Say Alfred E Smith is elected President in either 1928 or 1932 -- how does he respond to the crisis of the Great Depression? What would be the similarities and differences between Smith's policies and FDRs?
What I gather -- I know OTL he was an intense critic of the New Deal, but I can't help but wonder how much of that stemmed from his personal animosity to FDR? Also, he was close to Robert Wagner, and it was he who introduced and sheparded through Congress what was arguably the second biggest part of the New Deal, the National Labor Relations Act. For that matter, Smith was also familiar with Frances Perkins from his work in Albany, so it's possible he'd at least hear arguments for Social Security...
Any ideas on this?