TLIHLITTF: US Presidents, 1944 to the Present

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Harold Stassen

(Republican - Minnesota)

(1977-1985)
Harold Stassen is, to much of American society, one of the greatest Presidents of all time. To nearly all, he is the second coming of FDR. Regardless of a persons beliefs, all would agree he had an illustrious career. Born in 1907 to a Norwegian-German-Czech family, he was elected Governor of Minnesota at age 31, and helped Wendell Willkie get his nomination in 1940. He ran for the Republican nomination himself, but lost in 1948. Appointed Ambassador to the UN by President Dewey, he served in that position for 22 years, resigning in 1972., even serving as Secretary-General from 1961 to 1966. In the UN, he was revered as a leader of Democracy and was liked by even the East.


After Stassen's resignation from the UN, he was popular with Republicans during the Mansfield Administration, and gave advice. In 1972, his name was thrown around as a possible candidate, with more seriousness than it had many times before. he lost out to John A. Volpe, who was more centrist. In 1976, Stassen easily won his party's nomination, even getting support from the Progressive Party, which ran Dennis Frederickson. Come election day, Stassen swept the United States, winning in a landslide over Mills and Frederickson.


Stassen was inaugurated in 1977 as the oldest President, ascending to the office at age 69. His first three years were considered some of the best in history. America was booming, its economy great. With support from all three parties, Stassen created the guiding economic principle for the US until the present; Stassenist Social Democracy. Though his civil rights bills were opposed by some of the far-right Democrats, almost every member of the Senate voted for the expansions to Social Security, and, in 1979, the creation of the National Health Agency. Having secured peace at home, Stassen's approval ratings were in the 70s in May 1980. But over the course of two days, the world was changed forever. On Wednesday, April 16, Soviet and Chinese forces skirmished on the Manchurian border. Both sides quickly escalated, bringing in more troops. Sometime in the afternoon, the Soviets began flying planes, and both sides began bombing each other's infrastructure near the border, a situation that continued overnight. The next day, it appeared, if anything, both sides were gearing up for a full-scale war. Around noon, a Soviet missile commander informed Moscow he had seen a missile launched. Moscow authorized the firing of a few missiles in retaliation, but, since the Chinese had not fired one, they took it as an attack, leading to the Chinese firing all their missiles, followed by the Soviets responded. The Indians were hit by Chinese missiles, so they retaliated, glassing over much of China. On the 17th, Americans woke up, realizing a nuclear war had been fought in Eurasia. A week went by in which the population was too stunned to do anything.


Meanwhile, President Stassen was working on a solution. He quickly mobilized much of the army, sending it to protect Korea and American allies against possible attacks, and to clean up radiation. In Europe, he partnered with the Pan-European Federation, moving into Eastern Europe, where the states were unharmed, but frightened. The dictators there were propped up for convenience.


After forging alliances with what was left of the Soviet and Indian leadership, the slow process of rebuilding began. Most of the devastated regions of Eurasia saw people resettled into the areas not hit in the war. Still, this was not a peaceful process. Nationalists in parts of these nations rose up, and were fought by the forces of the destroyed powers.


In 1980, Stassen was jointly nominated by the Republicans and Progressives, and won in a landslide. His second term focused on the rebuilding of Eurasia, but, it also saw economic depression at home, and the return of the factory jobs that had slowly been trickling out.


Leaving office in 1985, Stassen was liked by all members of society, and was considered a hero abroad. His successor, though well intentioned, had many crises to deal with upon his inauguration.


By Drdpw (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
 
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William Cohen
(Republican - Maine)
(1985-1989)

William Cohen, though a man well versed in literature and athletics, was not among the great Presidents of the United States. Cohen was first elected in 1972 to the House of Representatives. Eight years later, he found himself nominated for Vice-President, replacing W. Chapman Revercomb. During his four years in office, the public thought of Cohen as a sort of younger liaison for the President, speaking for him often. He was moderately popular, and was nominated in 1984 for President.

The 1984 election was hardfought by Democratic nominee Walter Huddleston, considered a moderate and indecisive by many American voters. In fact, Cohen created little attention for himself, and, in those days, Harold Stassen's approval of him made him acceptable to most American voters, happy with Stassen's reforms. Cohen won a large margin of victory over the Democrats and Progressives, the latter of which were still down. So, on January 21st, Cohen was sworn in as the first Jewish President of the United States. His inauguration ceremony was one of the shortest ever, owing to the cold winter exacerbated by the nuclear winter.

When Cohen came into office, he was inexperienced, despite his high-up position in the Stassen administration. Additionally, the world was in chaos. American forces were occupied in Asia cleaning up the radiation from the Communist Nuclear War, while many were occupied in the Middle East, where, after violent revolution overthrew the Israeli-backed government in 1982, the Israelis were eventually forced to use the Samson Option, irradiating the entire Nile Delta, inciting the Pan-Arab movement to declare open war on Israel and its European allies. In defense of Israel and its oil, the US entered the war, which soon became a quagmire.

In 1986, the United States faced a crisis. The Canadian economy collapsed as part of the ongoing depression. Despite attempts by Cohen and Congress, no solution could be reached quickly enough, and the depression spread to the United States. The US economy subsequently hit the gutter, forcing Cohen to put in place New Deal-esque social services, but, with cuts in the budget, American forces were withdrawn from parts of Eurasia not deemed necessary to protect, meaning much of Russia was left alone to the radiation. With the Canadian Dollar essentially worthless, many Canadians adopted the US Dollar, a move which was favored further west in Canada. Around the same time, Quebec attempted to bolt from the collapsing Canada. Anglo-Canadian forces mobilized, attacking Quebec, while Mohawks in the north of Quebec rose up. President Cohen quickly called of a conference. However, Quebec's independence was basically affirmed by the rump Canada, which adopted the US Dollar as its national currency. American and Canadian relations grew closer after Quebec's secession.

Despite what Cohen did for the country, what he did not do is what he was judged on. And, in the Presidential election in 1988, it showed, and he was not reelected. His successor would inherit the economic problems, and the situation in Canada.
 
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Stan Lundine
(Democrat - New York)
(1989-1997)
After over a decade of Republican control, the Democrats found it extremely easy to win back the Presidency. Their nominee was Stan Lundine, a centerist from New York who had served in the senate for a decade before his nomination. The election was hardfought between Lundine, Cohen, and the Progressive, Wayne Owens. When the smoke cleared on election night, Lundine had come out victorious . His victory was partially due to his message of conservatism during the times of hardship following the Eurasian War, as well as a promise to keep the Stassen era reforms.

Lundine arrived in the White House facing issues of economic depression and a crisis in Canada. But that was only at home. In Eurasia, a vast swath of land war radiatized, while the European Federation became increasingly rightist. Lundines' first order of business was to negotiate a complete settlement in Canada, which was signed in June 1989, which ended the little skirmishes that had raged since President Cohens' unsuccessful Conference three years earlier. Lundine soon settled into the business of fixing the internal economic issues. He picked a page out of Roosevelts' book by restoring some of the New Deal era agencies. By 1992, and the reelection, Lundine was a well-liked President.

The 1992 election saw the Vice-President replaced by the aging Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who had served a few terms in the House of Representatives in the 80s. King had served as a leader of the Civil Rights Movement of the late 1960s and early 190s, but afterwards had become a religious speaker for social conservatism. His nomination helped give Lundine the required votes to secure a second term, though the Republicans and Progressives had come perilously close to winning the White House.

The public had high hopes for Lundines second term. They did not foresee the Argentinean invasion of the Falkland islands in July 1993. Argentina, with the support of the other South American states, including the rising Brazil, launched a surprise attack on the Falklands, capturing them within a week. The Argentineans correctly calculated the Pan-European Federation, of which Britain was a part, would be too focused in Eastern Europe to do anything. They were correct, up to a point. The Pan-Europeans and their South African allies deployed a fleet into the South Atlantic, which launched a stream of planes at Argentina. As Argentineans awoke, they found the Pan-Europeans had simply vaporized Argentinean airbases with nuclear bombs. The Argentineans quickly withdrew from the Falklands, and the British reestablished themselves there.

Publically, President Lundine was forced to condemn the attack, but in private, he was supportive of the Pan-Europeans. This turned the rapidly modernizing South American states of Argentina, Brazil, and Chile against him and the United States. The rest of Lundines' second term was devoted to roughly the same things as the first, and, by the end, the United States was as good a condition as it was in 1976, with corn oils now replacing the oils from Arabia.

He was ineligible to run for reelection, and is successor would prove a less widely liked President then he.
 
Martin Luther King, Jr.
(Democrat-Alabama)
(1997-2001)

After the Presidency of Stan Lundine, Martin Luther King, Jr., was nearly unanimously nominated by the Democratic Party for President in 1996. He was aging, but considered a good enough Vice-President, and a viable candidate for President. His oratory skills from 30 years before won him the support of many moderates. However, though moderate Democrats, African-Americans, and Moderate Republicans voted for him, there were still opponents. The Republicans nominated Patricia Miller of Indiana while Conservative Democrats nominated David Treen under their own Free Democratic Platform. Progressives put their support behind King, and King prevailed in November, but came to agreements with Conservative Democrats between his election and his inauguration.

King went into office with the support of the American people, and a promise to expand the governments support for the poor. He had support from all parties, and managed to push through an expansion to the Stassen-era welfare system. King, was also a Doctor. As a Doctor of Religion, he had became more religious in his old age. His attempts at religious-based programs were pushed away by the Republicans, and disappointed some Democrats, too. His disapproval of the newer religions, beginning after the Eurasian War, also won him some disapproval.

King had some tough times with foreign relations. During his term, South Africa erupted into violence. Pro-South American forces, which consisted of Argentinian, Chilean, and Brazilian-backed forces, helped overthrow the rightist South African government, plunging the region into war. King allied the United States with the Provisional Republic of South Africa, led by Moderates from all races. The South American backed Communist and Seperatist movements, as well as the European-backed rightists, proved to be a match for the Americans. The war was unpopular, with small nuclear devices used, most notably at the Seige of Johannesburg in July 1998. With no clear end in site by the end of his term, there was opposition to King.

In 2000, King chose not to run again. His term is remembered in mixed ways. However, Puerto Ricans especially like President King, as he admitted Puerto Rico to the Union on April 6, 1999.
 
Al D’Amato

(Republican – New York)

(2001-2009)
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After 12 years of Democratic rule, the people were ready for a change. D’Amato belonged to a faction of the Republican Party opposed to the interventionism of the Lundine and King presidencies. Interventionists, they were called by their detractors, but they called themselves Internationalists. The Internationalists came to the Primaries with D’Amato and Lincoln Chafee as their candidates. It looked impossible for them to beat off the wide field of Stassenites. Somehow, D’Amato managed to win over voters in Minnesota, winning the Primaries there, surprising front-runner Tom DeLay. In Massachusetts a few days later, D’Amato came out first. By the end of the Primary season, D’Amato had barely beaten out DeLay.

Democratic nominee Bill Clinton seemed poised to win, using the momentum of the King Presidency, and the gaffes made by D’Amato in early debates. In the summer, possibly due to anti-Catholic campaigning by the Democrats, D’Amato passed Clinton in the polls, and in November, came out on top. D’Amato’s victory was surprising to many who could not foresee previously thought safe Democratic States live Virginia and New Mexico going for D’Amato.

D’Amato took office, immediately passing legislation stopping US commitments to foreign military and domestic concerns, earning the ire of Democratic and even Republican legislators. D’Amato seemed poised to become a lame-duck President, failing to do many things before the mid-terms. A series of inspiring speeches turned that around, with D’Amato proposing an ambitious series of social reform. D’Amato gained a working majority, with his allies gaining seats, and when Congress reconvened. D’Amato pushed through social reforms with the help of the Progressive Party, most notably the ban on assault rifles, opposed by the Democrats.

These reforms and the slight economic upswing brought D’Amato reelection over Newton McPherson of Georgia, still, D’Amato lost many of the states he had picked up for the Republicans in 2000. The optimism of D’Amatos victory ended in January 2005, when members of the radical New Communist Movement bombed London and Paris, followed by Miami. Suddenly, the United States’ allies in the Middle East as well as its friends in Western Europe became unsafe, as the Russian government was overthrown by the New Communists, and invaded Iraq, using Communist sympathizers. D’Amato did little, and was criticized by Hawks. But when Saudi Arabia was hit by this, D’Amato authorized the deployment of American forces. By this time, the war was a stalemate with no end in sight. D’Amato appeared tired and haggard as his term ended, with the war raging from Kurdistan to Yemen. He was glad to have left the office.​
 
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