A Duty to be Done
- Thread starter Usili
- Start date
Based on writing a metric ****ton more than I probably should've on that subject in some other subject threads (and *plugs shamelessly* a list now in @Asami's excellent Contents table for "Alternate PMs/Presidents II") I would put my betting pool like this (if any names are unfamiliar they're all big enough that Wikipedia's a decent introduction to each) in order of likelihood:
1) Hugh Carey (best candidate for Big Damn Hero Democrat)
2) Fritz Mondale (no, really, this ain't OTLs '84 and he doesn't have the Carter albatross round his neck)
3) Reubin Askew (a more compelling figure than Fritz but has to bust out of his region first after people got burned by backing Carter)
4) Ronald Reagan (just an eyelash behind Askew in the bookmaking)
5) Ed Muskie (a Dem Reagan could beat, but who could also beat Reagan in the right conditions)
then there's a significant drop in the ol' probability and we pick up with
6) Jerry Brown
7) Bob Dole
8) Scoop Jackson
9) John Connally
10) Dick Lamm
11) Lloyd Bentsen
12) Whatever moderate-to-liberal gets in the GOP primaries (John Anderson, Lowell Weicker, Mac Mathias, take yer pick)
You could also go really out of the box -- @spookyscaryskeletons wrote a great Reagan-in-76 thread where Brendan Byrne, "The Man Who Couldn't Be Bought" from New Jersey runs an insurgent campaign and wins. But I figure if Carey gets in Byrne stays out and figures he's good for a Cabinet post or Senate seat after he (Byrne) is done being governor.
What will be really interesting is where Our Gracious Host goes with all this -- and I am convinced because of reasons that this TL is in very, very good hands -- because it all really does depend on Ford's administration whether any Republican besides Reagan has a hope in hell (and even Reagan, only that one hope in hell) of being elected in 1980.
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Y'all are both doing awesome with that, and this. Ford really was one of those Central Casting presidents wasn't he? It's the "Younger Eisenhower" vibe. (Be fun if you dig up some of his male-modeling pics from his youth.) One of those people like John Connally and Hugh Carey and Bill Bradley and John Warner who just looks like what the American hindbrain wants a president to look like.
ETA: In the very real and honest interest of representation, let me add to that Central Casting list Harvey Gantt, Barbara Boxer, Senator Professor Warren, the late great Mickey Leland, and Antonio Villaraigosa. I think once she's got another decade or two of seasoning Kamala Harris will be right straight in that category also.
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The reason I saw Wisconsin staying in the column for the Democrats deals partially with that like Humphrey, Mondale was usually referred to as the 'third Senator from Wisconsin'. That deals with because of how close the Twin Cities are to Wisconsin (from what I understand in some research on it). Oddly enough, Biden was also referred to as that, except for Pennsylvania having been from Scranton.
Another slight factor is that considering how weird 1976, it only ups the factor that this is the first time that Mississippi and Alabama have voted separately for a President ever. The general PoD for how Ford won is likely to be mentioned soon, but not explicitly so.
That is true. The debates of the kind of reform for the Electoral College will be interesting, especially if I decide to do certain nudges in the Senate.
Those are all interesting mentions in terms of possible candidates some of whom I've already been thinking about. Research on that aspect is going to continue and I hope to possibly put a couple of surprises for y'all once I hit that point.
As a native from North Delaware, anybody from New Castle County, Delaware, mine as well be from Pennsylvania. It's in the cultural peripherary of Philly. Anybody from below NCC or the Canal might as well be from Alabama expect for Rehobeth, which is like Miami, but without the Cubans, but with the same percentage of LGBT people.
II: The Second Term Nobody Wanted
II: The Second Term Nobody Wanted
The returns from the results on Election Day were disappointing to say the least for the Democrats. All in all, they had only managed to achieve a net gain of one House seat and one Governorship. Significant gains had been expected by the Democrats since their National Convention when they had a 33 point lead (which declined to a 25 point lead after the Republican National Convention), but it had rapidly been whittled down throughout the general campaign. The first debate only added to the problems for the Democrats, and with the aftermath of the Playboy Interview had begun to rapidly narrow the polls. By the time the second debate arrived, both Carter and Ford were in a statistical dead heat with Carter leading only by 2% (47%-45%). The rest of October would be kept in such a statistical dead heat, and the gains that President Ford had made would be neutralized by Senator Dole's remarks in which he blamed the Democrats for starting all the wars America had fought in. No matter what, the polls would remain constant with the third debate changing little and leaving the election up in the air.
The blowback would find itself aimed directly at Carter at the news that he had lost the Presidential election despite all the cards stacked for him. Despite Carter's victory in the popular victory by more than one and a half million votes, and the recounts underway in Mississippi, Ohio, and Oregon, it didn't change anything. Carter had blown it. The results of the recounts kept the three states the same, changing nothing. From a man who had never been elected as President in the first place and who had pardoned Nixon was still the President. Despite losing the popular vote, he had still won the Electoral College, and that was all that mattered in the end. While Governor Carter would be blasted for losing the election, Senator Walter Mondale would come out as the only 'positive' thing from the campaign. As the protege to former Vice President and Senator Hubert Humphrey, he was titled the 'third Senator from Wisconsin' which had kept Wisconsin in line with the Democrats. Following the results of the recount, amid the continued criticisms and attacks against Governor Carter, there would be mentions of those Democrats who would be likely to run in 1980. Yet the one common factor among many of them would be Senator Mondale's mention on the list nearly every time in either first, or second to Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts.
But the public reaction to Ford's victory would be mixed considering the way he had achieved it. Significant attacks found themselves aimed against Carter in what arguably was considered by some to be a deliberately 'self-sabotaging' campaign by the Georgian. But among the attacks on Carter, attacks also found themselves winding up on Governor Reagan, who had challenged President Ford in the Republican primary. The claims against Reagan was that he had divided the Republican Party so that it had led to such a discrepancy in the popular vote and Electoral College, and that if he had not have run, then Ford would've won both the popular vote and Electoral College against Carter. There were even attacks against Senator (and now Vice President-elect) Dole for the remarks he had made in the Vice President debate, which had likely also affected such a discrepancy. But yet, compared to Carter, Ford, Reagan or Dole, the attacks paled in comparison to the attacks and criticism against former Senator Eugene McCarthy. His run as an independent candidate had arguably cost Carter the Presidency, with in Mississippi and Ohio having the margin of victory for Carter smaller than the total amount of votes McCarthy had won in both states. Some of the attacks and criticism against McCarthy had claimed that it was purely an 'ego-trip' by him, which was intended purely for Ford to be given the Presidency after the Democrats had failed to nominate him in both '68 and '72. The votes had already been cast, and for now, the people of America would need to live with the decisions they made.
Starting on the 4th, protests began to emerge in many major cities over the 'discrepancy' in the vote and that Ford should agree to concede no matter what in order to give Carter the Presidency. The confluence of factors starting from the assassination of MLK and RFK was leading up to this point in time, with a noted anger among the youth for what they had claimed to be a 'deliberate corruption' in politics. What Ford had done to win the Presidency was arguably a 'Second Corrupt Bargain', with the First having been John Quincy Adam's victory in 1824. Such protests would be both defused and heightened by the remarks of what President Ford and Governor Carter made, and public protests would slowly become noticeable in the major cities of the United States, of which the largest found itself in New York City. It was in New York City, where the more popularized term of a 'Second Corrupt Bargain' had found itself to emerge alongside the backlash against Ford's victory. Partially the reason for the much larger backlash was as a result of Ford's statements on the bailout of New York City, which had found itself picked up and twisted further by the New York Post, New York Daily News, and New York Times. As claimed it was a direct attack against the citizens of New York City by the President, and despite the statements made to the contrary, emotions and feelings could not change to that degree. A lingering anger and distrust would remain against President Ford for the election, one that was unlikely to go away soon.
Yet with the final results of the recount changing nothing in terms of the Electoral College vote, you would see attempts to change the vote of the Electors, scheduled on December 13th. Despite such attempts, the Electoral College would not be swayed for maintaining Gerald Ford as President, but you would see a total of three faithless electors emerge as a result. Two faithless electors (one from Washington and one from Mississippi) would vote for Reagan/Dole in their ballot, while a third faithless elector from Minnesota would vote for Eugene McCarthy/Barbara Jordan. The Electoral College had voted, and Gerald Ford would remain as America's 38th President.
The returns from the results on Election Day were disappointing to say the least for the Democrats. All in all, they had only managed to achieve a net gain of one House seat and one Governorship. Significant gains had been expected by the Democrats since their National Convention when they had a 33 point lead (which declined to a 25 point lead after the Republican National Convention), but it had rapidly been whittled down throughout the general campaign. The first debate only added to the problems for the Democrats, and with the aftermath of the Playboy Interview had begun to rapidly narrow the polls. By the time the second debate arrived, both Carter and Ford were in a statistical dead heat with Carter leading only by 2% (47%-45%). The rest of October would be kept in such a statistical dead heat, and the gains that President Ford had made would be neutralized by Senator Dole's remarks in which he blamed the Democrats for starting all the wars America had fought in. No matter what, the polls would remain constant with the third debate changing little and leaving the election up in the air.
The blowback would find itself aimed directly at Carter at the news that he had lost the Presidential election despite all the cards stacked for him. Despite Carter's victory in the popular victory by more than one and a half million votes, and the recounts underway in Mississippi, Ohio, and Oregon, it didn't change anything. Carter had blown it. The results of the recounts kept the three states the same, changing nothing. From a man who had never been elected as President in the first place and who had pardoned Nixon was still the President. Despite losing the popular vote, he had still won the Electoral College, and that was all that mattered in the end. While Governor Carter would be blasted for losing the election, Senator Walter Mondale would come out as the only 'positive' thing from the campaign. As the protege to former Vice President and Senator Hubert Humphrey, he was titled the 'third Senator from Wisconsin' which had kept Wisconsin in line with the Democrats. Following the results of the recount, amid the continued criticisms and attacks against Governor Carter, there would be mentions of those Democrats who would be likely to run in 1980. Yet the one common factor among many of them would be Senator Mondale's mention on the list nearly every time in either first, or second to Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts.
But the public reaction to Ford's victory would be mixed considering the way he had achieved it. Significant attacks found themselves aimed against Carter in what arguably was considered by some to be a deliberately 'self-sabotaging' campaign by the Georgian. But among the attacks on Carter, attacks also found themselves winding up on Governor Reagan, who had challenged President Ford in the Republican primary. The claims against Reagan was that he had divided the Republican Party so that it had led to such a discrepancy in the popular vote and Electoral College, and that if he had not have run, then Ford would've won both the popular vote and Electoral College against Carter. There were even attacks against Senator (and now Vice President-elect) Dole for the remarks he had made in the Vice President debate, which had likely also affected such a discrepancy. But yet, compared to Carter, Ford, Reagan or Dole, the attacks paled in comparison to the attacks and criticism against former Senator Eugene McCarthy. His run as an independent candidate had arguably cost Carter the Presidency, with in Mississippi and Ohio having the margin of victory for Carter smaller than the total amount of votes McCarthy had won in both states. Some of the attacks and criticism against McCarthy had claimed that it was purely an 'ego-trip' by him, which was intended purely for Ford to be given the Presidency after the Democrats had failed to nominate him in both '68 and '72. The votes had already been cast, and for now, the people of America would need to live with the decisions they made.
Starting on the 4th, protests began to emerge in many major cities over the 'discrepancy' in the vote and that Ford should agree to concede no matter what in order to give Carter the Presidency. The confluence of factors starting from the assassination of MLK and RFK was leading up to this point in time, with a noted anger among the youth for what they had claimed to be a 'deliberate corruption' in politics. What Ford had done to win the Presidency was arguably a 'Second Corrupt Bargain', with the First having been John Quincy Adam's victory in 1824. Such protests would be both defused and heightened by the remarks of what President Ford and Governor Carter made, and public protests would slowly become noticeable in the major cities of the United States, of which the largest found itself in New York City. It was in New York City, where the more popularized term of a 'Second Corrupt Bargain' had found itself to emerge alongside the backlash against Ford's victory. Partially the reason for the much larger backlash was as a result of Ford's statements on the bailout of New York City, which had found itself picked up and twisted further by the New York Post, New York Daily News, and New York Times. As claimed it was a direct attack against the citizens of New York City by the President, and despite the statements made to the contrary, emotions and feelings could not change to that degree. A lingering anger and distrust would remain against President Ford for the election, one that was unlikely to go away soon.
Yet with the final results of the recount changing nothing in terms of the Electoral College vote, you would see attempts to change the vote of the Electors, scheduled on December 13th. Despite such attempts, the Electoral College would not be swayed for maintaining Gerald Ford as President, but you would see a total of three faithless electors emerge as a result. Two faithless electors (one from Washington and one from Mississippi) would vote for Reagan/Dole in their ballot, while a third faithless elector from Minnesota would vote for Eugene McCarthy/Barbara Jordan. The Electoral College had voted, and Gerald Ford would remain as America's 38th President.
Sabot Cat
Banned
You did a fantastic job with this one, especially with the prose, which was dynamic yet didn't get in the way of relating all of the pertinent information in a breezy, engaging way. It'll be interesting to see where everyone goes from here, especially in the rest of the world.
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Eugene McCarthy ran as an independent IOTL actually, so that is not the PoD of this TL at all. It's actually later than that, and I will be saying clues later on to 'reveal' the PoD soon.
Zachanassian
Gone Fishin'
So, one could think of this as the 2016 election, but in the midst of the social tensions of the 1970s.
Fun.
Fun.
America kind of went down hill after JFK was assassinated didn't it?
III: Unity Under A Second Term
III: Unity Under A Second Term
The election had cemented that Ford had won an election as President, but under the arguably dubious means it had been won would permanently stain his reputation no matter what he had done or will do. For the President though with the discrepancy and remaining aftermath, his first goal for the nation would be unity. Throughout November and December, President Ford would meet with major Democratic leaders in Congress in order to achieve some kind of unity for the next year, among them would include Senators Kennedy, Byrd. Jr, and Church along with Representatives O'Neill, Wright, and Mahon. The major meetings with Democrats ahead of the 95th Congress represented the significant divide between the White House and Congress, both of opposing parties. Fortunately for President Ford, the Democrats failed to have a veto-proof majority in the Senate, while they had one in the House.
Despite the work on unity with Congress, President Ford was having to contend with the changing foreign policy that could have easily become disrupted with the transition of power if Carter had won. Africa was more and more becoming a focal point for foreign policy following the ignorance of both Presidents Johnson and Nixon (with their focus being upon Southeast Asia). The influx of Cubans into Southern Africa, primarily focused in Angola, was more and more becoming a concern (noted most especially by Secretary Kissinger) in the growing issues that were starting to sprout. Angola had emerged as a determined 'check' to Soviet expansionism, emerging after the urging of President Kenneth Kauanda of Zambia in April 1975. At the time, Angola was in the middle of the civil war, having started following the withdrawal of the Portugese in 1973. The most powerful of all factions was the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (PMLA), whom were backed by the Soviets and Cubans. In response, President Ford had found himself providing covert CIA support to the National Front for the Liberation of Angola (FNLA) and the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), both of whom were directly opposing the PMLA.
The ambitions of aiding the MPLA by the Kremlin and Havana would be met with the deployment of 15,000 troops by Castro to aid the MPLA. South Africa itself would respond with sending troops into aiding the FNLA and UNITA against the Cuban-backed MPLA. After already spending $32 million on supporting FNLA and UNITA, the Ford administration was hoping to burgeon that with an additional $25 million, hoping the aid would allow the creation of a coalition government under the auspices of the Organization of African Unity. Congress' activities' into investigations of the CIA had brought a sharp desire into rein in the CIA, which would see the establishment of permanent House and Senate intelligence committees to oversee all CIA operations. Then in December of 1975, Congress voted to cut off all funds for CIA activities in Angola; this would be done by Senator John Tunney (D-CA) who sponsored an amendment on a defense appropriations bill. Because the bill funded critical programs like the B-1, Trident, and cruise missiles, Ford had no other choice but to sign the bell; even though he had to sign it, he had significant disappointment in Congress for allowing Castro free reign in Angola. The loss of American support to the FNLA and UNITA combined with Cuban troops helping the MPLA, would see their victory in the Angolan civil war in 1976. The action and deployment of Cuban troops into Angola had rapidly turned away any kind of detente with Cuba, and brought into light the 'Ford Doctrine', which promised that if the Cuban dictator caused any kind of trouble in the Western Hemisphere would see American force used in response.
Then there was China to contend with. On September 9th, Mao Zedong, the 'founding father' of the People's Republic of China had died and for a period of time, it was unsure who was likely to rise to power in Mao's wake, Jiang Quin (along with her chief associates) or Premier Hua Guofeng. On October 6th, Jiang Quin, Zhang Chunqiao, Yao Wenyuan, and Wang Hongwen found themselves arrested by Premier Hua Guofeng and proclaimed as the 'Gang of Four' who had planned to seize power. The next day, Hua Guofeng had emerged as the next Chairman of the Central Committee and as the next major leader of the People's Republic of China. Alongside Hua Guofeng's rise to power had also been Ye Jianying (who had led the generals in their support of Hua Guofeng) and Li Xiannian (who was Vice Premier in charge of economic affairs) into power as the new 'triumvirate' ruling the People's Republic of China. For the moment, Director of Central Intelligence George H.W. Bush was President Ford's direct link to what was going on from his previous experience as Chief of the Liaison Office to the People's Republic of China. On December 27th, Director Bush would inform President Ford of the death of Deng Xiaoping during apparent surgery for his prostate. Prior to the death of Mao, Deng Xiaoping had arguably been one of the chief leaders of arguably the 'moderate' faction within the People's Republic of China, and the death of Zhou Enlai had struck hard against Deng. Hua Guofeng had emerged as the new 'Acting Premier', while Deng Xiaoping had found himself slowly frozen out of the party apparatus. The events of the Tiananmen Incident would force Deng Xiaoping from power, with Mao removing Deng from all positions of power he had, but he would still retain his membership in the party. Whether his death was related to complications from the surgery, or had possibly been in some way politically motivated was unknown.
But while the focus of handling foreign policy was a necessity, a much more drastic need was ahead domestically. The need to rebuild the unity of the American people following such a contentious election. It would likely take a significant period of time, but Ford had to continue on the process, and the inauguration represented the best point from which such efforts could be continued. As he prepared for his inaugural address though, Congress would meet in a joint session to count the electoral votes from the 1976 Presidential election. This by itself would be contentious, with Representative Donald J. Pease (D-OH) raising an objection to the legitimacy of Ohio's electoral votes. The objection would be supported by Senator George McGovern (D-ND), and both the Senate and House would convene to vote on the matter. By a vote of 41-381 and 1-94, both the House and Senate would vote against the objections and so once more continue, fully cementing Gerald Ford's second term.
For President Ford, he would do a single switch considering the events that had happened as part of the election. While normally, the State of the Union followed prior to the inauguration, it was shifted to fifteen days after the inauguration on February 4th; for Ford, the primary reason was to address the unity for the country first in the inauguration and to follow while the State of the Union was to emphasize on an agenda palatable to both parties for the next year. As President Ford found himself inaugurated for a second term, he would be focused on the need for uniting the American people. But while the inaugural speech would be attempted on such issues, it would be met by major protests in DC, which included in two circumstances the throwing of eggs against the presidential limousine. The protests however would see limited clashes between protestors and Capitol Police, in what were growing fears of the turbulence and violence that could reignite under Ford's second term. The inaugural address would be met with a mixed response, with some of it being overshadowed by the clashes between protestors and Capitol Police in DC.
Yet for President Ford, it would be his State of the Union address to focus on the year in review and his agenda for the next year. The State of the Union would be focused on both domestic and foreign policy, and it would be of no surprise for the initial discussions into foreign policy. President Ford would once more reaffirm his support of an intent for detente between the United States and the Soviet Union via the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks, with the hope of the Senate to pass 'SALT II' in the coming year. But it was in domestic policy where the most interesting comments came from in his State of the Union. Once more, he would emphasize the needs of the United States to make itself 'invulnerable to the foreign oil cartel' as he had said in both the 1975 and 1976 State of the Union addresses; such a task was of importance and could be done by the deregulation of oil and natural gas, the support and increase of nuclear power, the increased usage of mass transit, and as something more of an interesting take, the proposal to 'upgrade' the Energy Independence Agency into a cabinet-level department. But yet as he went on with his State of the Union, Ford would focus on the Constitution and on the amendment process. He would urge for the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment, and in something of a shock, support the need of the reform of the Electoral College. Both the urging of the support of the ERA and the reform of the Electoral College would be seen as measures for bipartisanship following the rancor of the election. The State of the Union like the inaugural speech would be considered as vital points towards the hopeful slow rebuilding of the unity of the American people. On February 23rd, a curveball would be swung at the Ford Administration, then in the middle of continuations on SALT II and the beginnings of negotiations with Panama.
“This is breaking news from Walter Cronkite. We can confirm that more than two hundred American missionaries have been taken hostage by the Ugandan government...”
The election had cemented that Ford had won an election as President, but under the arguably dubious means it had been won would permanently stain his reputation no matter what he had done or will do. For the President though with the discrepancy and remaining aftermath, his first goal for the nation would be unity. Throughout November and December, President Ford would meet with major Democratic leaders in Congress in order to achieve some kind of unity for the next year, among them would include Senators Kennedy, Byrd. Jr, and Church along with Representatives O'Neill, Wright, and Mahon. The major meetings with Democrats ahead of the 95th Congress represented the significant divide between the White House and Congress, both of opposing parties. Fortunately for President Ford, the Democrats failed to have a veto-proof majority in the Senate, while they had one in the House.
Despite the work on unity with Congress, President Ford was having to contend with the changing foreign policy that could have easily become disrupted with the transition of power if Carter had won. Africa was more and more becoming a focal point for foreign policy following the ignorance of both Presidents Johnson and Nixon (with their focus being upon Southeast Asia). The influx of Cubans into Southern Africa, primarily focused in Angola, was more and more becoming a concern (noted most especially by Secretary Kissinger) in the growing issues that were starting to sprout. Angola had emerged as a determined 'check' to Soviet expansionism, emerging after the urging of President Kenneth Kauanda of Zambia in April 1975. At the time, Angola was in the middle of the civil war, having started following the withdrawal of the Portugese in 1973. The most powerful of all factions was the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (PMLA), whom were backed by the Soviets and Cubans. In response, President Ford had found himself providing covert CIA support to the National Front for the Liberation of Angola (FNLA) and the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), both of whom were directly opposing the PMLA.
The ambitions of aiding the MPLA by the Kremlin and Havana would be met with the deployment of 15,000 troops by Castro to aid the MPLA. South Africa itself would respond with sending troops into aiding the FNLA and UNITA against the Cuban-backed MPLA. After already spending $32 million on supporting FNLA and UNITA, the Ford administration was hoping to burgeon that with an additional $25 million, hoping the aid would allow the creation of a coalition government under the auspices of the Organization of African Unity. Congress' activities' into investigations of the CIA had brought a sharp desire into rein in the CIA, which would see the establishment of permanent House and Senate intelligence committees to oversee all CIA operations. Then in December of 1975, Congress voted to cut off all funds for CIA activities in Angola; this would be done by Senator John Tunney (D-CA) who sponsored an amendment on a defense appropriations bill. Because the bill funded critical programs like the B-1, Trident, and cruise missiles, Ford had no other choice but to sign the bell; even though he had to sign it, he had significant disappointment in Congress for allowing Castro free reign in Angola. The loss of American support to the FNLA and UNITA combined with Cuban troops helping the MPLA, would see their victory in the Angolan civil war in 1976. The action and deployment of Cuban troops into Angola had rapidly turned away any kind of detente with Cuba, and brought into light the 'Ford Doctrine', which promised that if the Cuban dictator caused any kind of trouble in the Western Hemisphere would see American force used in response.
Then there was China to contend with. On September 9th, Mao Zedong, the 'founding father' of the People's Republic of China had died and for a period of time, it was unsure who was likely to rise to power in Mao's wake, Jiang Quin (along with her chief associates) or Premier Hua Guofeng. On October 6th, Jiang Quin, Zhang Chunqiao, Yao Wenyuan, and Wang Hongwen found themselves arrested by Premier Hua Guofeng and proclaimed as the 'Gang of Four' who had planned to seize power. The next day, Hua Guofeng had emerged as the next Chairman of the Central Committee and as the next major leader of the People's Republic of China. Alongside Hua Guofeng's rise to power had also been Ye Jianying (who had led the generals in their support of Hua Guofeng) and Li Xiannian (who was Vice Premier in charge of economic affairs) into power as the new 'triumvirate' ruling the People's Republic of China. For the moment, Director of Central Intelligence George H.W. Bush was President Ford's direct link to what was going on from his previous experience as Chief of the Liaison Office to the People's Republic of China. On December 27th, Director Bush would inform President Ford of the death of Deng Xiaoping during apparent surgery for his prostate. Prior to the death of Mao, Deng Xiaoping had arguably been one of the chief leaders of arguably the 'moderate' faction within the People's Republic of China, and the death of Zhou Enlai had struck hard against Deng. Hua Guofeng had emerged as the new 'Acting Premier', while Deng Xiaoping had found himself slowly frozen out of the party apparatus. The events of the Tiananmen Incident would force Deng Xiaoping from power, with Mao removing Deng from all positions of power he had, but he would still retain his membership in the party. Whether his death was related to complications from the surgery, or had possibly been in some way politically motivated was unknown.
But while the focus of handling foreign policy was a necessity, a much more drastic need was ahead domestically. The need to rebuild the unity of the American people following such a contentious election. It would likely take a significant period of time, but Ford had to continue on the process, and the inauguration represented the best point from which such efforts could be continued. As he prepared for his inaugural address though, Congress would meet in a joint session to count the electoral votes from the 1976 Presidential election. This by itself would be contentious, with Representative Donald J. Pease (D-OH) raising an objection to the legitimacy of Ohio's electoral votes. The objection would be supported by Senator George McGovern (D-ND), and both the Senate and House would convene to vote on the matter. By a vote of 41-381 and 1-94, both the House and Senate would vote against the objections and so once more continue, fully cementing Gerald Ford's second term.
For President Ford, he would do a single switch considering the events that had happened as part of the election. While normally, the State of the Union followed prior to the inauguration, it was shifted to fifteen days after the inauguration on February 4th; for Ford, the primary reason was to address the unity for the country first in the inauguration and to follow while the State of the Union was to emphasize on an agenda palatable to both parties for the next year. As President Ford found himself inaugurated for a second term, he would be focused on the need for uniting the American people. But while the inaugural speech would be attempted on such issues, it would be met by major protests in DC, which included in two circumstances the throwing of eggs against the presidential limousine. The protests however would see limited clashes between protestors and Capitol Police, in what were growing fears of the turbulence and violence that could reignite under Ford's second term. The inaugural address would be met with a mixed response, with some of it being overshadowed by the clashes between protestors and Capitol Police in DC.
Yet for President Ford, it would be his State of the Union address to focus on the year in review and his agenda for the next year. The State of the Union would be focused on both domestic and foreign policy, and it would be of no surprise for the initial discussions into foreign policy. President Ford would once more reaffirm his support of an intent for detente between the United States and the Soviet Union via the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks, with the hope of the Senate to pass 'SALT II' in the coming year. But it was in domestic policy where the most interesting comments came from in his State of the Union. Once more, he would emphasize the needs of the United States to make itself 'invulnerable to the foreign oil cartel' as he had said in both the 1975 and 1976 State of the Union addresses; such a task was of importance and could be done by the deregulation of oil and natural gas, the support and increase of nuclear power, the increased usage of mass transit, and as something more of an interesting take, the proposal to 'upgrade' the Energy Independence Agency into a cabinet-level department. But yet as he went on with his State of the Union, Ford would focus on the Constitution and on the amendment process. He would urge for the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment, and in something of a shock, support the need of the reform of the Electoral College. Both the urging of the support of the ERA and the reform of the Electoral College would be seen as measures for bipartisanship following the rancor of the election. The State of the Union like the inaugural speech would be considered as vital points towards the hopeful slow rebuilding of the unity of the American people. On February 23rd, a curveball would be swung at the Ford Administration, then in the middle of continuations on SALT II and the beginnings of negotiations with Panama.
“This is breaking news from Walter Cronkite. We can confirm that more than two hundred American missionaries have been taken hostage by the Ugandan government...”
Ok I'm going to have to read this again as there is a lot of important in this last update. Yet the hanger by Cronkite and the missionaries in Uganda is going to be a bitch. Ford isn't going to be Carter.
Ooooh, this is getting good. Hopefully Angola and Uganda don't distract from domestic policy too much and at least the ERA can get passed.