John Fredrick Parker
Donor
Why is that so implausible? OTL, Bush won Oregon by less than 0.5% in 2000, and Wisconsin was even closer.
Maverick (a McCain TL)
- Thread starter John Fredrick Parker
- Start date
Yeah, when you base your timeline on actual...you know..data from the OTL election, it's incredibly plausible for a Republican to win both Oregon and Wisconsin in 2000. Bush lost Oregon by roughly 7,400 votes in OR, and lost WI by roughly 6,600. He had a damn good chance of taking Iowa, too.
A more moderate ticket could have easily taken both (heck, one could argue that Bush may have won them if not for the October Surprise of his drunk driving arrest).
What would happen if John Kerry was Gore's nominee? Would we see Missouri flip and New Hampshire become closer?
John Fredrick Parker
Donor
Not sure; the reason I picked Gepthart for TTL is I wanted to first think of who Gore would pick with an alternate GOP nominee.
True. Have you considered any difference in the Congressional Results ITTL?
John Fredrick Parker
Donor
I'm thinking the GOP definitely holds the Senate, and still keeps the House; other than that; haven't thought much on it. So let's see...
- Senate races that could flip Republican TTL: Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, and Washington. Even if Jim Jeffords leaves the party in 2001 (which he may well not do TTL), the GOP safely holds the Senate if even half of these flips happen. (By contrast, the closest GOP victory said year was in Montana, which likely still wins TTL.)
- In the House, there were actually more narrow Republican victories than Democratic ones; even if all five close Democratic races flipped (which does not happen TTL, just for the record), that would just change the cumulative effect from a GOP loss of two seats to a gain of three. In either case, there are only minor changes to the House (so that much is still the case TTL).
Powell for Defense.
Also, who were Mccaine/Engler's opponents, afraid I've forgotten who you picked.
Also, who were Mccaine/Engler's opponents, afraid I've forgotten who you picked.
Lieberman for State
Powell for Defense.
Have doubts about Graham being AG.
John Fredrick Parker
Donor
As to Powell being Sec of Defense, I just checked and he technically could become Secretary in 2001, though after becoming eligible only months earlier.
That said, if it works for you guys, this can be the upper cabinet:
That said, if it works for you guys, this can be the upper cabinet:
- Secretary of State Joe Lieberman
- Secretary of Treasury Phil Graham
- Secretary of Defense Colin Powell
- Attorney General John Danforth
Gore picked Gepthart as his running mate.
John Fredrick Parker
Donor
September 2001 to January 2002
On the morning of September 11, President McCain boarded Air Force One for what he (and his staff and the press accompanying him) expected to be a long trip across the Pacific to meet with the recently elevated Prime Minister of Japan, Junichirō Koizumi. But only two hours after departing, a call came in -- the nation was under attack. Within minutes, the President had his plane changing course to land at the nearest secure location, which as it happens was in Idaho. Once landed, McCain made contact with the Situation Room back in the White House, where National Security Advisor Robert Gates, Counterterrorism Czar Richard Clarke, and others were already gathered; Defense Secretary Powell was also on the line.
The months following these attacks would prove as much of turning point in their own right. To start, the US would lead a coalition invasion of Afghanistan, though relying largely on local forces to overthrow the Taliban, and Osama bin Laden, head of the terrorist organization responsible for 9/11, was corned and killed during the Battle of Tora Bora; the latter came just a few days before Christmas, which produced the interesting image of Americans celebrating the death of their enemy in the midst of holiday cheer and (sometimes combining the sentiments). This victory was followed by more in the next few months, as Ayman al-Zawahiri, the second in command, and Mullah Mohmamad Omar, leader of the Taliban, were killed, and Khalid Sheik Mohammad (architect of the US homeland attacks) was captured.
But it wasn't just the war against Al Qaeda that saw key developments at this time. As it so happens, mere months before the attacks, saw important steps by the scientific community in establishing that, yes, there was a clear, professional consensus on the fact of human caused climate change; at the time of the attacks, there were efforts to get governments around the world, including the United States, to take the issue seriously. And as the months after the attacks saw evidence mounting of ties between Saudi Arabia's wealth and the spread of Islamic Extremism and Jihadist Terrorism, a political coalition started to come together.
But McCain had a larger vision still -- as the US led coalition worked with their Afghan allies to build a new state in Central Asia, he thought of how American power could be used to rebuild even more of the world. He thought of rogue states, like Saddam Hussein's Iraq or Kim Jung Il's North Korea, and how these dictators might be further contained, or possibly even overthrown. And he thought of the many other dictatorships beside; perhaps less dangerous to world stability in the short term, but nonetheless open to American power and influence in being pushed into a more democratic direction.
These trends would come together as the President prepared to give his first State of the Union Address...
On the morning of September 11, President McCain boarded Air Force One for what he (and his staff and the press accompanying him) expected to be a long trip across the Pacific to meet with the recently elevated Prime Minister of Japan, Junichirō Koizumi. But only two hours after departing, a call came in -- the nation was under attack. Within minutes, the President had his plane changing course to land at the nearest secure location, which as it happens was in Idaho. Once landed, McCain made contact with the Situation Room back in the White House, where National Security Advisor Robert Gates, Counterterrorism Czar Richard Clarke, and others were already gathered; Defense Secretary Powell was also on the line.
The months following these attacks would prove as much of turning point in their own right. To start, the US would lead a coalition invasion of Afghanistan, though relying largely on local forces to overthrow the Taliban, and Osama bin Laden, head of the terrorist organization responsible for 9/11, was corned and killed during the Battle of Tora Bora; the latter came just a few days before Christmas, which produced the interesting image of Americans celebrating the death of their enemy in the midst of holiday cheer and (sometimes combining the sentiments). This victory was followed by more in the next few months, as Ayman al-Zawahiri, the second in command, and Mullah Mohmamad Omar, leader of the Taliban, were killed, and Khalid Sheik Mohammad (architect of the US homeland attacks) was captured.
But it wasn't just the war against Al Qaeda that saw key developments at this time. As it so happens, mere months before the attacks, saw important steps by the scientific community in establishing that, yes, there was a clear, professional consensus on the fact of human caused climate change; at the time of the attacks, there were efforts to get governments around the world, including the United States, to take the issue seriously. And as the months after the attacks saw evidence mounting of ties between Saudi Arabia's wealth and the spread of Islamic Extremism and Jihadist Terrorism, a political coalition started to come together.
But McCain had a larger vision still -- as the US led coalition worked with their Afghan allies to build a new state in Central Asia, he thought of how American power could be used to rebuild even more of the world. He thought of rogue states, like Saddam Hussein's Iraq or Kim Jung Il's North Korea, and how these dictators might be further contained, or possibly even overthrown. And he thought of the many other dictatorships beside; perhaps less dangerous to world stability in the short term, but nonetheless open to American power and influence in being pushed into a more democratic direction.
These trends would come together as the President prepared to give his first State of the Union Address...
John Fredrick Parker
Donor
Television Post-9/11
In the first months after the attacks, the most noticeable effect on American popular arts were on the radio. After the radio, though, the most noticeable effects were in what Americans chose to watch on television.
Perhaps no series got more of a boost from the shift in national consciousness than FOX's experimental new show, 24. Fans of the series fell in love with the badass protagonist, Jack Bauer, but just as big a breakout star was the second most prominent protagonist, David Palmer. When putting together the first season, show creators Sunrow and Cochran didn't anticipate how popular this secondary character would become, but by the second season Palmer was President and the political storylines that surrounded him took up nearly half the show's runtime, with Bauer's thrilling action plots taking the other half. The interplay between the action and political plots could prove fruitful -- one Season 2 writer, for example, got the idea to take some inspiration from then President McCain, adding the character of President David Palmer's brother and advisor, Wayne, with the backstory that he once been captured by enemy forces and tortured by international Islamist Terrorists. Another small plot point would later have a major impact on later character development -- at one point, in Season Two, CTU captures an agent of the terrorist organization that are trying to deploy nuclear weapons against Los Angeles; when the (temporary replacement) head of CTU asks the President for authorization to torture the agent for information, President Palmer gets into a discussion with Wayne, and refuses. While the protagonists of the series would never again seriously consider torturing, this scene established, for the fandom, President Palmer as the moral center and voice of reason, with Jack Bauer as the get shit done guy.
24 wasn't the only politics heavy tv series American viewers turned into in the months after the attacks. The West Wing premiered its third season a little over a month after the tragedy; the second season had introduced Ainsley Hayes (a conservative Republican who joins the Office of Counsel to the President), as well as the revelation that President Bartlett had Multiple Sclerosis, throwing his administration into scandal and a season finale cliffhanger. The third season would see these developments continue and play off each other, allowing Hayes to become a more integral character on the series and gain more grudging respect from (typically liberal) fans. So the Right was already being given more of a voice on a series with an otherwise leftward bent; but the 9/11 attacks only complicated things further, as real world issues of religious tension, military action abroad, and executive authority came to the forefront of the show's plot lines as well.
And the political developments of 2002, and after, would push television and popular culture in yet more directions as well...
In the first months after the attacks, the most noticeable effect on American popular arts were on the radio. After the radio, though, the most noticeable effects were in what Americans chose to watch on television.
Perhaps no series got more of a boost from the shift in national consciousness than FOX's experimental new show, 24. Fans of the series fell in love with the badass protagonist, Jack Bauer, but just as big a breakout star was the second most prominent protagonist, David Palmer. When putting together the first season, show creators Sunrow and Cochran didn't anticipate how popular this secondary character would become, but by the second season Palmer was President and the political storylines that surrounded him took up nearly half the show's runtime, with Bauer's thrilling action plots taking the other half. The interplay between the action and political plots could prove fruitful -- one Season 2 writer, for example, got the idea to take some inspiration from then President McCain, adding the character of President David Palmer's brother and advisor, Wayne, with the backstory that he once been captured by enemy forces and tortured by international Islamist Terrorists. Another small plot point would later have a major impact on later character development -- at one point, in Season Two, CTU captures an agent of the terrorist organization that are trying to deploy nuclear weapons against Los Angeles; when the (temporary replacement) head of CTU asks the President for authorization to torture the agent for information, President Palmer gets into a discussion with Wayne, and refuses. While the protagonists of the series would never again seriously consider torturing, this scene established, for the fandom, President Palmer as the moral center and voice of reason, with Jack Bauer as the get shit done guy.
24 wasn't the only politics heavy tv series American viewers turned into in the months after the attacks. The West Wing premiered its third season a little over a month after the tragedy; the second season had introduced Ainsley Hayes (a conservative Republican who joins the Office of Counsel to the President), as well as the revelation that President Bartlett had Multiple Sclerosis, throwing his administration into scandal and a season finale cliffhanger. The third season would see these developments continue and play off each other, allowing Hayes to become a more integral character on the series and gain more grudging respect from (typically liberal) fans. So the Right was already being given more of a voice on a series with an otherwise leftward bent; but the 9/11 attacks only complicated things further, as real world issues of religious tension, military action abroad, and executive authority came to the forefront of the show's plot lines as well.
And the political developments of 2002, and after, would push television and popular culture in yet more directions as well...
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I think you made a goof or two with 24. Perhaps Aaron Sorkin doesn't leave The West Wing after Season 4.
John Fredrick Parker
Donor
February 2002
McCain's first State of the Union in early 2002 was a very important speech in his presidency and in recent world history -- it covered the effects of the September 11th attacks, and his measures to bring the perpetrators to justice (which at the time included OBL and Mullah Omar, and which would also include Zawahiri and KSM within the next month); from there he went into America's efforts to rebuild Afghanistan anew, while taking time to go into the horrors and crimes of the previous Taliban regime; and building off of that, he compared the former Taliban to the Baathist regime in Iraq and the Juche regime in North Korea, while also going into how the latter two were (allegedly) undermining global peace and stability. He also made mention of "lesser evils", "the petty dictatorships" who deny freedom and prosperity to their own people, while trying to claim it is no business of the world outside their borders, even as they "spread poverty and ignorance among us".
From there, the speech turned to another threat facing the country and world -- global warming. The President references the recent publications and findings that, he said, proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the world climate was changing, and that human economic activity was the chief cause; he even went so far as to say "whatever course of action we choose as a nation, let it be understood that no does country, state, or community was ever served by deluding themselves about clear facts". McCain then connected this to the aforementioned "petty dictators", and coined the phrase "petro-tyranny" to describe how oil wealth had been and was being used to support oppressive and dangerous regimes (with the former Soviet Union and present day Iraq and Iran getting a mention). McCain ended this portion of the speech calling on Congress and the country help him to transform the American economy, "to, within a generation, create a national economy independent from all oil, foreign and domestic".
And so the second year of John McCain's Presidency truly began.
McCain's first State of the Union in early 2002 was a very important speech in his presidency and in recent world history -- it covered the effects of the September 11th attacks, and his measures to bring the perpetrators to justice (which at the time included OBL and Mullah Omar, and which would also include Zawahiri and KSM within the next month); from there he went into America's efforts to rebuild Afghanistan anew, while taking time to go into the horrors and crimes of the previous Taliban regime; and building off of that, he compared the former Taliban to the Baathist regime in Iraq and the Juche regime in North Korea, while also going into how the latter two were (allegedly) undermining global peace and stability. He also made mention of "lesser evils", "the petty dictatorships" who deny freedom and prosperity to their own people, while trying to claim it is no business of the world outside their borders, even as they "spread poverty and ignorance among us".
From there, the speech turned to another threat facing the country and world -- global warming. The President references the recent publications and findings that, he said, proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the world climate was changing, and that human economic activity was the chief cause; he even went so far as to say "whatever course of action we choose as a nation, let it be understood that no does country, state, or community was ever served by deluding themselves about clear facts". McCain then connected this to the aforementioned "petty dictators", and coined the phrase "petro-tyranny" to describe how oil wealth had been and was being used to support oppressive and dangerous regimes (with the former Soviet Union and present day Iraq and Iran getting a mention). McCain ended this portion of the speech calling on Congress and the country help him to transform the American economy, "to, within a generation, create a national economy independent from all oil, foreign and domestic".
And so the second year of John McCain's Presidency truly began.