Veritas: A New America

[rpryor03]

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[rpryor03]

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[rpryor03]

I, Albert Arnold Gore Junior, do solemnly swear...

[LLR]

Don't know what this is yet, but it looks good so far

[rpryor03]

The Gore Cabinet

President: Al Gore, former Vice President and Senator (D-TN)
Vice President: Joe Lieberman, former Senator (D-CT)

Secretary of State: George Mitchell, former Senate Majority Leader (D-ME) [2001-2005], David Aaron, former Ambassador to the ECD [2005-2009]
Secretary of the Treasury:  Lawrence Summers, former Deputy Secretary (D-MA) [1999-2005], Tom Daschle, former Senator (D-SD) [2005-2009]
Secretary of Defense: Sam Nunn, former Senator (D-GA)
Attorney General: Jamie Gorelick, former Deputy Attorney General (D-DC)
Secretary of the Interior: Phil Keisling, Secretary of State of Oregon (D-OR)
Secretary of Agriculture: Charles Stenholm, former Representative (D-TX)
Secretary of Commerce: Norman Mineta, former Representative (D-CA)
Secretary of Labor: Alexis Herman, fomer Director of Public Engagement (D-AL)
Secretary of HHS: Kevin Thurm, former Deputy Secretary (D-IL) [2000-2003], Howard Dean, former Governor (D-VT) [2003-2005]
Secretary of HUD: Rod Grams, former Senator (R-MN)
Secretary of Transportation: Rodney Slater, former Director of the Federal Highway Administration (D-AR)
Secretary of Energy: Bill Richardson, former Ambassador to the UN (D-NM) [2001-2002], Charles Curtis, former Deputy Secretary (D-PA) [2002-2009]
Secretary of Education: Jim Hunt, former Governor (D-NC) [2001-2005], John Edwards, former Senator (D-NC) [2005-2008], ACTING: Anthony Miller [2008-2009]
Secretary of Veterans Affairs: Hershel Gober, former Deputy Secretary (D-AR)
Secretary of Homeland Security: Rand Beers, former NSC Staffer (D-DC)
Chief of Staff: William Daley, former Secretary of Commerce (D-IL)

[rpryor03]

The Presidency of Albert Arnold Gore Jr
Part One: 2001 and 2002

When President Al Gore entered office, his main goal was to be “different” than his predecessor. And to him, being different meant focusing on his pet issue, the environment. Opposing any drilling in Alaska and pushing for the Kyoto Protocol took up much of his political capital and did not endear him to those in plains states. However, his Social Security “lock-box” was passed in one of his major bipartisan reforms. The budget was kept very similar to the Clinton years, and the economy was “just ok.” Not growing too much, nor shrinking at all. He was informed that when there was a downturn, his economic team, including Secretary Summers and Vice President Lieberman, would be able to fix it.

However, the focus of his administration changed when on September 11, 2001, two planes flew into the World Trade Center, one into the Pentagon, and one into a field in Pennsylvania that was originally headed towards the White House. This event, immortalized in the American mind as “Black Tuesday 2” or “9/11,” changed the course of American History. The stock market crashed and began a period of economic uncertainty. That night, in a televised address, President Gore said that “we will find those that have committed these atrocities and we will defeat them.” Two weeks later, Congress passed an Authorization of Military Force for Afghanistan after learning that al Qaeda was the main culprit behind the attacks.  Prime Minister Tony Blair the next day allied with the US.

The first place the military searched and the first major battle of the War in Afghanistan was the Battle of Tora Bora, around the beginning of October. Forces searched for Osama Bin Laden, but he was not able to be found, and he lived another day. US, UK, and NATO forces in Afghanistan stayed in the country for a long time, searching for Bin Laden, who had become the FBI’s Number 1 Most Wanted.

Domestically, the economy fell into a bit of a slump after the terror attacks in New York. Vice President Lieberman and Secretary Summers were tasked with fixing it, Gore noting in his memoirs that he wanted Lieberman “far away from foreign policy as possible.” This was what began the straining of the relationship between Gore and his Vice President, that exploded in 2008. As the economy started to pick up steam again and with Gore painting a rosy picture of the War in Afghanistan, the midterm elections came by with Gore’s report card from the nation.

With his approvals hovering around 45%, President Gore had better midterms than he could have hoped for. Bob Smith was knocked down by Jeanne Shaheen in New Hampshire, Walter Mondale staved off Norm Coleman in Minnesota, Mark Pryor defeated Tim Hutchinson in Arkansas, and Jean Carnahan somehow still retained her seat for Missouri, and with a house victory for Dick Gephardt, the Democrats had control of Congress again.

Democrats – 52 (+3)
Republicans – 47 (-2)
Independent – 1 (-1)

(Addendum: While not shown in this picture, State Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat, defeated State Treasurer Christopher Burnham in a 2001 Special Election for Vice President Lieberman’s seat.)

In the elections for Governor, State Senate Majority Leader Roger Moe took the reins of power after a three-way race in Minnesota, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend was the first member of the Kennedy Family to serve as Governor after her win in Maryland, and Mike Huckabee was unseated in Arkansas. The President’s popularity served him well, for a few more years.

Democrats – 35 (+14)
Republicans – 15 (-12)
Independents – 0 (-2)

(Addendum: While not shown in this picture, democratic Mayor Jim McGreevey succeeded Christine Todd Whitman as Governor of New Jersey and Venture Capitalist Mark Warner succeeded Jim Gilmore as Governor of Virginia, two Democratic gains.)

Congressional Leadership, 2003-2005
Speaker of the House: Dick Gephardt (D-MO)
House Majority Leader: Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)
House Majority Whip: Patrick Kennedy (D-RI)
Conference Chair: Bob Menendez (D-NJ)
Conference Vice-Chair: Jim Clyburn (D-SC)
DCCC Chair: Bob Matsui (D-CA)
Policy Committee Chair: Marcy Kaptur (D-OH)
Chief Deputy Whip: John Lewis (D-GA)
House Minority Leader: Tom DeLay (R-TX)
House Minority Whip: Roy Blunt (R-MO)
Conference Chair: Deborah Pryce (R-OH)
Conference Vice-Chair: Jack Kingston (R-GA)
RNCC Chair: Tom Reynolds (R-NY)
Policy Committee Chair: Christopher Cox (R-CA) [2003], John Shadegg [2004]
Chief Deputy Whip: Eric Cantor (R-VA)
President Pro Tempore: Robert Byrd (D-WV)
Senate Majority Leader: Tom Daschle (D-SD)
Senate Majority Whip: Harry Reid (D-NV)
Caucus Secretary: Barbara Mikulski (D-MD)
Policy Committee Chair: Byron Dorgan (D-ND)
DSCC Chair: Jon Corzine (D-NJ)
Chief Deputy Whip: Hillary Clinton (D-NY)
Senate Minority Leader: Don Nickles (R-OK)
Senate Minority Whip: Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
Conference Chair: Rick Santorum (R-PA)
Conference Secretary: Kay Bailey Hutchinson (R-TX)
Policy Committee Chair: Jon Kyl (R-AZ)
NRSC Chair: George Allen (R-VA)
Chief Deputy Whip: Bill Frist (R-TN)

[rpryor03]

The Presidency of Albert Arnold Gore Jr
Part Two: 2003 and 2004

President Gore’s second half of his first term started on a high note, with the economy returning to mostly pre-Black Tuesday 2 levels. The beginning of 2003 saw the creation of the Department of Homeland Security and the appointment of NSC Staffer Rand Beers as its first secretary. In Afghanistan, the search for the Taliban and Al Qaeda leaders was still going slowly, with the one bright spot being the capturing of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in 2003. However, by this time, everyone’s thoughts were to one place: the election of the next President of the United States.

President Gore had only gadflies challenging, with only one of them being well known in Lyndon LaRouche. Republicans faced a larger field, including General Crosbie Saint, Former Secretary Donald Hodel, Former Representative Dick Cheney, Representative Ron Paul, Representative Christopher Cox, Senator Larry Craig, former Governor Mike Huckabee, and Mayor Rudy Giuliani. After announcing his campaign in October 2003, Giuliani took the lead from the start. As “America’s Mayor” and an influential leader after Black Tuesday 2, the nomination was his and he took the campaign, with only a few of his opponents getting wins. Huckabee won his home state of Arkansas and neighboring Oklahoma, and Craig won in Idaho and Montana. From the start, Giuliani worked to lay conservative fears to rest, saying that his running mate would be an experienced conservative leader. To that end, he chose Craig as his running mate, and they made a splash at the Convention. However, the election would soon implode in October of 2004.

The year’s “October Suprise” came from the Giuliani Campaign, suprisingly. Journalistic investigations into Bernard Kerik, the former NYPD commissioner and presumed to be Giuliani’s top choice for Secretary of Homeland Security began and the first leak in September was that Kerik hired an illegal immigrant as a nanny. And then it got worse. It began to come out that he had made major ethics violations while serving as commissioner. And then the questions started coming about his relationship with the former mayor. Questions were raised about Giuliani’s influence in Kerik rising up the governmental ladder. Giuliani eventually had to apologize for his appointment of Kerik, but brushing it to the side, stressing his contributions to the city. However, his campaign never fully recovered, with Gore/Lieberman defeating Giuliani/Craig by about two percent of the vote.

Gore/Lieberman – 289
Giuliani/Craig – 249

In the Senate, things looked rosier for the Republicans. Businessman Pete Coors defeated State Attorney General Ken Salazar in Colorado, Mel Martinez replaced Bob Graham in Florida, rising Democratic star Barack Obama defeated crazy-man Alan Keyes in Illinois, David Vitter replaced John Breaux without needing a runoff in Louisiana, Senator John Edwards lost to Richard Burr in a tight match in North Carolina, Jim DeMint took the seat that Fritz Hollings had held for 38 years, Representative Gorge Nethercutt barely defeated Patty Murray in Washington, and in the biggest shocker, former Represenative John Thune unseated Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle in South Dakota.

Republicans – 53 (+6)
Democrats – 46 (-6)
Independents – 1 (=)

The year’s Gubernatorial Elections were much more sedate, with gains in Montana and Indiana canceling the other out.

Democrats – 33 (-2)
Republicans – 17 (+2)

(Addendum: While not shown in this map, Republicans gained in California after a recall, in Kentucky, and in Mississippi during the 2003 gubernatorial elections. Democrats gained Louisiana.)

Congressional Leadership 2005-2007
Speaker of the House: Dick Gephardt (D-MO)
House Majority Leader: Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)
House Majority Whip: Patrick Kennedy (D-RI)
Conference Chair: Bob Menendez (D-NJ)
Conference Vice-Chair: Jim Clyburn (D-SC)
DCCC Chair: Rahm Emanuel (D-IL)
Policy Committee Chair: Marcy Kaptur (D-OH)
Chief Deputy Whip: John Lewis (D-GA)
House Minority Leader: Tom DeLay (R-TX) [2005], Roy Blunt [2006]
House Minority Whip: Roy Blunt (R-MO) [2005], Eric Cantor [2006]
Conference Chair: Deborah Pryce (R-OH)
Conference Vice-Chair: Jack Kingston (R-GA)
RNCC Chair: Tom Reynolds (R-NY)
Policy Committee Chair: John Shadegg [2005], Rob Portman [2006]
Chief Deputy Whip: Eric Cantor (R-VA) [2005], Kevin McCarthy [2006]
President Pro Tempore: Ted Stevens (R-AK)
Senate Minority Leader: Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
Senate Minority Whip: Kay Bailey Hutchinson (R-TX)
Conference Chair: Rick Santorum (R-PA)
Conference Secretary: Jon Kyl (R-AZ)
Policy Committee Chair: George Allen (R-VA)
NRSC Chair: Elizabeth Dole (R-NC)
Chief Deputy Whip: Bill Frist (R-TN)
President Pro Tempore Emeritus: Robert Byrd (D-WV)
Senate Majority Leader: Harry Reid (D-NV)
Senate Majority Whip: Hillary Clinton (D-NY)
Caucus Secretary: Barbara Mikulski (D-MD)
Policy Committee Chair: Byron Dorgan (D-ND)
DSCC Chair: Chuck Schumer (D-NY)
Chief Deputy Whip: Debbie Stabenow (D-MI)

[NeverAgain]

This is really good. What does the Gore Domestic Policy looking like? Does he pass the lockbox or Medicare Part D?

[rpryor03]

Lockbox!

[rpryor03]

The Presidency of Arnold Albert Gore Jr
Part Three: 2005 and 2006

At the beginning of his term with a renewed mandate, President Al Gore had three appointments to initially make: Secretary of Education, Secretary of the Treasury, and Secretary of State. For two positions, he chose recently defeated Senators. Senator John Edwards was chosen for Education and Senator Tom Daschle for Treasury. President Clinton’s ECD Ambassador and Deputy  National Security Advisor to Jimmy Carter, David Aaron, was appointed to State. However, his next two were unexpected. The retirement of John Paul Stevens in late August of 2005 allowed for the nomination of Diane Wood of the Seventh Circuit and the death of William Rhenquist in September of 2005 meant that Merrick Garland was nominated to serve as Chief Justice. All nominees passed quickly.

With the search for Bin Laden becoming the same over and over, President Gore turned his focus again to domestic issues. His “Technology for Tomorrow” campaign was launched in March, which called for increased investments in new biotech, information tech, as well as for easier internet access for all. But, in a recurring theme for his administration, his attention was once again diverted, this time to Louisiana. Hurricane Katrina made landfall in Louisiana as a Category 3 Hurricane (it was previously a Cat 5) on August 29th. In part due to New Orleans’s low levels of hurricane preparedness, as well as the severity of the storm, New Orleans was hit hard. Mistakes in the early hours after the end of the Hurricane by Mayor Ray Nagin and Governor Kathleen Blanco did not help. As President Gore touched down in New Orleans, FEMA was already working and doing quite well. Most people were back in New Orleans by the end of 2007, and New Orleans became a major point of Gore’s legacy, with the President returning there many times after his presidency and called the “King of New Orleans” by many commentators and biographers.

Unrest in Afghanistan, many scandals by Democratic politicians such as Cynthia McKinney, Don Siegelman, William Jefferson, and Charlie Rangel, as well as the “six-year itch” already spelled out a bad midterm for the Democrats. But a well-oiled GOTV machine for the Republicans, RNC Chair Jim Gilmore’s choice to integrate the Internet more, and good candidate selection lead to a big midterm win.

Gains in the Senate for the Republicans included Rob Simmons in Connecticut, Michael Steele in Maryland, Mike Bouchard defeating Chief Deputy Whip Debbie Stabenow in Michigan, Mark Kennedy in Minnesota, Matt Blunt defeating the daughter of the incumbent in Robin Carnahan in Missouri, Tom Kean Jr in New Jersey defeating Jon Corzine’s appointee Barbara Buono, and Mike McGavick in Washington. It also saw the retirement of Bill Frist in a move that was speculated for him to run for President, and him being replaced by former Chattanooga Mayor Bob Corker. Other retirements included Independent Jim Jeffords in Vermont and his replacement by Independent Bernie Sanders, Paul Sarbanes in Maryland, Jean Carnahan in Missouri, and Mark Dayton in Minnesota. The Republicans were thisclose to getting a cloture-proof majority, but they were thankful for their majorities in both Houses. They set their sights on 2008, and began to plan.,

Republicans – 59
Democrats – 40
Independent – 1

When it came to Governors, the story was a bit more interesting. Roy Moore, the colorful former Chief Justice of Alabama was just one of the incoming class of Governors. Sarah Palin, the Mayor of Wasilla successfully primaried Frank Murkowski. Bill Ritter in Colorado, Eric Johnson in Georgia, Butch Otter in Idaho, Kristen Cox becoming the first blind Governor ever in Maryland, Deval Patrick in Massachusetts, Pat Anderson in Minnesota, Dave Heineman in Nebraska, Jim Gibbons in Nevada, Ted Strickland in Ohio, Rox Saxton in Oregon, Jeffrey Pine in Rhode Island, Andre Bauer in South Carolina, and Mark Green in Wisconsin.

Republicans – 23 (+6)
Democrats – 27 (-6)

(Addendum: While not shown on the map, Jon Corzine and Tim Kaine, both Democrats, were elected as Governor of New Jersey and Virginia, respectively, in 2005. Both were holds.)

Congressional Leadership 2007-2009
Speaker of the House: Roy Blunt (R-MO)
House Majority Leader: Eric Cantor (R-VA)
House Majority Whip: Jack Kingston (R-GA)
Conference Chair: Deborah Pryce (R-OH)
Conference Vice-Chair: Tom Reynolds (R-NY)
RNCC Chair: Tom Cole (R-OK)
Policy Committee Chair: Rob Portman (R-OH)
Chief Deputy Whip: Kevin McCarthy (R-CA)
House Minority Leader: Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)
House Minority Whip: Patrick Kennedy (D-RI)
Conference Chair: Bob Menendez (D-NJ)
Conference Vice-Chair: Jim Clyburn (D-SC)
DCCC Chair: Chris Van Hollen (D-MD)
Policy Committee Chair: Marcy Kaptur (D-OH)
Chief Deputy Whip: John Lewis (D-GA)
President Pro Tempore: Ted Stevens (R-AK)
Senate Minority Leader: Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
Senate Minority Whip: Kay Bailey Hutchinson (R-TX)
Conference Chair: Rick Santorum (R-PA)
Conference Secretary: Jon Kyl (R-AZ)
Policy Committee Chair: George Allen (R-VA)
NRSC Chair: John Ensign (R-NV)
Chief Deputy Whip: Bill Frist (R-TN)
President Pro Tempore Emeritus: Robert Byrd (D-WV)
Senate Majority Leader: Harry Reid (D-NV)
Senate Majority Whip: Hillary Clinton (D-NY)
Caucus Secretary: Barbara Mikulski (D-MD)
Policy Committee Chair: Byron Dorgan (D-ND)
DSCC Chair: Chuck Schumer (D-NY)
Chief Deputy Whip: Jack Reed (D-RI)

[rpryor03]

The Presidency of Arnold Albert Gore Jr
Part Four: 2007 and 2008

During the last two years of his presidency, Al Gore tried once again became the foreign policy focused President. With a Republican House and Senate, nothing of his would ever pass, and so he pivoted to the rest of the world. Visiting China, increasing relationships with India, and a memorable state visit to Britain where he met with Prime Minister Gordon Brown and London Mayor Victoria Borwick. However, he once again had to pivot back to domestic, as 2008 turned dark.

The housing bubble “broke” in 2008, with housing prices going down the tubes and foreclosure rates going up. As such, this led to crises in many markets, including subprime, CDO, Alt-A, mortgage, credit, hedge fund, and foreign banks. This plunged the US into a recession, with many people losing jobs, more people having foreclosures, and the cycle continued. And this only served as a bad backdrop for the Presidential campaign.

Succeeding the President was no easy task. Vice President Lieberman did not want to run for President, and so the field was opened. Major candidates included Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts, Education Secretary John Edwards, Media Personality Al Sharpton, Representative Dennis Kucinich, Governor Jon Corzine of New Jersey, and Senator Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico. Bingman dropped out early in the campaign, and the leader for most of the time was Secretary Edwards. However, that changed when in early January 2008, the National Enquirer broke a story about Edwards’s involvement with campaign staffer Rielle Hunter, and that the father of Hunter’s unborn child was the Secretary. While no one knew about the verity of the story at the time (it turned out to be true), it sounded the death blow for John Edwards’s presidential chances and career in politics. He soon dropped out and resigned as Secretary of Education. Senator Kerry’s campaign began to pick up steam at this point, and he won Iowa. Governor Corzine picked up wins in the Mid-Atlantic and in the Mountain West. Rev. Sharpton won the contest in the District of Columbia. When the primary cleared up, Senator Kerry joined up with Governor Christine Gregoire for the 2008 Democratic Ticket.

For the Republicans, the contest was much more protracted. The leading candidates at the beginning of the campaign were Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and Senator Larry Craig of Idaho. Senators Mike DeWine and Lamar Alexander, as well as Representative Ron Paul, ran, but did not have much impact. The other main candidate was Michael Steele, the freshman Senator from Maryland. Steele, while well-known after a 2004 RNC speech that gained him some fans, did not begin to gain traction until November of 2007, when Senator Craig attempted to solicit a man in an airport bathroom for sex. What he did not know was that the man was a Roll Call reporter, and the story went up that night with accompanying audio. That killed his campaign and his political career. He withdrew from the race and did not run for re-election. In the end, it came down to the “polished” Mitt Romney and the “exciting” Michael Steele. Steele was able to win with a coalition of Mid-South/Mid-Atlantic as well as Midwest and Mountain West voters, winning 30 of the 51 contests. He chose Senator Alexander as his running mate, with experience in both state and federal executive as well as in the Senate.

As the summer gave way to the fall, the recession began to hurt President Gore and his party, but that was not all. In a surprising move, Vice President Lieberman, supposedly “vacationing in Minnesota” at the end of August, found his way onto the stage of Xcel Energy Center on August 26 where he officially endorsed the Steele/Alexander ticket. While he did not resign, he did officially announce he was becoming an Independent. With the Republicans with the momentum coming out of the convention and an overall better debate performance by Steele, with pundits calling Gregoire a bit “off her rocker” during the VP debate.

Steele/Alexander – 354
Kerry/Gregoire – 184

In the Senate, Bob Schieffer replaced Wayne Allard in Colorado, Jim Risch replaced Larry Craig in Idaho, John Neely Kennedy defeated Mary Landrieu in Louisiana, Norm Coleman avenged his loss to Mondale in 2002 by defeating Al Franken in Minnesota, Nebraska saw a seat handover from Chuck Hagel to Mike Johanns, Kelly Ayotte defeated Jeanne Shaheen in New Hampshire, Dick Zimmer defeated Robert Torricelli in New Jersey, Steve Pearce replaced Pete Domenici in New Mexico, and Mark Warner replaced John Warner in Virginia. Ed Bryant was appointed to the Alexander seat in Tennessee, and Wayne Gilchrest replaced President Steele in Maryland.

Republicans – 62 (+3)
Democrats – 37 (-3)
Independents – 1 (=)

For Governors, Jack Markell was the new Governor of Delaware and Pat McCrory in North Carolina. The real surprise was the loss of Vice Presidential nominee Christine Gregoire’s nominated successor, Representative Jim Moeller, to former State Senator Dino Rossi.

Republicans – 25 (+2)
Democrats – 25 (-2)


(Addendum: In 2007, Steve Beshear defeated Ernie Fletcher in Kentucky, Bobby Jindal replaced Kathleen Blanco in Louisiana, and Haley Barbour won re-election in Mississippi.)

Congressional Leadership 2009-2011
Speaker of the House: Roy Blunt (R-MO)
House Majority Leader: Eric Cantor (R-VA)
House Majority Whip: Jack Kingston (R-GA)
Conference Chair: Deborah Pryce (R-OH)
Conference Vice-Chair: Tom Reynolds (R-NY)
RNCC Chair: Tom Cole (R-OK)
Policy Committee Chair: Rob Portman (R-OH)
Chief Deputy Whip: Kevin McCarthy (R-CA)
House Minority Leader: Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)
House Minority Whip: Patrick Kennedy (D-RI)
Conference Chair: Bob Menendez (D-NJ)
Conference Vice-Chair: Jim Clyburn (D-SC)
DCCC Chair: Xavier Becerra (D-CA)
Policy Committee Chair: Marcy Kaptur (D-OH)
Chief Deputy Whip: John Lewis (D-GA)
President Pro Tempore: Ted Stevens (R-AK)
Senate Minority Leader: Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
Senate Minority Whip: Kay Bailey Hutchinson (R-TX)
Conference Chair: Rick Santorum (R-PA)
Conference Secretary: Jon Kyl (R-AZ)
Policy Committee Chair: George Allen (R-VA)
NRSC Chair: John Ensign (R-NV)
Chief Deputy Whip: Bill Frist (R-TN)
President Pro Tempore Emeritus: Robert Byrd (D-WV)
Senate Majority Leader: Harry Reid (D-NV)
Senate Majority Whip: Hillary Clinton (D-NY)
Caucus Secretary: Barbara Mikulski (D-MD)
Policy Committee Chair: Byron Dorgan (D-ND)
DSCC Chair: Chuck Schumer (D-NY)
Chief Deputy Whip: Jack Reed (D-RI)

[rpryor03]

I, Michael Stephen Steele, do solemnly swear...

[rpryor03]

The Steele Cabinet

President: Michael Steele, former Senator (R-MD)
Vice President: Lamar Alexander, former Senator, Governor, and Secretary of Education (R-TN)

Secretary of State: Jon Hunstman, former Governor and Ambassador (R-UT)
Secretary of the Treasury: W. Mitt Romney, former Governor (R-MA)
Secretary of Defense: Joe Lieberman, former Vice President and Senator (I-CT)
Attorney General: Fred Thompson, former Senator (R-TN)
Secretary of the Interior: Barbara Cubin, former Representative (R-WY)
Secretary of Agriculture: Calvin Dooley, former Representative (D-CA)
Secretary of Commerce: Lewis Eisenberg, venture capitalist (R-NJ)
Secretary of Labor: John Engler, former Governor (R-MI)
Secretary of HHS: Mike Huckabee, former Governor (R-AK)
Secretary of HUD: Steve Preston, businessman (R-TN)
Secretary of Transportation: Bill Graves, former Governor (R-KS)
Secretary of Energy: R. James Woolsey Jr., former CIA Director (D-MD)
Secretary of Education: Tom Kean, former Governor (R-NJ)
Secretary of Veterans Affairs: Tammy Duckworth, former Director of the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs (D-IL)
Secretary of Homeland Security: Bill Bratton, former NYPD Commissioner and LA Police Chief (D-CA)
Chief of Staff: John Lehman, former Secretary of the Navy (R-DC)

[Kingpoleon]

Who have been the Governors of Arkansas and who are the Senators/Representatives of Arkansas?

What is Winthrop P. Rockefeller? A Representative or something?

[rpryor03]

Who have been the Governors of Arkansas and who are the Senators/Representatives of Arkansas?

Jimmie Lou Fisher is finishing up his second term as Governor of Arkansas and will be retiring at the end of this term. Senators are Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor. Representatives are Marion Barry (1st), Vic Snyder (2nd), John Boozman (3rd), and Mike Ross (4th).

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I'll ask my friend Dr. Bones to answer this question.

[Captain Chaos]

The Presidency of Arnold Albert Gore Jr
Part Four: 2007 and 2008
SNIP

Looks like Steele is the Obama analogue and Gregoire is the Palin analogue.

[rpryor03]

You must be logged in to read this quote.

[rpryor03]

The Presidency of Michael Stephen Steele
Part One: 2009-2011

President Steele was brought in with a united Congress, and so he quickly dispatched VP Alexander and Secretary Romney to continue the US humanitarian efforts (plus some hunting for Al Qaeda) in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Iran. Back at home, President Steele oversaw the stimulus passed under President Gore as well as the passing of the landmark Education Reform Act, which included many provisions for STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) programs, as well as for work in urban school districts. Both of these policies are believed to be the brainchild of Secretary Kean. President Steele also got two appointments to the Supreme Court, choosing Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Diane Sykes to replace Sondra Day O’Connor and Maryland Court of Appeals Judge Brett Kavanaugh to replace Anthony Kennedy. When elections came around again, Congress had not done much per the norm.

For the Senate, with seats open that they could have won, the Democrats worst enemy was candidate selection in states thought winnable, such as Indiana, Florida, and Ohio. John Boozman won in Arkansas, Michael Bennet in Colorado, Susan Bysiewicz in Connecticut, Charlie Crist in Florida, Dan Coats in Indiana, Jerry Moran in Kansas, Jack Conway in Kentucky, David Vitter in Louisiana, Sarah Steelman in Missorui, John Stephen in New Hampshire, Elaine Marshall in North Carolina, John Hoeven in North Dakota, Jean Schmidt in Ohio, Joe Sestak in Pennsylvlania, and Rick Larsen in Washington. They certainly weren’t able to regain the Senate, but they were able to stop auto-cloture. And at the end of the day, that’s all Harry Reid realistically needed.

(Addendum: Noted Professor and Activist Elizabeth Warren defeated Scott Brown to hold Ted Kennedy’s Senate seat.)

Republicans – 59 (-3)
Democrats – 40 (+3)
Independents – 1 (=)

For Governors, it was a bit different. Ron Sparks defeated Roy Moore in Alabama, Jan Brewer was elected in Arizona, Bill Halter in Arkansas, Jerry Brown in California, John Hickenlooper in Colorado, Dan Malloy in Connecticut, Alexander Johnson in Florida, Malama Solomon in Hawaii, Pat Quinn in Illinois, Terry Branstad in Iowa, Sam Brownback in Kansas, Eliot Cutler in Maine, Ike Leggett in Maryland, Virg Bernero in Michigan, Mark Dayton in Minnesota, Brian Sandoval in Nevada, Susana Martinez in New Mexico, John Kasich in Ohio, Mary Fallin in Oklahoma, Dan Onorato in Pennsylvania, Frank Caprio in Rhode Island, Vincent Sheheen in South Carolina, Dennis Daugaard in South Dakota, Bill Haslam in Tennessee, Jim Doyle in Wisconsin, and Matt Mead in Wyoming.

Democrats – 27 (+2)
Republicans – 22 (-3)
Independents – 1 (+1)

(Addendum: As shown in the map, Acting Governor Gary Herbert was elected to a term in his own right in Utah. Terry McAuliffe was elected Governor of Virginia in 2009, and Jon Corzine was re-elected in New Jersey.)

Congressional Leadership 2011-2013
Speaker of the House: Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)
House Majority Leader: Patrick Kennedy (D-RI)
House Majority Whip: Jim Clyburn (D-SC)
Conference Chair: Bob Menendez (D-NJ)
Conference Vice-Chair: Xavier Becerra (D-CA)
DCCC Chair: Tim Ryan (D-OH)
Policy Committee Chair: Marcy Kaptur (D-OH)
Chief Deputy Whip: John Lewis (D-GA)
House Minority Leader: Jack Kingston (R-GA)
House Majority Whip: Tom Reynolds (R-NY)
Conference Chair: Rob Portman (R-OH)
Conference Vice-Chair: Kay Granger (R-TX)
RNCC Chair: Greg Walden (R-OR)
Policy Committee Chair: Tom Price (R-GA)
Chief Deputy Whip: Kevin McCarthy (R-CA)
President Pro Tempore: Orrin Hatch (R-UT)
Senate Minority Leader: Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
Senate Minority Whip: Kay Bailey Hutchinson (R-TX)
Conference Chair: Rick Santorum (R-PA)
Conference Secretary: Jon Kyl (R-AZ)
Policy Committee Chair: George Allen (R-VA)
NRSC Chair: Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)
Chief Deputy Whip: John Barasso (R-WY)
Senate Majority Leader: Harry Reid (D-NV)
Senate Majority Whip: Hillary Clinton (D-NY)
Caucus Secretary: Barbara Mikulski (D-MD)
Policy Committee Chair: Chuck Schumer (D-NY)
DSCC Chair: Tom Udall (D-NM)
Chief Deputy Whip: Jack Reed (D-RI)