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Dukakis was leading in the polls for much of the race, until a series of events took him down, including a major debate gaffe (coldly responding to a question about his wife being assaulted), the infamous tank picture, and the Willie Horton attack ads.

In an alternate timeline where Dukakis beats Bush (perhaps none of these aforementioned stumbles occur), how does that impact American politics going forward?

Does the recession of 1990-91 still take place? If so, are the Republicans favored to take back the White House in 1992, despite having a very shallow bench of formidable candidates? E.g., Dole '92 would probably only be marginally more impressive than Dole '96. I suppose Kemp might be seen as a return to Reagan, but will people want a return to Reagan, or something entirely new?

How does Dukakis handle Iraq's invasion of Kuwait?

Does Perot still run? I assume that Dukakis and a Democratic Congress will both raise taxes and balloon the deficit, making room for Perot in 1992 if he wants to run. Could Perot have possibly run as a Republican that year?
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