A New DKrol TL

[DKrol]

Hello folks!

I've been itching to get a new TL up and going for the past few weeks. I know, I've had trouble following a TL through since I wrote the third (maybe) Camelot Rises TL, but I've had a good long think about why they've all fallen apart. It's because they've been too niche-y, too specific, too much trying to do something cute. I want to get back to a good old-fashioned TL, where I change one thing and see how the world turns out (or how I think the world would turn out).

Here are a few ideas I've been working with, please let me know what you'd like and what you'd be most interested in. I really do value feedback from readers - I hate writing a TL and feeling like I'm writing it for myself.

Options

1) The People's President: Ross Perot wins in 1992. See what happens with the first independent president since George Washington.

2) The First Black President; Camelot Rises 4.0: A return to where I got my start in TLs. This time, it's RFK that lives.

3) No American King: Voters reject FDR's bid for a third term and chose Wendell Willkie in 1940. How does the businessman handle the War in Europe and the recovery from the Great Depression?

4) Compassionate Conservative: The September 11th Attacks are foiled by US intelligence. Without a national tragedy to respond to, George W. Bush carries on with the compassionate conservatism he campaigned on.

5) Other: Let me know what you'd be interested in reading.

[DKrol]

If folks want to wait a little bit before voting, I'm working on an intro/first post for each of the four options to give kind of a background/idea of where I'd be going from.

[NeverAgain]

I think #1 or #4 sound fun.

[DKrol]

The People’s President
The Tale of H. Ross Perot

Perot Joins Presidential Race
A.P. – February 20, 1992

Texas Businessman H. Ross Perot took to the airwaves of CNN’s Larry King Live to launch his bid for President of the United States. Perot, who made a fortune in the early computers and electronics surge, laid out a vision of a divided America on CNN, saying “America was designed to be governed by the people. Sadly, this is no longer the case, as a professional political class has emerged and grown in Washington and New York over the last thirty years”. Perot painted himself as the answer to that divide, with some commentators calling him “the people’s candidate”.

Perot will be running as an independent candidate, joining Republican President George H.W. Bush and a crowded Democratic field.


Clinton Secures Democratic Nod as Perot Snags Polls
Boston Globe – June 3, 1992

Yesterday, the Boston Globe can confirm, Arkansas Governor William J. “Bill” Clinton secured the Democratic Party’s nomination for President. This victory comes after a slow, drawn-out primary, which many felt lacked any A-List Democrats, with New York Governor Mario Cuomo, Tennessee Senator Al Gore, and Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis all choosing to sit the race out.

Clinton now begins the process of choosing a running mate, as the Democratic Convention approaches, with names like Gore, Senator Jay Rockefeller, and Congressman Lee Hamilton topping most lists. Last week, independent businessman Ross Perot announced his running mate would be Boston University President John Silber and the White House confirmed Vice President Dan Quayle would be re-joining President George Bush on the Republican ticket.

Clinton’s win over the Democrats comes after weeks of it being an all-but-decided fact and isn’t likely to shake up polling too greatly. In the last week, three new polls have come out showing Ross Perot leading both Clinton and President Bush. According to the A.P. Poll of Polls, the race stands with Perot at 27%, Bush at 21%, and Clinton at 19%, with about 33% of voters still undecided.


Perot Comes Out Swinging in Debate, Hits Homer
New York Times – October 16, 1992

Going into the town hall Presidential debate, nearly everyone was saying that businessman Ross Perot had to hit a home run to jettison his campaign into the final stretch. Today, everyone is saying that it is Ross Perot’s race to lose. On the debate stage, he looked professional, sounded sharp, and talked about specific issues and policies, all things he had been critiqued on during the campaign. He attacked both President Bush and Governor Clinton as “members of the professional political class” but trained most of his fire on NAFTA and the federal deficit. President Bush and Governor Clinton, in turn, spent most of the debate, attacking each other. President Bush said he “questions if Governor Clinton represents the kind of values we need in the White House” while Governor Clinton attacked Bush as “the most out-of-touch President since Herbert Hoover”.

While the two were bickering, however, Perot scored his real grand slam. Governor Clinton’s out-of-touch jab came as his response to a young African American woman asking, “How has the national debt personally affected each of your lives? And if it hasn't, how can you honestly find a cure for the economic problems of the common people if you have no experience in what's ailing them?” Perot approached the woman, looked her in the eye, and said, “I feel your pain. I’ve seen people across the nation fight with higher taxes, lower incomes, and jobs lost to Mexico. When people get laid off, I know them. When people struggle to get by, I talk to them. These are people that Washington has ignored and ignored for decades and I think it’s about time we did something for them”.

All polls of the debate showed Perot winning by at least 10%, and election polls show him taking a commanding lead. The A.P. Poll of Polls shows Perot with 44%, President Bush with 31%, and Governor Clinton with 22%, with only 3% of voters still undecided.

[DKrol]

The First Black President
Camelot Rises 4.0

Chapter I: The Only Time It Was Good To Be Running Late

Senator Bobby Kennedy, fresh off a victory in the California Primary, narrowly avoided a gruesome fate. His speech at the Ambassador Hotel ran nearly an hour over schedule, which led Sirhan Sirhan, an immigrant of Middle Eastern origin, to get anxious and draw the attention of security. They found several firearms and a knife on Sirhan’s person, quickly removing him from the building and taking him into custody. Members of the press, the public, and even Senator Kennedy were not made aware of the incident until well into the next day. Kennedy took it as a sign from God ordaining his campaign.

Kennedy’s good luck carried on. He won a comfortable 5% margin of victory in his home state of New York, effectively ending the protest candidacy of Senator Eugene McCarthy. With victories in both the most populous states and most primaries as a whole, the Democratic Convention wasn’t a serious issue for the Kennedy Campaign. Nostalgia for the late President Kennedy, and some arm-wrenching by Kennedy loyalists to McCarthy supporters, led to Bobby being nominated with more than 500 votes. As a move of reconciliation, Kennedy tapped California Congressman and McCarthy supporter Don Edwards as his running mate.

Senator Bobby Kennedy/Congressman Don Edwards (D) - 292
Former Vice President Richard Nixon/Governor John Love (R) - 201
Governor George Wallace/General Curtis LeMay (AIP) – 45

[DKrol]

No American King
How America’s Hero Became America’s Enemy

“The American people always took the two-term precedent seriously. Any President who had considered running for a third term was either swiftly rebuked by his advisors or by the public, depending on how far along in the process they were. It seemed that the two-term precedent set by George Washington had become a set law in 1940 and that Franklin Roosevelt would surely step aside. The Democrats weren’t left wanting for a nominee; their benches were full and brimming with bright minds eager for a go at the top spot. But Roosevelt bucked the precedent and, in July of 1940, told his aids he was running for a third term. Thanks to the strength he had built up within the Democratic Establishment over the last twenty-some years, Roosevelt easily bulled over any internal opposition and secured a third Democratic nomination. In a move to ease some concerns, he did dump Vice President John Nance Garner from the ticket, adding Agriculture Secretary Henry Wallace.



“Republicans latched on to the ‘enormous disrespect shown for the traditions of the nation’, as RNC Chairman John Hamilton described it. They were well aware they would need to launch a massive assault to claw their party back from the brink. Within days of President Roosevelt being re-nominated, posters, pins, and banners barring President Roosevelt’s face with a gilded crown on it and the tagline ‘Didn’t We Fight This Revolution Once?’ popped up across the nation. Many Republicans were eager to get their shot to fight with Roosevelt. Some of the biggest names in the Republican Party jumped into the fight: Senator Robert Taft, President Herbert Hoover, Senator Arthur Vanderburg, and Speaker of the House Joseph Martin all threw their hat into the ring. It was businessman Wendell Willkie, however, that caught the attention of Republican delegates. What better way to paint Roosevelt as a king, they thought, than to nominate someone from outside politics to face him? Willkie was nominated on the third ballot, alongside New Hampshire Senator Styles Bridges for Vice President.

Businessman Wendell Willkie/Senator Styles Bridges (R) - 296
President Franklin Roosevelt/Secretary Henry Wallace (D) - 235

“The talk of Roosevelt trying to crown himself king only gained more steam as the election progressed. Willkie took his campaign around the nation, undertaking an extensive, 22 state train tour that allowed him to come face-to-face with thousands of voters while Roosevelt largely remained in Washington. Of course, Roosevelt was monitoring the development of the War in Europe and the Nazi Blitz, but voters didn’t care. Willkie was one of them, out and about with them, listening to them. There were some voters who simply wouldn’t ditch the Democrats, leading to massive vote totals for President Roosevelt in the Deep South, but the Republican message resonated with voters more, much like the Democratic message had in 1932. Willkie ended up claiming 296 Electoral Votes, 30 more than were necessary to win.” – Robert Hofstadter, The American Century, 1968

[DKrol]

Compassionate Conservatism
The Softer Side of W.

March 9, 2001

“This if my first time addressing the American people from the Oval Office. I am coming to you tonight not as past Presidents have, to convey a great sadness, or to announce the beginning of armed conflict. I’m coming to you tonight to announce that a sadness, and a conflict, has been avoided. Earlier today, I authorized federal agents to seize the possessions and property of 19 individuals with ties to the Al Qaeda terror network. In that raid, they discovered a complex series of plans for an attack on American soil, turning commercial aircraft into weapons of mass destruction. Thankfully, we have the individuals in custody and our air control officers are on high alert for any other individuals who may have slipped away. But, let me be clear, there is no threat to the American people thanks to the great work of our intelligence community.” – George W. Bush, to the American people


September 21, 2001

“Today, I can gladly say to the children waiting for a high-quality education, help is on its way. To the mother, hoping her child can get into college, I can say help is on its way. To the teacher, begging for more supplies, more resources, more help, I can say help is on its way. Help is on its way thanks to the great work put in by Senator Kennedy, Secretary Paige, Speaker Hastert, and many, many others who put many sleepless nights into crafting a piece of legislation agreeable to all sides that addresses the needs of the people. We’re here today to announce the Teachers Educating American Children Help Act. We hope to see the TEACH Act signed into law by the end of 2002, so that our children can get learning, our teachers can get teaching, and our parents can get dreaming.” – George W. Bush, to the American people


January 20, 2002

“The United States is now entirely confident that it was the work of Osama bin Laden and his Al Qaeda network that laid the groundwork for the potential terror attack that American intelligence uncovered early last year. We are certain of this. Our intelligence also indicates that bin Laden is being hidden and supported by the Taliban government in Afghanistan. It is of vital international security interest that this Council addresses the kind of flaws in the global security apparatus that allowed such a potential devastating attack to be coordinated across national boundaries and across oceans.” – Colin Powell, to the U.N. Security Council


January 23, 2002

“Jeez, The World’s Greatest Hero really showed his military brass the other day, huh? Maybe we should talk to him about reigning it in a little bit, at least when he’s talking in public.” – George W. Bush, to Chief of Staff Andy Card

[DKrol]

There's all four. Let me know what you think of them.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

Number four.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

All are awesome ideas. I vote for 4.

[DKrol]

People's President and Compassionate Conservatism are clearly the top two vote getters. I've reset the poll to a run-off between them. I'd like to start writing tomorrow, so about 24 hours for this run off.

[OSR stands with Israel]

People's President and Compassionate Conservatism are clearly the top two vote getters. I've reset the poll to a run-off between them. I'd like to start writing tomorrow, so about 24 hours for this run off.

how did u reset the poll

[DKrol]

People's President and Compassionate Conservatism are clearly the top two vote getters. I've reset the poll to a run-off between them. I'd like to start writing tomorrow, so about 24 hours for this run off.

how did u reset the poll

I hit "edit poll" and then reset all votes to 0.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

Still Bushie. We already have an active Perot TL, I think.

[RC (a la Frémont)]

All are good except 3 IMO

[Progressive]

I'm doing an active Perot 1992 TL already, albeit, with an end game that focuses on the Bush dynasty. 

[The Other Castro]

You're one of my favorite TL writers and I'm sure either will be great, though I'm partial to Compassionate Conservatism.

[DKrol]

Thanks for all the great feedback so far, however, I've had a death in the family this evening. As such, I will be taking a bit of time off from writing and other activities to be with my loved ones.

[DKrol]

Compassionate Conservatism will start soon. Possibly this evening, definitely tomorrow.

[Blackacre]

This'll be interesting.