WI: President Bush dies in shoeing incident

A pretty simple idea I though of. :p During Bush's press conference in Iraq something grabs his attention (a fly lands on Nouri al-Maliki's shoulder, notices a crack in the wall, spaces out, ect.) and doesn't notice the impending shoe being thrown at him. Say in a lucky throw, the first shoe strikes Bush on the temple and causes fatal brain damage. While Bush staggers, Muntadhar al-Zaidi throws the second shoe and strikes Bush in the neck, which proceeds to bounce off Bush hitting the alarmed Prime Minister in the shoulder with little damage. And maybe to bring it home he hits his head the podium after the blow. The president is then rushed to the nearest hospital, but he is DOA.

Thoughts? ;)
 
A pretty simple idea I though of. :p During Bush's press conference in Iraq something grabs his attention (a fly lands on Nouri al-Maliki's shoulder, notices a crack in the wall, spaces out, ect.) and doesn't notice the impending shoe being thrown at him. Say in a lucky throw, the first shoe strikes Bush on the temple and causes fatal brain damage. While Bush staggers, Muntadhar al-Zaidi throws the second shoe and strikes Bush in the neck, which proceeds to bounce off Bush hitting the alarmed Prime Minister in the shoulder with little damage. And maybe to bring it home he hits his head the podium after the blow. The president is then rushed to the nearest hospital, but he is DOA.

Thoughts? ;)

It seems pretty unlikely that a shoe can cause that kind of damage. But if it did kill him, Cheney would be president for a month.
 
It does however point out that Presidential deaths in-office have been through natural causes (disease) or active assassination.

There's never been a president who died through a stupid accident or etc. What if Reagan had slipped in the shower, for instance? The closest we've come is probably John Tyler in the Princeton disaster. How would the nation react, and what would the consequences be?
 
It does however point out that Presidential deaths in-office have been through natural causes (disease) or active assassination.

There's never been a president who died through a stupid accident or etc. What if Reagan had slipped in the shower, for instance? The closest we've come is probably John Tyler in the Princeton disaster. How would the nation react, and what would the consequences be?

Better yet, make that two consecutive (elected) presidents dying in stupid accidents, requiring their VP:s take over for the rest of their terms. While this would be as unlikely to be nearly ASB, it would be sort of morbidly interesting to think what kind of (quite divergent-from-the-OTL and possibly rather weird) national (and international) discussion about the US presidency (is the institution "cursed", various conspiracy theories, etc) this would cause and also how it might change how the vice president's position is seen, and so on.
 
I don't think it is near ASB, but it is rather unlikely. Bush could stumble backward after getting hit, and suffer an injury not unlike what Natasha Richardson, the actress from Parent Trap, suffered. It would definitely shock the nation, to say the least.

I just wonder if Cheney will hold the Presidency for a a little over a month, or try to work out a deal to appoint Barrack Obama Vice-President before resigning, so in that way the President-elect can go ahead and get an early jump on his obligations.

The immediate effect would be all major news publications having to issue a correction. Instead of Barrack Obama being the 44th President, he would be the 45th.
 
So I gather this happened in December 2008. Cheney would not be able to accomplish much. He would leave office with much higher popularity. He would have a honeymoon period that would last his entire term. I don't see how anything of importance changes.
 
So I gather this happened in December 2008. Cheney would not be able to accomplish much. He would leave office with much higher popularity. He would have a honeymoon period that would last his entire term. I don't see how anything of importance changes.

Would Cheney really get a bump? Death by shoe doesn't seem like it would bestow a honeymoon, and this is also Cheney in a lame duck Presidency we're talking about.
 
The War on Shoes begins the next day, to the devastation of American shoppers the world over.

The first Austin Powers movie might be pulled from TV circulation for a year or two, in the interest of good taste, or at least edited to remove Random Task as completely as possible. Which'll butcher the ending somewhat.
 
It does however point out that Presidential deaths in-office have been through natural causes (disease) or active assassination.

There's never been a president who died through a stupid accident or etc. What if Reagan had slipped in the shower, for instance? The closest we've come is probably John Tyler in the Princeton disaster. How would the nation react, and what would the consequences be?

George W Bush and the pretzel incident.

Torqumada
 
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