Tsongas 1992

What if Paul Tsongas became the Democrat nominee in 1992 instead of Bill Clinton? What PoD would be needed for this to happen? Would he beat Bush, or would there be a second term for George H W Bush? If so how would that TL go? If not, how would the Tsongas presidency go? Would there be healthcare reform, or different policy? Would there still be the 1994 Republican revolution? What would be the effects? What if?
 
With the bad economy he would win. He would not enjoy the Southern support Clinton did, but he would win OTL Perot voters. With his Congressional experience , he could get a health program passed. OTL he died in 1997, but we have increased his job stress. I think he would die in 1995.
 
Anybody else? I'm really not sure if he'll win, Clunton wasn't called 'Slick Willie' for nothing but then again the economy was bad.
 
Anybody else? I'm really not sure if he'll win, Clunton wasn't called 'Slick Willie' for nothing but then again the economy was bad.

It would be closer than OTL, but unless there's weak campaigning on Tsongas' part, he wins. There was a weak economy (although the recession ended in March of '91, but as we know, it takes unemployment longer to catch up), voter fatigue as the GOP had been in the white house for 12 years, and while minor, Bush pissed off the right with the tax increase which gave us Buchanan's primary challenge in 1992, primary challenges are never good for an incumbent President (See Carter in 1980, Ford in 76, LBJ in 68, etc...).

Bush also ran a weak campaign, in part because I think his health was starting to decline. Slick Willy not being the nominee doesn't change that. The only Democrat at that time I could see losing to Bush is Jerry Brown, and even then it would be close.
 
The 1991 recession hit white collar middle-management types.

Bush was perceived as being disengaged from the economy, and to some extent, I think that perception was correct.
 
The 1991 recession hit white collar middle-management types.

Bush was perceived as being disengaged from the economy, and to some extent, I think that perception was correct.

that perception is why he lost my vote and a lot of others. Plus Clinton, say what you will, has and had enormous charisma and was probably the best campaigner I have ever seen, and that includes Reagan

Tsongas was interesting, but he lost to Clinton because of that gap in charisma
 
Could Bush get re-elected by saying" Paul Tsongas will raise your taxes", because being a fiscal conservative and a moderate like Tsongas leaves open that possibility, especially after he did not propose a tax cut. I'm not sure if it would work but without Clinton's charisma and the South Tsongas has a lot less room for error.
 
Could Bush get re-elected by saying" Paul Tsongas will raise your taxes", because being a fiscal conservative and a moderate like Tsongas leaves open that possibility, especially after he did not propose a tax cut. I'm not sure if it would work but without Clinton's charisma and the South Tsongas has a lot less room for error.

All Tsongas would have to do is point to Bush's economic record, and Tsongas could pick a charismatic running mate to make up for the lack of charisma. Keep in mind, Bush's approval ratings on election '92 day were as bad as Jimmy Carter's in the fall of 1980.
 
All Tsongas would have to do is point to Bush's economic record, and Tsongas could pick a charismatic running mate to make up for the lack of charisma. Keep in mind, Bush's approval ratings on election '92 day were as bad as Jimmy Carter's in the fall of 1980.

Ok, say Tskngas wins a legitimate but narrow victory, about 41% of the vote and just about 300 EVs. What happens next? Does he make deficit reduction the focus of his first two years and raise taxes and cut spending, like Clunton but even more or try a healthcare initiative run by somebody more competent than Hillary, say his VP, or perhaps former Surgeon General Everett Koop, or Ted Kennedy? If so, do these projects succeed? Is NAFTA passed or shelved? Does he lose Congress on 1994, and what is his presidency like?
 
One of the other candidates was Doug Wilder, the governor of Virginia. I bet if he had stayed in the race long enough, he could have acted as a spoiler.

I think was Tsongas wanted to do as president was run the economy the way Japan did. He claimed that Japan was the real victor of the Cold War. I think he would have worked well with the Republican congress because he was very pro-business.

I've also been very interested in a Tsongas victory.
 
Ok, say Tskngas wins a legitimate but narrow victory, about 41% of the vote and just about 300 EVs. What happens next? Does he make deficit reduction the focus of his first two years and raise taxes and cut spending, like Clunton but even more or try a healthcare initiative run by somebody more competent than Hillary, say his VP, or perhaps former Surgeon General Everett Koop, or Ted Kennedy? If so, do these projects succeed? Is NAFTA passed or shelved? Does he lose Congress on 1994, and what is his presidency like?

From what little I know about Tsongas, he was a real deficit hawk, so deficit reduction with spending cuts and Tax Increases are his priority. Family Medical Leave probably gets passed to. If health care reform is a priority, someone more competent does run the initiative, probably the VP or a senior democratic congressman or senator. As for NAFTA, it happens, Tsongas supported it. As for 1994, the GOP will make gains, best case scenario, they narrowly take the Senate but fail to take the house (although Foley still loses like OTL, so Gephardt is the new speaker in 1995), worst case scenario is OTL, I can't see Tsongas or any other centrist Democrat having worse mid term results than Clinton in 1994 OTL.
 
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