiah Bartlett, signer of the Declaration of Independence, has his last name mistakenly registered as "Bartlet." He adopts the misspelled name in a defiant streak against his conservative family.
• Early 20th century - A group of Islamic fundamentalists and separatists in Persia are officially granted sovereignty after World War I. Their country, originally South Persia, is officially called "Land of the Moon" (Qumar in Arabic).
• 1920s - In response to the developing nation of Qumar, America allies itself with the nation of Yemen, making it a much more democratic nation. In turn, nations such as Turkey and Saudia Arabia, maintain relatively more fundamentalist regimes.
• 1964 - Josiah Bartlet, a graduate of Notre Dame, enters the London School of Economics alongside Yosh Takahashi. His work on the economies of developing nations and soft landings in grad school would eventually win him the Nobel Prize, split with Takahashi's work.
• 1971 - Professor Josiah Bartlet begins his political career in the New Hampshire State House.
• 1978 - Under fierce opposition led by aging Senator Joseph Furman, legislation introducing National Grandparents' Day is tabled.
• 1980 - Former Governor Ronald Reagan of California is nominated by the Republican Party for President. In a controversial move, he selects current California Governor Owen Lassiter as his running mate. This costs Lassiter the California electoral votes for Vice President (former President Ford is chosen instead by their electors), but the election is still narrowly won by Reagan and Lassiter. The Reagan White House Staff is mainly adopted from those who formerly worked for the Nixon administration.
• 1981 - Reagan is shot and critically injured in an assassination attempt by a Democratic activist. Lassiter invokes the 25th amendment for the first time and assumes the Acting Presidency temporarily. Although Reagan recovers, he is still badly injured and requires a cane for the remainder of his Presidency.
• 1980s - Bartlet and Takahashi win the Nobel Prize in Economics. Sometime later, he is elected to the House of Representatives for three terms.
• 1984 - Reagan is reelected along with Lassiter, amidst rumors that Lassiter is acting as secret President. A month after the election, Reagan's health diminshes immensely. Lassiter once again becomes Acting President, intentionally for the remainder of the Presidency. Speaker D. Wire Newman of the Democratic Congress passes the massive legislation, with public support against this action and calls for a special presidential election. With Supreme Court approval, the resolution is passed and an election is scheduled for November 1986. Since the Constitution still requires an election every four years, the presidential term is offset by two years.
• 1986 - Newman and Senator Roland Pierce are nominated by the Democratic Party, against Republican Senator Joseph Furman and Governor Jim Hohner. Newman wins the election in November in a surprise landslide. Lassiter begins a policy of phoning Newman about Presidential issues, much to his chagrin.
• 1990 - Newman and Pierce are renominated by their party, despite considerable criticism of their term and a tough primary against Howard Stackhouse. Owen Lassiter leaves his retirement to run and is unanimously nominated alongside young Governor Franklin Richards of Arkansas. He wins in a landslide against Newman. Former Representative Bartlet of New Hampshire wins the governorship in a landslide.
• 1991 - Lassiter surprisingly moves towards the center in his administration, appointing Democratic cabinet secretaries (including former Representative Leo McGarry for Labor) and adopting moderate policies such as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." His early end to the Gulf War is also decried by the War Hawks in Congress.
• 1994 - Former VP Pierce along with Former State Secretary Barry Goodwin are nominated by the Democratic primaries, under the assumption that their liberal views would circumvent Lassiter's moderate ones. Lassiter, although claiming to retire due to age, decides to run again after early polling show a clear win. Along with Richards he is elected for a second term, but by a much narrower margin as the country seems to be veering left.
• 1990s - Former Presidents Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford, and Ronald Reagan pass away over the course of the decade.
• 1996 - The Republicans gain control of the House for the first time in years.
• 1998 - Senator Roland Pierce (re-elected to the Senate in '96) helps fight down anti-trust legislation, as Bell Atlantic merges GTE and adopts the name "Verizon Communications." They immediately post the new name in an advertising ploy across the nation, and it becomes a contentious issue in that year's later presidential election. Governor Josiah Bartlet of New Hampshire wins the Democratic primary as a Dark Horse candidate and goes on to narrowly defeat frontrunner Republican Franklin Richards in the general election, although he loses the popular vote. The Senate reverts back to Republican control.
• 1999 - Janet Willis of Ohio dies. In a special election, the Democrats nominate Joe Willis, who despite not campaigning, wins his district. Willis considers himself "appointed" to the position. Bartlet takes office, inheriting a brief conflict with the Phillippines.
• 2000 - India and Pakistan enter into brief armed conflict. A "Theory of Everything" is first scientifically published, although the theory is highly debated and its effect is not immediately effective.
• 2001 - The Mexican economy collapses and is given a bail-out by the United States government. The MS scandal is broken and President Bartlet's reputation is ruined.
• 2002 - President Bartlet becomes the second President to be censured for hiding his multiple sclerosis from the electorate. He goes on to win the presidential election against Governor Robert Ritchie in a landslide.
• 2003 - Vice President John Hoynes resigns following a sex scandal. Zoey Bartlet, daughter of the President, is kidnapped by Qumari terrorists. President Bartlet invokes the 25th amendment, making Former Speaker Glen Allen Walken the Acting President. He proceeds with bombing Qumari terrorist bases as the FBI extracts Zoey. The Presidency is restored to Bartlet. Congressman Bob Russell of Colorado is selected as Vice President. The government is temporarily shut down.
• 2004 - Former President Owen Lassiter passes away. Mandatory minimums are dissolved, and social security is solved in a surprise bipartisan effort. Israel tests nuclear submarines in the Indian Ocean. Bartlet appoints the first female Chief Justice to the Supreme Court.
• 2005 - A congressional delegation to Palestine is attacked, killing two congressmen, Former General FitzWallace, and injuring Donna Moss and Rep. Andie Wyatt. The Gaza incident leads to Israeli-Palestinian talks hosted at Camp David. Congress passes a Patients' Bill of Rights. Representative Matt Santos of Texas begins his primary campaign for President.
• 2006 - The International Space Station has a leak, and information regarding a secret military space shuttle is leaked to the press from the White House, requiring its use. President Bartlet sends troops into Kazakhstan to ease tensions between it, Russia, and China. Santos narrowly defeats Senator Arnold Vinick of California in the Presidential race. The Democrats regain the House and have a closer margin in the Senate. Vice President-elect Leo McGarry passes on Election Day, requiring the choosing of a new Vice President after inauguration. Despite losing many races, the Republican Party gains a more liberal wing known as "Vinick Republicans."
• 2007 - Matt Santos is inaugurated President of the United States, and begins working on getting Eric Baker confirmed as VP. Bartlet retires to New Hampshire.

Superb, I attempted this once and gave up. I would have added Bartlet's birth (1940ish), John Hoynes was born 15 years later. Santos was born in 1961. Vinick was elected to the Senate in 1982. Also loved the moving of the election POD from 1974 to 1986, so it allowed Ford, Carter and Reagan.
Lassister would have had to lost California in the 1990 and 1994 elections.
I always had Newman as the 1987-1991 President. Also of course the Presidency would have changed hands right at the start of the Gulf War.
One other thing Bartlet was elected Governor of New Hampshire in 1994 (Governors of New Hampsire only serve 2 year terms, unless this is changed).
I always believed that Lassister was the President before Bartlet.
I was always unsure that if Newman was a Governor or a Congressman (I believed Governor my-self, also we never got a state). Of course we know that no Senator had been elected President in the West Wing World since 1960 as per our world.

 

[ColeMercury]

I always believed that Lassister was the President before Bartlet.

That doesn't make sense - in "The Stormy Present" you see Lassiter's old staffers etc. at his funeral as a "geriatric brigade", and the way they talk about him is as if he was President twenty years ago.

Lassiter is Reagan.