The End
The Inauguration of Geraldine Ferraro was a simple, but breathtaking ceremony. For the first time in history a woman had become President of the United States of America. Ferraro’s first year in office was rather easy. Democrats controlled both the House and the Senate and business continued as normal. Ferraro raised taxes on those making over $250,000 a year and cut spending for the Defense Department, slowly the United States began to kick it’s addiction to a massive debt.
Ferraro continued her debt-breaking policies into her second year in office. The economy remained steady and her approval rating hovered around 52%. She continued to gradually raise taxes and cut back spending in order to reduce the massive debt left by the Reagan Administration. As the 1990 Midterms approached, Ferraro and Vice President Roemer criss-crossed the country talking about the success of their first term. Eventually Democrats made gains in the House and Senate, something that usually never happens.
As 1991 approached Ferraro appeared to be unbeatable. The massive legislative successes of her first term and the dissolution of the Soviet Union proved Ferraro to be a capable leader. Furthermore, no changes had been made to her cabinet and her Administration seemed successful, capable, and stable. There was truly no reason to vote her out in 1992.
By March 1991 no Republican had entered the Presidential Primaries and Ferraro continued to demand of Congress more spending cuts coupled with tax hikes on the wealthy and on big business while slightly cutting taxes on the Middle Class. Eventually in April 1991 Jack Kemp became the first Republican to announce his run for President. Other Republicans, including former President George Bush, Bob Dole, Colin Powell, and Donald Rumsfeld, were rumored to enter the race as well.
Shortly after Kemp’s announcement, Dick Cheney entered the race for President. Not long after Cheney’s announcement Senator John Chafee of Rhode Island entered the race for President. The three-way race left little excitement among the voters, but Chafee held a commanding lead. In June 1991 several candidates announced their candidacies: former President Bush and Orrin Hatch entered the fray first, followed by Lowell Weicker, Jr (Republican Governor of Connecticut). Colin Powell, Secretary of Defense, announced that he would not be a candidate for President.
By September 1991 the field was set and Weicker, Hatch, Bush, Chafee, Cheney, and Kemp campaigned across the nation in an effort to win the Republican Nomination. Late in the month Weicker emerged the victor of the Ames Iowa Straw Poll and immediately positioned himself as a top-tier candidate, joining Bush and Chafee.
With three main contenders, Cheney, Hatch, and Kemp struggled to gain much media attention as Ferraro continued to build a war chest for her reelection campaign. Meanwhile Congress was debating the possibility of passing the Equal Rights Amendment, something Ferraro put much of her political capital behind.
February 1992 showed Weicker and Bush as the only two capable of winning a Primary. Weicker won Nevada and Iowa while Bush won New Hampshire, Maine, and South Dakota. Bush went on to win Alaska in March, but Chafee won Colorado and Maryland.
With Bush leading in money, endorsements, and delegates the House of Representatives passed the Equal Rights Amendment, sending it to the senate for confirmation.
Weicker won most of the March contests and eventually received the endorsement of Kemp. Cheney and Hatch withdrew in April, endorsing Bush.
Also in April Donald Rumsfeld endorsed George Bush, hoping to give Bush a much needed edge over Weicker. Again April proved a strong month for Weicker and after an endorsement from Chafee he successfully wrapped up the nomination. Weicker chose Bob Dole as his Vice Presidential nominee on the same day that the United States Senate passed the Equal Rights Amendment. As the Amendment headed to the states, Ferraro called the day an “amazing victory for women”.
Ferraro criss-crossed the country in May, June, and July half campaigning for her reelection and half campaigning for the ERA.
Once both conventions had been completed, Ferraro emerged the clear front runner with a lead of 54-43. As Weicker and Dole tried to regain momentum, Ferraro continued to spend money and ended up winning the first debate.
The election wasn’t over though and Weicker fought back. Accusing Ferraro of pandering to Special Interests, Weicker started to see his luck turn around and ultimately pulled it to a Ferraro lead of 51-46 the night of the second Presidential Debate. In that debate Weicker continued his attacks on the President and was ultimately successful in doing so and Ferraro was considered the loser of the debate.
A disastrous performance by Bob Dole and Weicker himself in the next debates coupled with the near-ratification of the ERA was too much for the Weicker/Dole ticket to handle. With a strong economy and successful presidency, voters saw no reason to vote out Ferraro and Roemer. As a result the Democratic ticket was reelected 370 – 168.
A problem was growing in the Middle East and eventually Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait. Ferraro dropped the ball on this effort though and chose to stay out of the conflict. She came across as a weak Commander-in-Chief and was constantly attacked by former President Bush.
With the 1994 Midterm Elections brewing and an intensifying situation in the Middle East, the country turned to the Republicans. Ferraro lost control of both the House and Senate in 1994 and her effort to pass the ERA suffered a major loss in several state legislatures.
As the fight for ERA ratification continued, Hussein was slowly gaining power in the Middle East, something Ferraro was, admittedly, unprepared for. Relying heavily on advice from Colin Powell, she sent her Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright, to meet with Hussein in a one-on-one discussion. The discussion helped nothing and Hussein continued to gain control of Iraq and Kuwait, strengthening his power.
With the 1996 Presidential Election on the horizon, the Connecticut State Legislature ratified the Equal Rights Amendment after a close vote. The Amendment officially became law, becoming the 28th Amendment to the United States Constitution.
Former President Bush once again sought the Presidential Nomination of his party. Bush received only one challenger: Dick Lugar, who withdrew form the race after winning only the Iowa Caucuses.
One the Democratic side there were several main contenders. Bill Clinton and Buddy Roemer led the fight for the nomination, but were followed by Massachusetts Senator John Kerry. Also in the race were Bob Graham and Douglas Wilder.
Rumors of infidelity sank Clinton’s campaign and he was forced to withdraw from the race in mid-January. A lack of fundraising efforts proved fatal to Wilder’s campaign and he withdrew his name from consideration in early-February. After several upset victories both Kerry and Graham were considered presidential material and in late-March Vice President Roemer withdrew from the race in order to help the President with the mounting situation in the Middle East.
Eventually Kerry won the Presidential Nomination, choosing White House Chief of Staff Bill Richardson as his Vice Presidential Nominee. Bush chose President of the American Red Cross Elizabeth Dole as his Vice Presidential choice. Continuing the tradition of a woman on one party’s ticket since 1984.
The General Election focused primarily on foreign issues, as Americans feared the possibility of a rising Empire under Saddam Hussein. Bush vowed to protect American interests, but Kerry focused primarily on economics. He explained how the Ferraro/Roemer Administration had successfully gotten the debt crisis under control in America, he promised to continue their cuts.
Experts predicted the 1996 election would be one of the closest in history. The election came down to one state: Minnesota. Both tickets had spent millions of dollars in the state, but no winner could be called. Eventually NBC called the state…and the election for Senator Kerry, but quickly reversed their call.
By December 1st no candidate could be called the winner and a series of recounts continued with Kerry currently in the lead. The Supreme Court ruled, on January 16th, to all recounts to continue in the famous Bush v. Kerry ruling. On January 19th, one day before the President Elect was to be declared, the Secretary of State of Minnesota certified the results, declaring Bush the winner of the state. George H.W. Bush succeed Geraldine Ferraro on January 20, 1997.
