The Biden Express: Derailed

Status
Not open for further replies.
Gaining Momentum

---

September 11, 2001

---

“Can you believe it?”

“Huh?”

“I said, can you believe it?” Jill Biden repeated the question to her husband. Former President Joe Biden was completely distracted by what he saw on the television.

With no response, Jill finished her thought, “It’s like something out of a movie, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, unbelievable.” It truly was like watching a movie. When he was President, Joe Biden thought about what this may look like, he may have even had been one of the catalysts, but it was still strange to see.

Millions of people, likely billions, were watching…

“Russians on the moon… what a world.”

---

1993

---

Chairman of the Cabinet was never a position James Baker had aspired for, because it had never existed until a few months ago. But he accepted it openly when President-elect Thornburgh offered him the job, seeing an opportunity to craft the new post into something real, something concrete. When Baker shared his goals, his aspirations with Thornburgh, the former Governor saw the same foreign policy potential. A “Second Marshall Plan” was the concept. Baker preferred thinking of it as the “Baker Plan”.


baker.jpg


---

The whole day had been a blur, despite President Dick Thornburgh’s attempt to savor every moment of it. but when he stepped through the doorway into the Oval Office, time ceased for a bit. He walked over the Resolute Desk and opened the envelop sitting on top of it.

“Mr. President,

“As is tradition, this is my letter of advice from one office holder to the next. I trust your intentions are good, and my only advice is that nothing can prepare you for your time at this desk, in this room, in this house. Heavy lays the crown of the people, but that is not the true weight of this office. History will be the final judge of our service, and that must be considered with every decision you make.

“This job can get lonely, don’t hesitate to call.

“ – Joe

P.S. – don’t forget to enjoy it.”

---

“President Thornburgh signed the North American Free Trade Agreement today at the White House, as protestors demonstrated outside, saying it would export American jobs. The White House says that the agreement will strengthen our ties with our neighbors, and make goods more affordable to the public.”


graphic_protest.jpg


---

“General Colin Powell announced today that he would be retiring as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs and from active duty with the Army, citing wanting to spend time with his family “and needing a break from public life.” Inside sources report that General Powell’s relations with the Thornburgh White House were “frosty,” which may have also played a role in his decision to resign.

---

March 15, 2014

---

“We go live to Richard Engle who is in Kiev.”

“The streets are full of people chanting and waving flags. I can barely hear myself over the noise. All traffic has been blocked and security forces are keeping a perimeter, but staying a safe distance from the crowd, with many police actually joining the throngs of people as well.”

“What is the mood of the demonstrations?”

“The people are ecstatic, jubilant even, about Yulia Tymoshenko’s election as President of the Sovereign Union. In a partnership long dominated by Russia, Tymoshenko has been hailed as a leader for the forgotten classes of the Union, not only in the Ukrainian Republic but in the other smaller republics, and in Russia itself. Her campaign message of change and hope truly resonated with the people. Twenty years after Gorbachev’s election under the new constitution, sovereignites are more optimistic than ever about their country’s future.”

---

AH.com

“What if Biden didn’t run again?”

MasterBlaster said:
What is Biden hadn’t pulled a Cleveland and stayed out of 1996, citing family reasons? Who would the Democrats pick and how would they do against a sitting President?
TheSarge said:
Without Biden I don’t see how the Democrats unseat a sitting President who was successful and rather popular, it doesn’t matter who they pick and the field was rather lacking.
GenericBallot said:
Wow, so much confusion with this post. First off, Thornburgh wasn’t “successful and rather popular.” The economy was slipping and there were the problems abroad. Our image of him has only improved recently in hindsight, most notably after Timothy Naftali’s recent book. The things we appreciate about him in hindsight were really controversial at the time – ThornburghCare, the Baker Plan, NAFTA, energy reform. I could go on but I think we need to remember what the conditions really were like.
MasterBlaster said:
So what Democrats would run?
GenericBallot said:
If Biden is out Mario Cuomo could try again but I don’t think he’d want to.
Lloyd Bentsen was too old/conservative for the top of the ticket. But here are potential choices:
Senate Majority Leader Al Gore
Ambassador and former Governor Bill Clinton
Senator Caroline Kennedy
Former Governor and Secretary Michael Dukakis
Governor Jerry Brown
Governor Russ Feingold

Out of those I think Gore is the strongest.
MasterBlaster said:
I’d agree Gore is the strongest out of those choices. Clinton is still an also ran at this point, and Feingold isn’t a national name yet either. ’96 was likely Brown’s last chance but since he didn’t run IOTL idk what would lead him to ITTL. Kennedy is too soon, and Dukakis is an also ran, missed his chance 8 years prior.

With a wide open field some lesser knowns like Senator Tom Daschle and Bob Graham may “run for VPTOUS”. Governors Bill Nelson or Tom Udall could fall in this territory as well.
FollyofMan said:
Would’ve a perfect chance for Mondale to make his comeback! :p
TheSarge said:
I still think Biden was the only one who could beat Thorndale.

---

1993

---

Lee Atwater enjoyed being back in D.C.. Chairman of the RNC was a good title to have.

LeeAtwater-200x284.jpg
 
Yay! It's back! Sounds like Thornburgh would be the kind of Republican President I would reluctantly respect when looking back. And this 9/11 is definitely preferable to OTL.
 
Gaining Momentum

---

September 11, 2001

---

“Can you believe it?”

“Huh?”

“I said, can you believe it?” Jill Biden repeated the question to her husband. Former President Joe Biden was completely distracted by what he saw on the television.

With no response, Jill finished her thought, “It’s like something out of a movie, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, unbelievable.” It truly was like watching a movie. When he was President, Joe Biden thought about what this may look like, he may have even had been one of the catalysts, but it was still strange to see.

Millions of people, likely billions, were watching…

“Russians on the moon… what a world.”

---

Whanztastic you mad bastard.
 
A most welcome return! Love everything I'm seeing so far!

Well, perhaps a little worried by what's happening in the Soviet Union. The nomenclature (Sovereign Union) has me hopeful, because it means the Baltics should gain their independence at least. And maybe Georgia and Moldova, possibly following a few...border adjustments? Also, if Armenia's out and Azerbaijan is in, what's that going to do to the N-K conflict?
I should also add that I'm completely biased about Baltics, thanks to my Lithuanian in-laws. I'll try to keep it reigned in...as long as the Lithuanian Dream Team still gets its bronze over the Unified Team in '92.:p

Fascinating list of legislation there for the Thornburgh White House. Of course it's only a peek, but they seem well-pitched to the priorities of a moderate Republican in the 1990s.

A stalled US economy in the '90s is another matter, though. I hope it's nothing serious. "Slipping" is such a political word and could mean anything, including just a slow down in growth, which happened IOTL '95, so maybe not so bad. But losing the .com boom is troublesome. Of course, you could just be excising the worst excesses of the period.

Also nice to see Atwater at the RNC. Has an RNC chair ever come out of that position looking good?

I'm kind of glad you gave us the outcome of 1996 ahead of time. I spent way too much time speculating on the election last time.:p

Again, welcome back!
 
Oh yeah, and I also love, no matter what the TL, that you can always slip Jerry Brown's name into any list of candidates from 1976 to today!:D
 

Zioneer

Banned
This is a fantastic 7 month early birth present for me, Whanztastic! More Biden is always good.
 
IT LIVES!

Like in real history we often know what's going to happen (Biden's re-election) but the the fun is in the details. This'll be good.
 
Top
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top