Won’t you be my President? - A Fred Rogers Timeline

TLIAW or full timeline?

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TheNixonator

TheNixonator

I have been thinking of making either a TLIAW or a full on timeline. Of course a TLIAW would be easier (also less “scary”) but then again the only way to make a timeline is to, well, make timeline

Oh yeah, so this is a president Fred Rogers timeline
 

jacobk

PopulistBean said:
Well, this Mr. Rogers is gonna be known pretty different then the one in OTL
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Look, I understand that the military advisers sent to King Friday's court may not have adhered to all of the niceties of international law, but you have to understand the context. America needed a steady supply of oil and Friday was sitting on proven deposits of the sort that used to be limited to the land of make believe.
 

New Deal Democrat

Anti war
Anti Union
Anti death penalty
Pro gay rights
Pro integration (but didn’t like the idea of it being “forced” on people and instead focused on changing individual’s attitudes)
Key believer in the power of forgiveness.
Thought the impeachment of Clinton was ridiculous and the country just needed to forgive him.
Hosted an episode in the USSR and later had the Soviet presenter visit his show. They used this opportunity to emphasize the “sameness” of American and Soviet children.

A Rogers presidency would be interesting, he’d make a lot of enemies very quickly.

Been reading a fantastic book on his religious and political beliefs and it’s certainly interesting to see human he was in both the best and worst ways.
 

overoceans

Nckdictator said:
Anti Union
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I think I read a review of the same book you're reading. Yeah, apparently when his Pittsburgh tool company went under, he fudged a bit about how much money his father had left behind, to get out of compensations, and he privately blasted unions.

And yeah, it's hard to see him fitting into either of the major parties. I think he'd basically do a liberal version of Trump: start off with political positions that are all over the map, run as a Democrat(though he was a Republican, I doubt they would want him), maybe with the intention of just promoting the importance of public television, and if he flukes his way to the nomination, be forced by the party-brass into adopting the standards positions.
 

New Deal Democrat

Peaceful Neighbor by Micheal Long

https://www.amazon.com/Peaceful-Neighbor-Discovering-Countercultural-Mister/dp/0664260470

It focuses mostly on Rogers religious and political beliefs along with how his show approached controversial subjects. Most of what we know about Rogers beliefs come from letters, emails, or accounts by those who knew him personally since he felt as a children’s educator it would limit the audience he could reach if he took a public stance on a political issue.

Example off the top of my head: He was good friends with (I think) one of the senator’s from Pennsylvania (I don’t have the book infront of me so I can’t check which one) and during the Gulf War wrote him a private letter how angry he was that the Bush administration was sending soldiers who were parents overseas, he felt that that policy was incredibly traumatic for children and could lead to great harm to a child’s mental health.
 

overoceans

By the way, for anyone who thinks Rogers would be too square to appeal to young voters, check this out.

I'd say he definitely holds his own with the hipster audience, with a few darkly-tinted asides and even a masturbation joke(though you have to know what happened on the blooper show that he references to get that one). And it's pretty clear he knows a thing or two about media, given his history at NBC going back to the early days.
 
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    • TheNixonator

    TheNixonator

    I know this is a little late for a title card but yeah...
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    • John Farrier

    The Good Neighbor, the only comprehensive and critical biography of Fred Rogers, is an excellent read for this subject. Rogers was a personal friend and occasional political supporter of Senator John Heinz. Otherwise, as far as I know, he was nearly silent on politics.

    He was extremely progressive on homosexuality for his era, fully welcoming gays among his friends and colleagues even in the 1960s. I think it's likely would be an early advocate for gay rights if he was a politician.
     
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