Hey... My name's Graham and I did a TL about the 2004 election.How would Bob Graham fare against Bush in 2004? His opposition to the Iraq War would energize the Democratic base. Being from Florida would also help, as he was very popular there. Who would he choose as a running mate?
Graham having better health would definitely improve his chances, yes.Does this require better health for Graham? In OTL his open heart surgery no doubt delayed his campaign. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A53478-2003Oct6.html Also, there is the problem that Howard Dean had established himself as *the* anti-war candidate.
Here's a list of running mates that Graham could choose, based on your criteria:Perhaps if you butterfly away his open heart surgery, made him a little more charismatic, and have him announce his candidacy for president earlier, he may come closer to winning the nomination. Age will still be an issue, however. For a vice presidential nominee, Graham would need someone younger, experienced enough, liberal (because Graham was perceived as a centrist), not southern (for geographical balance), and/or someone with military experience (due to Iraq). Without a military record to defend (unlike John Kerry's) and having voted against the Invasion of Iraq (no chance to attack him for flip-flopping), Graham could wrest his home state from Jeb Bush and win the presidency. Graham would also devastate Bush in the debates. In 2008, however, we may see President McCain or Romney due to what he inherits as President.
There's probably a few more, but I can't really think of any.Here's a list of running mates that Graham could choose, based on your criteria:
Jack Reed (liberal, military experience, voted against Iraq)
Gary Locke (young, charismatic)
Barbara Boxer (liberal, voted against Iraq)
Russ Feingold (liberal, voted against iraq, young)
Yeah this is the first Bob Graham thread where this wasn't mention. With that said, it'll still be competitive, as Graham flipping Florida and Bush failing to flip any of the states Kerry won OTL (New Hampshire, Wisconsin, etc...) would give Graham the presidency.and no one has mentioned Graham's so-called quirkiness![]()
So, Bob Graham is not hollering off in the wild blue yonder saying 9/11 is an inside job.New York Times, OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR, Bob Graham: Release More 9/11 Records, Sept. 9, 2016.
https://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/09/10/opinion/bob-graham-release-more-9-11-records.html
' . . . The recently released 28 pages were written in the fall of 2002 by a committee of which I was a co-chairman. That chapter focused on three of the 19 hijackers who lived for a time in Los Angeles and San Diego. The pages suggested new trails of inquiry worth following, including why a Qaeda operative had the unlisted phone number for the company that managed the Colorado estate of Prince Bandar bin Sultan, then the Saudi ambassador.
'Some of those questions might be answered if the government released more of the findings of the Sept. 11 commission, . . . '
' . . . is to avoid the corrosive effect that government secrecy can have on a democracy. The nation that denies its people information about what it is doing in their name is a nation slogging down a dark alley of public suspicion toward decline and mediocrity. As Daniel Patrick Moynihan put it, “Secrecy is for losers.” . . . '