Lets say that Bush Sr's part in the Iran-Contra scandal gets clearly exposed early(ish) in his presidency and gets impeached or (more likely if impeachment looks probable) resigns, leaving us with Dan Quayle - one of the most ridiculed and gaffe prone VPs we've seen - as POTUS. What happens?
WI: President Dan Quayle
- Thread starter Osakadave
- Start date
The wagons circle, fast. Even at this point the GOP is about getting and keeping power. So long as he's not implicated John Sununu serves as Chief of Staff filling a role much like the (more moderate) Howard Baker as Saint Ronnie was beset by Iran-Contra's eruption and the onset of Alzheimer's. An elder statesman gets Twenty-Fifthed in as VP. Someone who's not a potential successor so emphasis on "elder", like the experienced uncle in a family business when the underwhelming favorite son has just taken over. If they want to stay to the right Paul Laxalt's a good choice, echoes of the "good king" Reagan and definitely too old to succeed Quayle. Bob Dole's on the bubble both in terms of age and in terms of potential to overshadow Quayle. Not Rumsfeld because apart from Dubya's Oedipal issues and Dick Cheney everyone fucking hated Donny (with good reason.) Though he's getting long in the tooth, if it's early in the term an out of the box pick would be retiring Gov. Bill Clements of Texas. Free of Iran-Contra, ideologically acceptable to most of the party, solidly corporate, and deeply experienced. Fox News gets rolling sooner since the fairness doctrine is dust in the wind in
Order to provide an "information shaping" outlet to convince frightened aging while people that Quayle's not a clueless dotard. And he's not, not really, he like Dubya is just a congenitally lazy son of privilege of about average intelligence. "Potatoe" and the like are failures of effort plus social awkwardness, not failures of capability. And Lady Macbeth -- sorry, Marilyn Quayle -- is sharp as a tack in her own dangerous way. If she and Sununu get on the same page the basics will be taken care of. And the God-botherers (which I say as a highly observant if theologically left-wing Rhode Island Baptist) will adore him. But like Bush he will be too ideological about the recession (on purpose, rather than Poppy who had made his presidency hostage to Reaganomics) and that will probably doom him, despite any splendid little Latin American or (larger) Middle Eastern Wars.
Order to provide an "information shaping" outlet to convince frightened aging while people that Quayle's not a clueless dotard. And he's not, not really, he like Dubya is just a congenitally lazy son of privilege of about average intelligence. "Potatoe" and the like are failures of effort plus social awkwardness, not failures of capability. And Lady Macbeth -- sorry, Marilyn Quayle -- is sharp as a tack in her own dangerous way. If she and Sununu get on the same page the basics will be taken care of. And the God-botherers (which I say as a highly observant if theologically left-wing Rhode Island Baptist) will adore him. But like Bush he will be too ideological about the recession (on purpose, rather than Poppy who had made his presidency hostage to Reaganomics) and that will probably doom him, despite any splendid little Latin American or (larger) Middle Eastern Wars.
Delayed butterflies.
The Bushes aren't exactly remembered for their stellar economic stewardship. The same foreign policy team as OTL is mostly intact. We might have a marginally worse recession due to lower consumer confidence.
The main difference is the scandal was big enough to take down a sitting president. The Democrats smell blood in the water, and you get more perceived heavyweights willing to run. Someone like Cuomo or Gephardt gets the nomination.
