A Domestic Storm: 1992 Alternative Timeline

[The Duke]

I will be writing an alternate timeline for the 1992 election and the aftermath of the election.  The timeline diverges into fiction on March 10th, 1992.  This timeline will be written essentially as a short story, differentiating it from most timelines here.  I will try to make the timeline realistic, and I will try to keep the characters (all of whom are real people) true to their real life selves.  However, dramatic license will be taken as conversations and scenes are invented and history is re-written.  I hope you all enjoy my little experiment.

[The Duke]

Episode One: The Pilot Episode

The President finished his remarks as Super Tuesday drifted into Wednesday.  The speech was pedestrian, but it did not need to be great oratory.  Only the staffers in the campaign headquarters in Arlington Virginia were there to here it anyway, and they were a naturally friendly audience.  The President left the stage to polite applause and proceeded to ride back to the White House with his head pollster Robert Teeter.

For a while, neither man said anything as the President's limousine crossed the Arlington Memorial Bridge.  It was the President who broke the silence just as they approached the Lincoln Memorial.

"What did you think of the event?" He asked.

"It was fine." Replied Teeter.

"You don't sound very enthused." Said the President.

"It was fine.  It was a fine event.  If I don't sound enthused its because if you've seen one speech to a campaign staff you've seen them all."

"Well, Tony's a pretty good writer so I wouldn't say that this speech was just another speech."

Tony's a good enough writer not to waste his good stuff on a room full of people at least most of whom I'm pretty sure are voting for us already."

The President smiled a bit at Teeters quip.  "Do you have the new campaign internals yet?"

No," replied Teeter, "They'll be ready first thing tomorrow.  We have some stuff to do before they're ready for you."

The President nodded as the limo approached the White House.  The car parked at the ellipse and Teeter and the President got out.

The President went to the Residence as soon as they arrived, while Teeter went to see Chief of Staff Samuel Skinner.

Teeter found Skinner in his office finishing the day's work.  Skinner did not acknowledge Teeter's presence at first.

"I have the newest campaign internals." Teeter said after a moment.  Teeter's face revealed a gloom about the numbers.

Skinner looked up and removed his glasses.  Apprehensively, he asked, "How bad are they?"

"Strong leader is at 46-52.  Honest and trustworthy is at 38-59.  We lead a hypothetical matchup with Clinton by only four points in a two way race and by just two if Perot is included." Teeter revealed.  He spoke as if he were diagnosing a cancer patient.

"What's the overall job approval number?" Asked Skinner.

"Forty one." Replied Teeter.

"Have you told the President?" Asked Skinner.

"Not yet.  I told him they won't be ready until tomorrow morning.  I wanted him to be able to enjoy tonight before he has to worry about the general." Said Teeter.  "I didn't just come to tell you the numbers either.  I came here to tell you that historically, a President's job approval number is a very good indicator of how many people are going to vote to re-elect him.  I came here to tell you that at 41% there is absolutely no chance that the President can be re-elected."

"And?"

"And I think we need to bring in senior White House and campaign staff to decide on a new direction for the campaign.  We need something good enough to take to the President to convince him that we have to change the direction of this thing."

Skinner does not reply, but he is clearly processing the information.

"Sam, this is going to have to be the "Come to Jesus" meeting."

Skinner remains quiet, still thinking.  He breaks his silence after a long pause.

"Do you have a new direction in mind?" He asked.

"Yes.  Yes I do." Said Teeter.

"Alright.  Let me hear it."

[The Duke]

Awesome stuff John.  Looking forward to reading more.

Thanks much.  I appreciate the positive feedback.

[The Duke]

Episode Two: The Come to Jesus Meeting Part I

"What does he want to talk about?" she asked.

"The campaign." he replied.

"I could guess that much.  I didn't imagine he was planning a trip to the zoo."

The atmosphere was tense in the White House, and the conversation between White House Press Secretary Marlin Fitzwater and Campaign strategist Mary Matalin reflected it.  Everyone was edgy towards everyone else, even those who liked each other.

"Teeter thinks we're headed in the wrong direction." Fitzwater said.

"The President doesn't agree."

"The President is wrong and you know that.  Teeter is right, this has got to be the Come to Jesus meeting."

The two old hands continued their conversation as they proceeded through the West Wing offices towards the Roosevelt Room.

"Where is the President right now?" asked Matalin.  "He's going to want to know why the entire senior staff if meeting across the hall."

"He's with Gates in the Oval."

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Robert Gates sat across from President Bush on the couches in the Oval Office.

"Fighting in Sarajevo has intensified since the referendum.  Things are getting very ugly over there.  We expect this situation to get worse not better, and I don't think there's any way that Bosnia remains part of Yugoslavia at this point."

"Robert, I'm leaning towards recognizing independence for Bosnia.  It’s the de facto reality on the ground anyway." the President said.  "How about Somalia?"

"We continue to see vicious fighting in the capital.  Without some kind of international intervention the whole country is going to starve to death." The CIA Director informed Bush.

"That's what everyone says." The President said.  "I don't want to be policing civil wars on two continents, staying out of things like this is why I didn't go to Baghdad last year."

"I think you're going to find that we will be called on to complete missions like this more and more as time goes on."

"Why am I starting to miss the Cold War?" the President muttered sarcastically.  "Thanks, I always appreciate you coming in here."

"Thank you, Mr. President." Replied the Director.  He stood and shook the President's hand and was shown out by the President's personal aide.

The President's secretary entered the Oval.

"Mr. Teeter is waiting." She said.

"Send him in." Said the President.  He was now standing behind the Resolute Desk reading his PDB, which like his personal briefing focused on Somalia and Bosnia.  Teeter entered the room.

"What's going on in the Roosevelt Room, Bob?"

"It's a bull session, sir.  Nothing for you to be too concerned about."

"Sam says you have some ideas for the campaign.  Some of them are pretty ambitious.  Did you come up with them by yourself?"

"No, sir.  I had some help in generating them.  I wanted senior staff to kick them around before I presented them to you.  That's what the meeting is about.  I think they can form the basis for a successful re-election strategy."

"We have our strategy.  Don't change horses in mid stream, that's the strategy."

Teeter paused, recognizing again that getting Bush to adopt a new plan for the general election would not be an easy sell.  He had to have the whole senior staff on board, and he had to try and get James Baker on board.  Baker had the President's ear more than anyone else other than the President' wife, even more than Skinner and Mosbacher.

"We're not changing.  Have your meeting, but I don't care what the polls say I believe people will come around."

"Yes, sir.  Thank you Mr. President."  Teeter left the Oval through the cutaway door and proceeded straight across the hall to the Roosevelt Room.  He found the senior staff already gathered.

There was Campaign Manager Robert Mosbacher, a friend of Bush's from Texas who had a white silk handkerchief in the breast pocket of his suit today.  There was Mosbacher's Deputy, Mary Matalin.  There was Press Secretary Marlin Fitzwater, whose tie needed to be straightened.  There was Sam Skinner, who had aged about five years in the last five months.  There was Tony Snow, the President's head speechwriter.  There was the Vice President's representative at the meeting, his Chief of Staff William Kristol, who smiled like a Cheshire cat and said nothing at all.

Teeter took his seat at the head of the table.  "Thank you all for coming in here today.  I've called this meeting because we have finished our only opposition in the primaries, we know who the presumptive Democratic nominee will be, and our job approval numbers came in today and they show we have a great deal of work to do if we want to survive this final stage of the election campaign.  We'll be starting the meeting in just a few moments, because one of our friends has not yet arrived."

"Who hasn't arrived?" asked Skinner.  "Everyone named in the memo is here.  This is senior staff."

"There's one person who wasn't named in the memo who I wanted to bring in.  Most of the ideas I have on how to turn this thing around came from him."

"Who?"

"The only guy on Earth who knows how to save this campaign."

"The ghost of Lee Atwater?" Snow joked.  Light laughter followed.

"Close." said Teeter, after a beat.

Looks of concentration came over the faces of the gathered strategists, as they tried to guess in their own minds who the last man to come to the meeting might be.

The door opened and in walked a short, bald man with tortoise shell glasses.  He was wearing an expensive suit and very nice shoes.

Bob Teeter smiled on seeing the man enter.  "I'm glad you could make it."  The rest of the room was silent.

"It's good to see you all again." He said.  "So, who wants to know how you're going to win this election?"

[The Duke]

So far, so good.

That means a great deal coming from the author of my favorite timeline ever (Nixon survives watergate).

[The Duke]

Episode Three: The Come to Jesus Meeting Part II

“I heard the name of the meeting, but I couldn’t decide who needed to come to Jesus, you or me.” said the man in the tortoise shell glasses.

Michael Deaver had not been to the White House in six years and ten months.  That streak ended when he entered the Roosevelt Room on March 11th, 1992.

Michael Deaver had been White House Deputy Chief of Staff from 1981 until 1985, primarily handling public relations for President Reagan.  Deaver was one of three members of what was called “The Troika”, a powerful and talented group of White House staffers that included James Baker and Ed Meese.  Baker and Meese went on to earn cabinet posts in Reagan’s second term (Baker as Treasury Secretary and Meese as Attorney General).  Deaver left the White House to start his own public relations and lobbying firm in May of 1985.

Two years later, he was convicted of lying to a Federal Grand Jury over his lobbying activities and was fined $100,000.  His defense was that he was addicted alcohol and valium at the time, and thus could not be expected to properly remember anything.  It was this fall from grace that led to Deaver’s being remembered by the general public as the least of the three men.  Most professional operatives knew better.  Those in the room certainly knew better.  Despite his long exile, he was still regarded as one of the best political minds on Earth.

He was not an imposing figure by any stretch, with his slight frame and soft voice.  He took his seat at the invitation of Bob Teeter.  He dispensed with pleasantries and, without any notes, began to lay out a plan to re-elect the President of the United States.

He began by explaining his strategy to remove Perot from the race, a point he deemed crucial to winning.

“You can’t win with Perot in the race.” he said.

“Our polling shows that Perot doesn’t take many more votes from us that he does from Clinton.” objected Matalin.  “Our lead is 4 with Perot out and 2 with Perot in, that’s not much of a difference.”

“The main problem is not that Perot is directly removing votes from your column and adding them to his, though he is dong that , too.  The main problem is that Perot creates an atmosphere of discontent so powerful that people will feel that change is necessary.  It’s hard enough to fend of attacks from the opposition party, but having to also fend off attacks from a second candidate whose entire campaign is based on sowing anti-incumbent sentiment poisons the well.  If Perot keeps pulling double digits in these polls, nothing else you do matters.  The public's view of the state of the nation will be so negative they will never re-elect an incumbent.”

“How do we stop him?” asked Mosbacher.

“In 1980, one of the keys to our winning was getting one on one with Carter in the debate.  We kept John Anderson out of the debate.  This let us directly engage our opponent.  We knew in a three way debate, two things would happen.  First, Anderson would grandstand and steal the show.  Nothing our candidate did would garner attention, people would be fascinated by the quixotic spoiler.

“The second thing that would happen is we’d never get to directly challenge Carter’s record and make him defend it.  We wanted him to defend his record while the country was in recession and hostages were in Iran.  He couldn’t defend that, and we knew we’d never get to force him to try with Anderson on stage.”

“But how?  How do we get Perot off stage?” asked Mosbacher.

“You don’t.  You get Clinton off the stage, and you don’t wait for the Commission on Presidential Debates to put their event together in October, you do it right now outside the normal process.  You want to marginalize Ross Perot?  Challenge him to a one on one debate with the President.”

“We can’t put Perot on stage with President, it makes it look like they’re equals, like they’re on the same level.” complained Matalin.

“If you let the media treat Perot like a credible candidate, then that is what will make him appear to be on the same level as the President.  You have to expose him as a fringe candidate and you have to do it now before his position as a legitimate alternative is cemented.  You have to engage him in prime time and let voters see the difference between serious and not.  The contrast between the President of the United States and a guy who’s never run for dog catcher will be plain as day.  Expose Perot, and do it now while opinions of the man are still malleable.”

“Who would host the debate?  The Commission will never host a debate that excludes Clinton.  And would Perot agree to it?” asked Mosbacher.

“Both questions have essentially the same answer.  I believe we can get Larry King to host the debate, as he has given Perot tons of free media already.  Perot will not turn down a chance to go one on one with President Bush, especially if he believes he will get his moderator of choice.”

“Assuming this works and we push Perot into single digits and the D Section of the Post, what’s our plan to beat Clinton?” asked Tony Snow.

“The first part of the plan is to let the media pick away at the character question.  If we push the character issue, we look petty.  But if we don’t touch the issue, the media will push it for us because it’s a good story.  There will be a temptation to attack Clinton’s sex life, but you have to lay off that temptation understanding that the press will push the issue for you and every day you talk about sex is a day that you’re not using George Bush’s greatest asset in this campaign.”

“What asset is that?” asked Snow.

“That he is the President of the United States and Bill Clinton is not, and that the President of the United States can control the agenda like no one else on Earth.”

“What’s the agenda?”

“An aggressive domestic agenda, focused on three areas that my friend Bob Teeter’s poll tells us have uniquely high levels of support from the voters.  First, we propose a highway and infrastructure revitalization plan.  The nation’s infrastructure is decaying, and reconstruction is a higher priority for most voters than politicians realize.  Second, we propose an aggressive federal crime fighting program, focused on gangs and violent crime which are an increasingly salient issue as crime rates rise nationwide.  Third, we push for tax reform.  Simplifying the tax code is an always popular, traditionally Republican issue that we can sell as a something that can boost the economy.  It also allows us to regain the tax issue, which is the best club in this party’s bag, and an issue that you’ve been unable to touch since the 1990 budget deal. This domestic agenda will allow us to regain ground on our weakest issue: The economy.”

“How much will these plans cost?” asked Mosbacher.

“Not much.  Tax reform is revenue neutral, and fighting crime and fixing highways will cost only a small fraction of the federal budget.”

“Now all we need is a catchy name.” Matalin deadpanned.

“No, I’ve got that ready for you, too.”

“What’s the name?”

“A Domestic Storm.”

Everyone started smiling a little bit.

“I don’t know how to sell the President on this.” said Mosbacher, returning the room to reality.  “He’s set on his current course, and this is a big change.”

“You sell him this plan the same way PT Barnum once sold a truckload of white salmon: By putting a sign on it that said ‘Guaranteed not to turn pink’.”

Deaver rose from the table at about the two hour mark.  He had most of the room convinced, but not all of them were totally sold.  The meeting disbanded, and Robert Mosbahcer was congratulating Deaver in the hall as he escorted the man out of the West Wing.

“That was some good stuff, we want to chew on it but we’ll give you a call in a few days and maybe bring you back in to talk more.  I’m not blowing smoke up your rear, either, this is good stuff.  This is the kind of stuff we need right now.”

“Thank you, Bob.  Hey, there is one more thing you should do, and I certainly didn’t want to say this with Kristol in the room.  This needs to stay between us for now."

”What is it?”

The two men stopped walking just before they reached the exit.  Then Deaver answered.

“There is no electoral math that I can come up with, none at all, that doesn’t say you should replace Dan Quayle on the ticket in 1992.  And I have two names I want you to look at.”

[The Duke]

I apologizxe for not getting another episode out yet.  I have had to work a lot and haven't had time to structure how I want the story of the episode to play out.

Tommorrow I hope it will be up.

[The Duke]

Episode Four: The Optimist and the Pessimist

"No!  Are you out of your mind!" the President exclaimed.

"That's not quite what we were hoping you'd say." Muttered Deaver.  Sam Skinner had gotten Deaver ten minutes with the President to lay out his strategy for re-election, and the President was not fond of any of it.

"Instead you were hoping I would agree to debate a lunatic who hates me because he thinks I intentionally abandoned POWs in Vietnam?  A man who hates me so much he's decided to spend $50 million of his own money running a hopeless and quixotic third party campaign against me even though he has no chance of winning just so he can hurt my chances of getting re-elected?  And you want that debate to take place on his home turf and you want me to exclude from this debate my only opponent who has actually been nominated for anything by anyone?"

"Yes, that's pretty much what I was hoping you'd agree to." Deaver replied calmly.

Bob Teeter and Sam Skinner watched the exchange with a bit of shock at how adamant Bush was in his opposition to Deaver's strategy, and with some shock regarding Deaver's sedate reaction to a dressing down in the Oval Office.

"Mr. President," Teeter interjected, "Mike has made some good points and I think you should at least think them over before you make a judgment on them."

"I don't need to think about them any more.  Ross Perot will go nowhere, he's a fad and he won't last."

"Sir, you're the only one in the room who thinks Perot won't last."

"Also I'm the only one in the room who's been elected President, so there you have it."  The President got up from his desk.  "Mike, thank you for coming in here, I appreciate your concern and your input, but we won't be changing the course of the campaign."  The President then left the Oval.

Bob Teeter, Sam Skinner, and Mike Deaver were left in the Oval Office.  "Boy, this is a really bad carpet." Deaver said.  "It's almost a turquoise.  President Reagan had a really nice off white carpet that helped open the room up, made it seem very spacious.  I'm not a fan of this new carpet."

"Mike, we have bigger problems than the carpet." Said Skinner.

"Of course we do, but changing the carpet anyway can't hurt matters."

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"Two kids, one an optimist and the other a pessimist, wake up on Christmas morning to see what their dad has bought them." Deaver said.  "They run downstairs and their dad tells them that each of their presents is in a different room of the house, and he shows each to the room where their present is.  He takes his son the pessimist to a room filled with toys, every kind of toy you can imagine.  He then takes his son the optimist to another room where there a huge pile of horse manure."

"Reagan used to tell a joke with horse manure?" Asked Skinner, incredulously.

Deaver chuckled, "Yeah, he did.  So the two kids each get their present, and the dad comes back an hour later to see how each is doing.  He finds his son the pessimist in his room full of toys crying.  'What's wrong?' he asks.  'This is too good to be true,' says the boy, 'I just know someone is going to come take these toys away from me.'  The father then goes to see his son the optimist, and finds him furiously digging through the manure.  'What are you doing?' he asks his boy, to which the child responds, 'Dad, I just know there's a pony in here somewhere.'"  Deaver begins laughing, but Skinner just furrows his brow.  He doesn't find anything funny right now.

Deaver stops laughing.  "Come on, Sam.  Lighten up."

Sam does not lighten up.  He sits at his office desk looking glum.  He also looks quite tired of Mike Deaver.

"Sam, he'll come around when he comes around.  He just needs to hear our plan from the right person at the right time.  I already know who the right person is, we just have to wait for the right time.  Things haven't bottomed out yet for the President, and that's what he needs to have happen before he changes his course.  Events must prove to him that Perot must be taken seriously and now."

"Things haven't bottomed out?  Our approval is 41%, they've pretty much bottomed out."

Deaver smiled. "Two guys are talking about their troubles, one is an optimist and the other is a pessimist.  The pessimist says 'Things can't get any worse.'  The optimist replies, 'Oh, yes they can.'"

[The Duke]

Episode Five: We Find the Defendants…

"…Not Guilty", read the jury foreman.

At 3:15 PM Pacific Standard Time, Police Sergeant Stacy Koon and Officer Laurence Powell were acquitted on all charges they faced regarding the savage beating of Rodney King.  The verdict, by a largely white jury, was based in large part on 13 seconds of footage that had not been made public from the videotape of the beating.  Within forty five minutes, a crowd had gathered outside the courtroom to protest the verdict.

A few hours later, a larger protest at the intersection of Florence and Normandie took place.  LAPD abandoned the area, leaving it to the protesters, who at this point were mostly peaceful.  The decision to leave the intersection unguarded proved t be fateful.  At 6:45 PM, truck driver Reginald Denny stopped at a red light at this intersection and was dragged from his vehicle and brutally pummeled by black gang members.  The punched and kicked him, threw him to the ground, and as he lay unconscious, smashed his skull with a cinder block.  A television news helicopter captured the incident live.  Shortly thereafter, Fidel Lopez, a Central American immigrant was dragged from his vehicle and beaten at the same intersection, and this too was captured on television.  The police never arrived.  They had ceded a piece of Los Angeles to rioters and the gangs now held undisputed control of territory.  Revolt became revolution.

Within hours, cars were being broken into, stores were being robbed, rioters were throwing Molotov cocktails, and the violence had spread from South Central to Inglewood.  Police Chief Daryl Gates was at a political fundraiser that evening, and the leaderless LAPD failed to take control of the crucial first hours of the riots.  By 8:45 PM, Mayor Tom Bradley was forced to ask the Governor to declare a state of emergency.  The Governor complied, and 2,000 members of the National Guard were deployed to the streets of Los Angeles to take back control of the city.  By the time the order was issued, it was past midnight on the east coast and the President was asleep.   He had to be woken and informed of the situation in Los Angeles.

The President entered the Oval at 12:40 AM on Day 2 of the riots.  He found Chief of Staff Samuel Skinner and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Colin Powell, waiting for him.

"Mr. President," Skinner said, "We have a situation in Los Angeles."

"Boy, you ain't kidding." Replied the President.

"The Governor has declared a state of emergency.  The California National Guard will be deploying to Los Angeles out of Camp Pendleton but they can't get there for 24 hours."

"Why 24 hours?  Camp Pendleton is only, what, 80 miles from downtown Los Angeles?"

"They have equipment issues." Powell explained.  "Not to mention they have to assemble 2,000 citizen soldiers before they can move in."

"How bad are things on the ground?" The President asked.

"Very bad, sir." Powell answered.  "In Koreatown, the shopkeepers have formed an ad hoc militia to defend their community from black rioters.  We have black gangs fighting Korean shopkeepers and both sides are heavily armed and surprisingly well organized.  We have a race war going on in an American city."

"Mr. President, we'll need you to make a public statement first thing tomorrow morning.  We need you to speak on this matter, preferably during the morning shows.  The networks will cut to you live in the briefing room and you can try to urge people in Los Angeles to stay calm." Argued Skinner.

Powell disagreed.  "We have armed gangs taking over sections of the second largest city in America and the police have been driven out of some neighborhoods entirely.  He's not going to stop the violence by interrupting Good Morning America."

Skinner's pager went off.  He reached for it.

"What does it say?" Asked Powell.

"It's from Mike Deaver.  It says, 'Tipping point.  Get President to California.'"

[The Duke]

Episode Six: Operation Cease and Desist

Bob Teeter clung tightly to his armrest.

"I don't like flying." He said.

The President calmly continued reading his briefing book as Air Force One descended towards El Toro, a Marine Air Station in Orange County.  "We'll be landing in a moment, relax."

"I can't relax.  Landing is the part I hate most."

"That's because you've never been shot down.  In World War II my plane was shot down and had to make a forced water landing, so I'm pretty happy every rime a plane I'm in lands on actual land.  You know what I've always wanted to do," said the President as he lay his briefing book down, "skydiving.  I've always wanted to do that, it looks like a lot of fun."

Teeter was silent and stiff.

The President looked over at him.  "You stopped talking." He said.

"I was just wondering about the millions of people who voted for you to be leader of the free world and whether or not they knew they were electing someone who thinks it looks fun to jump out of a perfectly good airplane."  Said an increasingly tense Teeter.

"You know right after this, we get to fly on a helicopter."

"Excellent." Teeter said, sarcastically.  He winced as the plane's wheels hit the runway.

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The President hopped out of the helicopter and was met by Pendleton's base commander.  Deaver had let local media know that the President would be arriving, and arranged with the base to have them film the President's exit from Marine One.  It was as great a visual as Deaver thought it would be.

The commander explained the current situation to the President as they walked towards his command center where he found Governor Wilson being briefed.  CHP units were being flown in to provide backup to local first responders.  LAPD were starting to take back the city block by block.  Rioting continued, but it was clear that the situation would be under control soon enough.  The Guardsmen at Pendleton were preparing to depart for Los Angeles in what was to be called Operation: Cease and Desist.

After the briefing was over, the President and the Governor addressed the media and took questions.  The President promised that "anarchy will not be tolerated, and we will restore order to Los Angeles."

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Mike Deaver and Sam Skinner watched the President and the Governor's joint press conference on CNN in Skinner's office in the West Wing.  President Bush was answering questions, with Governor Wilson standing beside him.  Mike Deaver and Sam Skinner watch press conferences like most people watch basketball games, calling instructions their favorite team as they watch them on television.

"Are you worried that putting the army on the streets will threaten the civil liberties of Americans?" asked a reporter.

"Redirect." Said Deaver.

"What I'm worried about is violent mobs threatening the safety of Americans." The President retorted.

"Nice." Said Skinner.

"When will order be restored to Los Angeles?" asked another reporter.

"As soon as possible.  Of course, order could be restored right now if the rioters would stop rioting."

"Nice again." Said Skinner.

"That's the guy who won the Gulf War.  That's the guy people loved a year ago."  Said Deaver.

"Yeah, where the hell has that guy been?"

"I don't know which way you're leaning on part 3 of my plan to re-elect your boss, but I just want you to look at that shot on your TV screen with those two guys standing next to each other."

"It would win us California."

"Now that's a running mate.  Who needs Dan Quayle, anyway?"

"Easy, Mike." Said Skinner.  "We'll burn that bridge when we get to it."

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Day turned to night in Los Angeles, and night was lit by fires from all around the great city.  It was lit only by the fires, as the area afflicted by riots had lost its electricity.  National Guard began arriving on the city streets in armored vehicles and police began taking back the land they had surrendered the night before.

The city was nowhere near normal.  Two NBA playoff games were moved out of LA.  The Clippers-Jazz game was moved to Anaheim and the Lakers-Blazers game was moved to Las Vegas.  Santa Anita's racetrack was shut down.  Citizens were sold to spray water on the roofs of their houses so if ash fell on them it would not start new fires.  The Mayor had imposed a curfew, and there was to be no one on the streets this night.

But order was being restored.

[The Duke]

Thank you for all the nice comments, I'm glad the story is working out.

I'll hopefully have another episode up itommorrow.

[The Duke]

Episode Seven: The Truman Balcony

"Everything is going to fine in a few days.  Well, not fine, you know what I mean."

"Yes, Mr. President." Replied Sam Skinner.  Skinner was on the speakerphone and was watching first responders and national guard restore order live on CNN.

The President was in his quarters on Air Force One talking on the phone with his Chief of Staff.  "Will Teeter have new poll numbers for us by weeks end?" The President asked.

"Yes, sir.  We all expect you to show a substantial uptick.  You were great out in California.  That's what we need from you, and I don't mean just the campaign.  I mean the country."

"Thank you, Sam."

"I was wondering if, after the events of the last few days if you had thought about Mike Deaver's plan for a re-elect platform.  The riots have brought a lot of the issues he talked about to the fore.  I think this might be a good time to have the OMB start scoring some of the proposals."

"I've thought about it.  I still don't want to do it.  And I certainly don't want to follow his advice on going after Perot.  It would legitimize Perot in a way I don't want to do.  Besides, if I lay out an ambitious domestic agenda, won't someone ask where it's been for the last four years?"

"Alright." Sighed Skinner.  "We'll see you when you get back to the White House and congratulations again on your handling of the riots."

Back in Washington, Skinner hung up the phone.  He stared at his desk for a moment as the morning sun snuck through his blinds.

A man with a deep, gravely southern voice was sitting on his couch and had listened to the conversation.   It was James Baker.

"I think I should have a word with the President." Said the gravely voiced man.

"Yeah." Replied Skinner.  "He's softening up, but he's not ready.  I need you to push him along.  You have more influence with him than anyone but the first lady.  He'll listen to you."

"Yes he will.  I'll bring him along with the Domestic Storm bit and with the bit about Perot.  But we should hold off on the bit about Quayle, he won't be ready for all of this stuff at once."

"Thank you for doing this."

"Hey, Sam, if he loses we all lose, you know what I mean?"
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It was near sunset.  The President had been told that Jim Baker was waiting for him in the residence, and he was glad to hear the news.

"Jim!" He said happily when he saw the Secretary of State in his living room.  "It's good to have you back.  How was Egypt?"

"It was hotter'n hell." Replied the Secretary.

"So what brings you here, Jim?  I presume it's not the weather."

"Let's go out the Truman Balcony.  We'll talk there."

The Truman Balcony overlooked the south lawn of the White House, and provided Presidents with a perfect view of the Washington Monument and a not too bad view of the Jefferson Memorial.  In its original design, it was supposed to have massive awnings hanging from it.  Truman hated the awnings and thought they changed the character of the building for the worse.  Truman was right.  The awnings were removed from the final design.  The exceptional view remained.

The sun painted Washington a beautiful orange-red as it set to the west.  The city lights were starting to come on.  The President and the Secretary of State took a moment to gaze out over the railing at the city they saw beyond them like two kings who were rulers of all they surveyed.

"You've got to do it, George." Said Baker.  "You've got to push the Domestic Storm and you've got to take on Perot.  If you don't, then come next January the view from Kennebunkport will have to be good enough for you."

"I've got to be true to myself.  I can't run for re-election as something I'm not.  I ran as a Reagan Republican in 1988, but I'm just not that.  I coined the term voodoo economics for goodness sake.  Then I make that stupid taxes pledge knowing the odds were I'd have to break it.  Sure enough, I did and I've pay for it every day since.  I am what I am, Jim.  I'm an ambassador, a diplomat, I fought in a war as a young man and I led the nation in a war as an old man.  I know the world and how to deal with it.  I am not a domestic policy President and I don’t know how to be, and if I campaign as a domestic policy President I'll lose because that's not who I am.  I don't have the vision thing."

"Do you think FDR came up with the New Deal all by himself?  Do you think he was scribbling notes about aggregate demand on cocktail napkins as his train went from one campaign stop to another?  How about George Washington, would he have built the National Bank if it hadn't been for Alexander Hamilton?  Teddy Roosevelt didn't care a wit about food safety until he read The Jungle by Upton Sinclair, and that book convinced him to create the FDA.  No one does it alone, and you don't have to either.  You don't have to be Reagan because you don't face the circumstances he faced.  The Cold War is over and we have to re-brand the party and your Presidency for the new world we live in, and we can't re-elect you if all you're willing to talk about is how great you are at war and peace."

"You don't think war and peace matter to Americans."

"It's not that they don't matter, it's that they aren't the only things that matter.  Mr. President, you won't fail at this.  We won't let fail."

The President stared out at the monuments built to honor those who had once sat in his chair.  Straight ahead was a statue of the author of the Declaration of Independence, a man who in his term doubled the size of the young United States.  To the left was a 200-foot obelisk to the man who won America's war for independence and served as its first President.  The him and out of view from this balcony was yet another monument, this one to the man who freed the slaves.  The balcony itself was named for the man who rebuilt Europe after World War II and charted thee course in those heady early days of the Cold War, the only person ever to use an atomic weapon in anger.  There is no escaping history in this building, and it’s a tough curve to be graded on.

"If we're going to do this, how would we start?"

[The Duke]

I will be writing an alternate timeline for the 1992 election and the aftermath of the election.  The timeline diverges into fiction on March 10th, 1992.  This timeline will be written essentially as a short story, differentiating it from most timelines here.  I will try to make the timeline realistic, and I will try to keep the characters (all of whom are real people) true to their real life selves.  However, dramatic license will be taken as conversations and scenes are invented and history is re-written.  I hope you all enjoy my little experiment.

Please continue this soon. I enjoy reading it.

A new episode will be up tonight, and thanks for the kind words.  I always enjoy the positive feedback.

[The Duke]

Episode Eight: Ready
 
"I know that with the Soviet Union a memory, many Americans think foreign policy experience doesn't matter." The President said.   "I would disagree with that.  I think the American people would be wise not to elect a foreign policy novice in times like these because it may prove to be more important, not less important, to have experience when the world is in flux and we don't know what challenges lay ahead.   Someone with a steep learning curve may make mistakes that a more experienced hand might not make."
 
This was the second day of practice at Camp David for Bush's upcoming debate on Larry King Live against Ross Perot.   After the riots, Bush had essentially adopted all of Mike Deaver's suggested campaign strategy (With no small credit going to James Baker who had been brought on as campaign manager to replace Robert Mosbacher).
 
"Mr. Perot, your response." Marlin Fitzwater was playing the moderator.  Tony Snow was playing Ross Perot.
 
"I think if we're talking about Presidents making mistakes on defense matters, we shouldn't look any further than this President's appointment of John Tower to be Secretary of Defense.  That exactly the kind of mistake I don't have experience making."
 
"How about Perot makes a crack like that in the debate and I throw him out a damn window."  The President said as he sighed loudly.
 
The staff erupted in simultaneous objections.  Fitzwater's was loudest. "It's a legitimate question.   If we're going to argue that we won't make mistakes on defense issues we can be pretty sure the other guy is going to bring all the mistakes we made on defense issues."
 
"Nominating Tower wasn't a mistake." Objected Bush.
 
"He was defeated by the Senate." Snow said.
 
"He should not have been defeated by the Senate.  He was defeated by cheap personal attacks.   He was a good Senator who knew defense issues.  He was an excellent Arms Control Ambassador.  He would have been a great cabinet Secretary.   And it was sensible to nominate him at the time."
 
"So sensible, in fact, that his nomination died in the Senate."  Replied Snow.
 
"Most sensible ideas die in the Senate."  Said Bush.
 
"That's hard to dispute." Snow conceded.
 
"He was head of the commission that investigated Iran-Contra.  We were trying to shed the taint of Iran Contra and it made sense to nominate somebody with some integrity."   The President argued.  "Come to think of it, why did we stop making the integrity argument in that battle?"
 
"It was hard to argue that the nominee had integrity after it was revealed that the nominee was a womanizing alcoholic." Fitzwater interjected.
 
"He wasn't an alcoholic." Said the President.
 
"For a guy who's not an alcoholic, he sure drank a lot." Said Snow.
 
"He was just from Texas is all." Replied the President.
 
"And the womanizing?" Asked Snow.
 
"It's pretty tough for Senate Democrats to argue they can't confirm someone because he cheats on his wife."  Said Bush.
 
"Once again, that's hard to deny." Snow conceded.
 
"I feel like we're getting less and less productive.  Why don't we take a half an hour to clear our heads and then come back refocused on what we're doing." Said Fitzwater.   "And Democrats didn't oppose Tower because of his drinking and his womanizing, they opposed him because he was too close to defense contractors."
 
"Because heaven forbid the Secretary of Defense know something about how his department awards contracts." Said Snow, sarcastically.
 
The President had already walked away from the room and headed to his office where he had Sam Skinner on the line for him and picked up the phone.

"We've got a little break going on here, give me an update." Said the President.

"Well, first yesterday's speech to the Joint Session is getting rave reviews and CNN has replayed the good stuff about 500 times already this morning.  Wait, they're doing it again here's the best part."  Sam picked up his remote control and turned off mute on the TV in his office.

The image of Bush on the television began, "In just my lifetime, this country has overcome a great depression, won a world war, brought down the Berlin Wall, and put a man on the moon.   We have accomplished so much as a people for ourselves and for the world, and surely we can do it again.  In that spirit, I call upon this Congress to initiate a Domestic Storm, a program of initiatives whose purpose is to build an America stronger than it has ever been before."

"Great stuff." Said Skinner, and the TV was back on mute.  "The other story the media is covering is the confirmation of Lawrence Eagleberger as Secretary of State.  He's getting grilled over our policy on Crimea."

"That's because we don't have a policy on Crimea.  Two days ago they declare independence from the Ukraine and I'm supposed to have an answer about what to do except try to talk the Russians out of doing something stupid."

"They're the Russians, so doing something stupid is kind of their forte." Skinner was watching the confirmation hearing for Eagleberger on CNN with mute on.  "By the way, did you that all three of Lawrence Eagleberger's sons are named Lawrence Eagleberger?"

"You're yanking my chain."

"No, sir." Skinner insisted.

"That's pretty weird."

"Don't worry, I'm pretty sure we can get him confirmed anyway." Said Skinner dryly.  "How's debate prep going?"

"It's going, I don't know, it's going.  I'm still nervous about doing this on Larry King Live, that show is Perot's home turf."

"Well, good luck, sir.  We'll see you back in two days."  Skinner hung up and Tony Snow came into the room.

"Mr. President, we're ready to start again."

"The Crimean Peninsula has seceded from the Ukraine.  That's where much of the Russian fleet is still stationed and the population is largely ethnic Russian instead of ethnic Ukrainian, so you can see how this might be a problem."  The President paused and crossed his arms and thought for a moment.  "I don't mind blowing things like a confirmation battle.  I don't want to lose a confirmation battle, but it's not what keeps me up at night.  Stuff like this Crimea thing keeps me up at night, the stuff where people's lives are on the line.  There really isn't a chance for a learning curve; you have to be ready from day one to lead in times that are increasingly precarious and increasingly complicated.  During the Cold War it was easier in a sense because we knew who our friends and foes were and anyone, even a small state Governor or a businessman who's never run for office were prepared to face the world and knew something about the issues they would be facing once they got in office.  That's not true anymore.  Now you've got to be an expert on everything because there's no prediciting where the next crisis will come from  and when something goes wrong in some far corner of the world, there's no time to give the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces a two week seminar of the history and politics of Whatsthatistan.  A few weeks ago I met with the CIA Director on Somalia and Bosnia and he told me he thinks that we're going to be increasingly involved in nation building and stabilization missions that are wracked by civil war."  The President turned towards the window and continued.  "Who is ready to dive into the deep end of Somali clan politics?  Who is ready to stop a civil war in the Balkan Tinderbox before it spreads to Europe?  Who is ready from day one?  To be good at this job, you have to know so much that you never had to know before and real people's lives are on the line.  You've got to be ready from day one, and the list of things you have to be ready for keeps getting longer."  The President gazed out the window at the woods of Camp David.

"It's no easy task, and the hardest part is that no one can know if they've made a mistake until it's too late to undo it."  Said Snow.  "But I have faith we can face the world that is yet to come."

"Why?"

"Because there is at least one person who's ready for this."

"Who's that?"

"You.  You're ready."

[The Duke]

Episode Nine: Win California

The Governor of California had never had a reputation as a very exciting figure.  He had been born in Illinois, graduated from Yale, served as a US Marine, and came to California in his twenties to study law at UC Berkeley.  He got his start in politics at age 29 as a campaign worker for Richard M. Nixon.  He accumulated an impressive resume, as a state legislator, Mayor of a booming city, a US Senator, and Governor of the nation's largest state.  But it was not his biography, his resume, or his charisma (or lack thereof) that had brought him here to Samuel Skinner's office for a meeting with Skinner and James Baker.  No, the most appealing thing about Peter Barton Wilson was the 54 electoral votes he would deliver at the bottom of a Presidential ticket.

He did not know this was the reason for the meeting.  He had been told the meeting was a follow up on the Los Angeles Riots.

"I'm surprised to see you here, Jim.  I wouldn't think you'd have much interest in a domestic policy meeting right now." The Governor said.

"Right now, Governor, policy is politics." Baker coyly responded.

"Congratulations on beating Perot, by the way.  The President really took it to him in the debate, you should be very proud of your guy." The Governor congratulated Skinner and Baker.

"Perot went from polling in the mid teens to low twenties to polling in the single digits since the Larry King debate.  He's been exposed for what he is." Replied Baker.  "In our latest tracking poll, we're at 46, Clinton is at 40, and Perot is at 6."

"It looks like you're in a pretty good position to win this election."

"Yes, but we're not quite there yet.  Our head to head puts us six points up, but our job approval number is still below 50%.  Job approval is the number that tells us how many Americans are inclined to vote to re-elect us, and until it's over 50%, we're don't feel safe.  That means we feel like we still have a lot of work to do to ensure a win in November." Explained Baker.

"You're job approval is at 52%, by the way." Said Skinner.

"Where was I over 50%?  Is there a new Field Poll?" Asked Wilson, who was obviously surprised by the fact that there was a poll showing him at 52%.

"That was our poll.  We put a poll in the field in California." Said Baker.

"Boy, you guys must be desperate for some good news if you're doing polls on me." Wilson said wryly.  Baker and Skinner just smiled ever so slightly, not responding.  For a moment, the room was quiet.  "The campaign manager is here and you polled on me before you invited me to the White House.  I'm not here to talk about the riots am I?"

"No, Governor."  Said Baker.

"I'm here because you want to win California." Said Wilson.

"You're here because we are going to win California." Said Baker.  "If we did this, we would not make the announcement until six weeks from now, we'll do it right before the convention so as to not alert Dan Quayle to his being dropped until we absolutely have to reveal it."

"So, if you're President asks, you'll serve?" Asked Skinner.

"Of course." Said Wilson.

"Okay, then.  Let's go tell him that."

[The Duke]

This is very good, Written by Aaron Sorkin. I can't wait until election night. Is there a chance George H.W. Bush will win in 1992 over Clinton and Perot?

Unlike the real West Wing I'm not going to reveal the winner of the election beforehand.

[The Duke]

Finishing up a new episode.  I'm moving soon and I've recently spent a lot of time finding a new place to live.  I got myself a full ride to law school and I have to move over one county for that.

[The Duke]

Episode Ten: The Ticket

The entire white house press corps was in disarray.  Some were on the phone with sources, some were tracking down senior staff looking for quotes, and some were being interviewed by the network anchors who had interrupted normal daytime programming to cover the biggest story of the campaign so far.

Brit Hume was one of the reporters who was on air with his network anchor.  "Peter, we have heard that Dan Quayle has been dropped from the ticket and that Pete Wilson will be nominated for Vice President in Houston next week."

Peter Jennings was anchoring the special broadcast from ABC studios in New York.  "Brit, ever since the Democratic convention in New York last week, this race has been a dead heat.  The Governor got a nine point bump from that convention and our latest poll shows the race a statistical tie with Governor Clinton having 46% of the vote, President Bush having 45%, and Mr. Perot at 5%.  Is this move being made out of a sense of desperation at the tightness of this race?"

"Peter, there's no doubt that this is a play to win California and the President wouldn't have done this unless he thought he needed to do it in order to win.  But, everyone I've talked to has told me that this move has been in the works for several weeks and is not a response to Governor Clinton's sudden bump in the polls."
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“Mr. Secretary, Mr. Kristol is here to see you.”

Baker was reading when his secretary came into his office.  “That figures.  On a scale of one to ten how mad does he look to you?”

“About a 53.”

“If you said I had gone out for a beer he probably wouldn’t believe me, so I guess just send him in.”

Kristol stormed into Baker’s office.  “You son of a bitch, how can you do this!  You give the Vice President no warning at all that you intend to replace him on the ticket!  The level of arrogance you demonstrate, stabbing this guy who has done nothing but campaign for your pal…”

“I suggest you refer to him as ‘President Bush’ instead of as ‘my pal’.”  Baker stood and stared nose to nose with an irate Bill Kristol.  Baker’s assistant shut the door behind them, knowing roughly what was about to transpire.

“Then he should act like he’s the President of the United States.”

“Listen, Bill, I know you don’t want to hear this, but it’s the truth.  Your pal is here for one reason and one reason only, because we wanted a baby boomer to deliver younger voters.  Instead he proved to be a liability.  And you, kid, are only here because some people in this building have a lot of respect for your daddy.”

“And you’re only here because you used to be George Bush’s tennis partner.”

“Screw you and your New York sense of humor.”

“Excuse me?  I hope you didn’t mean what it sounds like you mean.”

“You heard me.  We’re done here.”

“No, we’re not done.  We will make you pay for this.”  Kristol began charging out of the room.

“How are you gonna make me pay?  You gonna charge me interest on something?”

Kristol stopped before exiting, deeply stung by the remark.  He knew there was nothing worth saying, and he walked out the door.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

An hour later, with the press gathered in the Rose Garden, the President, the Governor, and the senior staff were in Oval.  Outside, the press waited for the Governor and the President to announce themselves officially as the new Republican ticket.

“Are you ready?” The President asked.

“Yes, sir.” Responded the Governor.

“Glad to hear it.  Before we got out there, I want to take this opportunity to thank Mike Deaver, without whom we wouldn’t be here.  He seemed to be the one guy who knew how much trouble this campaign was in four months ago, and he’s the reason we’re still in it.  I also want to thank Sam Skinner and Bob Teeter and Jim Baker for bringing me along with your plan.  When I think of how much you’ve done, all of you in this room, to try and get me re-elected, to get me to do the things I needed to do…” The President paused, “…it occurs to me I’ve never said thank you.  Well, now I’m saying it.  Thank you.  Governor, do you have anything you’d like to say to these guys?”

“Yeah.  Let’s go win this thing.”

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“What do I do now?” Quayle asked.

His Chief of Staff was in the Naval Observatory with him as he watched what could be the end of his career.

“We do the only thing we can do.  We’re getting you back on the ticket.”

“I think the only person who can put me on the ticket just decided not to.”

“There is another way on the ticket.”

“What way is that?”

“I need contact information for every single convention delegate.  We’ve got some calls to make.”

[The Duke]

The delegates at the convention have to approve the choices, and Wilson has some...liabilities...that would politically put him at odds with typical Republican delegates.

Incidentally, you nailed Kristol's personality...but why the insinuations of Baker's anti-Semitism...any rumors there that I'm missing?

There have been insinuations of, if not anti-semitism, then at least insensitivity.  Most famous is hi9s, "F--- the Jews, they didn't vote for us." quote, which has been attributed to him.

New update soon.

[The Duke]

Episode Eleven: Deadlock Part I

"We begin our coverage of the Republican Convention here in Houston, Texas and for the first time in thirty years there is something actually in doubt about a political convention." Tim Russert was co-hosting the Today Show on Monday, August 17th.  "We honestly do not know who the Republicans will nominate for Vice President, and we expect a floor fight between conservatives and moderates, between the establishment and the grass roots."
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Dan Quayle was spending the morning on the phone with delegates in the conference room of the Houston Marriott.  "Yes, as you know, Days of Thunder is my favorite movie." He pauses while the other line speaks.  "The official song of Florida?  I don't know.  Hello?  Hello?"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Governor Wilson was doing the same in his hotel room on the top floor of the Hilton.  "I assure you, I will do everything in my power to advance the interests of conservatives in this country."  The other line speaks.  "I only raised taxes as part of a compromise package and in return I got actual spending cuts from the legislature, not cuts in the rate of growth but actual cuts."  The other line speaks.  "Pennsylvania's state bird?"  He covers the phone with one hand and snaps his fingers at an aide with the other.  "A perfectly good question and one I actually know the answer to."  As Wilson buys some time the aide digs through a stack of papers, then looks at Wilson and whispers "Ruffed Grouse".  "The Ruffed Grouse is the state bird of Pennsylvania."  The other line speaks.  Wilson pumps his fist, "You will not regret that.  I thank you, sir."
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Back in Quayles headquarters, such as it was, Russert was n TV in the background as William Kristol laid out the state of affairs for the campaign.  "We can't win without North Carolina and Tennessee.  I think we need Florida, too.  All those states delegations are still undecided.  Wilson has the northeast locked up, and the three biggest delegations here are all in his camp - California, Texas, and New York.  We have most of the south and the plains states.  It's 1,023 votes to win this thing."

"How many do we have?" Asked a staffer.

"Six hundred-eighty six.  So find a phone and start calling people."

Quayle and Kristol stepped out of the conference room to deliberate away from the staffers.

"What are our chances right now?" Asked the Vice President.

"Not good.  We're going to have to pick up two thirds of the undecided delegates, and since we're on the outside looking in, only the other guy can start offering favors."

"What kind of favors?"

"Federal jobs, defense contracts, nights in the Lincoln Bedroom."

"When is the first ballot?"

"Buchanan gets to give the first speech of the convention, then we vote on the first ballot.  I've been pushing for an endorsement in his speech.  He had a lot of sway with the activists who make up the bulk of delegates, if he does endorse us over Wilson we can win, if not, I don't think we can win a one on one race against Wilson when the White House is pushing for Wilson."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As Patrick Buchanan took the stage, there was anxiousness in the Quayle box.  Elevated above the convention, the Vice President and his Chief of Staff, William Kristol, were transfixed on the stage.  In the President's box, George Bush looked down on his vanquished opponent with contempt.  Seated next to him were Michael Deaver and Jim Baker.  Also in their box were Governor Wilson and the First Lady.

Buchanan was welcomed by raucous applause.  He had not submitted his remarks before giving his speech, and no one knew what he was going to say.  "Well, we took the long way home, but we finally got here.  And I want to congratulate President Bush, and remove any doubt about where we stand: The primaries are over, the heart is strong again, and the Buchanan brigades are enlisted--all the way to a great comeback victory in November.  Like many of you last month, I watched that giant masquerade ball at Madison Square Garden--where 20,000 radicals and liberals came dressed up as moderates and centrists--in the greatest single exhibition of cross-dressing in American political history."

"Dammit."  Quayle muttered.  "If he's endorsing Bush, he'll endorse Wilson."

Buchanan was getting revved up.  "My friends, this election is about much more than who gets what. It is about who we are. It is about what we believe. It is about what we stand for as Americans. There is a religious war going on in our country for the soul of America. It is a cultural war, as critical to the kind of nation we will one day be as was the Cold War itself. And in that struggle for the soul of America, Clinton & Clinton are on the other side, and George Bush is on our side. And so, we have to come home, and stand beside him."

Back in Bush's box, the President enjoyed hearing Buchanan endorse him.

Buchanan continued, telling a story of the people he met while campaigning, "…the saddest days were the days of the bloody riot in LA, the worst in our history.  But even out of that awful tragedy can come a message of hope.  Hours after the violence ended I visited the Army compound in south LA, where an officer of the 18th Cavalry, that had come to rescue the city, introduced me to two of his troopers.  They could not have been 20 years old. He told them to recount their story."

James Baker put his arms in the air and smiled, as if celebrating a touchdown, "He's talking about the riots.  This is his segue to endorse Wilson."

" They had come into LA late on the 2nd day, and they walked up a dark street, where the mob had looted and burned every building but one, a convalescent home for the aged.  The mob was heading in, to ransack and loot the apartments of the terrified old men and women.  When the troopers arrived, M-16s at the ready, the mob threatened and cursed, but the mob retreated. It had met the one thing that could stop it: force, rooted in justice, backed by courage." Buchanan continued.

"Greater love than this hath no man than that he lay down his life for his friend. Here were 19-year-old boys ready to lay down their lives to stop a mob from molesting old people they did not even know. And as they took back the streets of LA, block by block, so we must take back our cities, and take back our culture, and take back our country."  The applause was loud, and filled the arena.  "My friends, I have been asked by some to take this opportunity to endorse one of the two candidates for Vice President that have submitted their names for the post."

"No it's not." Said Deaver.  "This isn't an endorsement."

"What is it, then?" Baker asked in an acidic tone.

"Mr. President, no matter Pat Buchanan says next, do not act surprised."

"Why not?"  Asked Bush.

"Because if he does what I think he's going to do, every camera in the building is going straight to you." Said Deaver.

Buchanan reached his finale, "I cannot in good conscience endorse a man whose intellect is so lacking as Mr. Quayle's, and I cannot endorse a tax hiker who supports abortion.  Neither of these men has what it takes to be the heir apparent to the Presidency, neither has what it takes to be the next Ronald Reagan or for that matter the next George Bush.  As I see neither of these men truly fit to lead, I feel I have no choice but announce my candidacy for the Vice Presidency of the United States!"

Many delegates cheered, and cheered loudly.

The networks did indeed turn their cameras to the President's box.  Despite Mr. Deaver's best efforts to warn him, Mr. Bush did look very surprised indeed.

[The Duke]

Episode Twelve: Deadlock Part II

"Texas will stick with us through the first ballot, but they're going shopping in the next round." Reported Deaver.  Governor Wilson was working the phones along with the staffers for the Bush campaign.  President Bush was with Sam Skinner in his suite planning what to do if Wilson did not prevail in the upcoming floor vote.

"We lost Pennsylvania." Bob Teeter yelled from across the makeshift war room in what was normally the locker room for the visiting team in the Houston Astrodome.

"How did we lose Pennsylvania?" Demanded Wilson.

"Conservative delegates were able to outvote moderates to push the state to Buchanan.  Pennsylvania's gone, so are Oklahoma and Virginia."

"What about undecided delegations?"

"North Carolina and Tennessee both went to Buchanan.  So did Louisiana.  I think Buchanan is going to have more delegates than Quayle by the end of the first ballot, and we're not going to get close to 1,023."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Quayle and Kristol were working feverishly to rally votes as the roll call began on the floor.  "We need Florida.  They were undecided until Buchanan announced and now they're leaning his way." Kristol said.  "I need to talk to the head of the delegation now."

The PA announced the results as delegates cast their ballots and the roll call of states went alphabetically.

The state of Alabama casts its 44 delegates for Patrick J. Buchanan!

"Wilson has the northeast locked up, Buchanan's picking up steam down south… we have to hang on to Michigan and Ohio or we won't even be on the second ballot." Mutterred Kristol.  "I need to get Governor Engler on the phone with the Vice President.  Right now.  Somebody find him and get him."

The state or Alaska casts its 20 delegates to Patrick J. Buchanan!

Quayle looked out the window of the VP's box at the convention floor, watching one after another the conservative delegations he needed slip to Patrick Buchanan, distress overcoming him.

The state of Arkansas casts its 24 votes for Patrick J. Buchanan!

"Get me Florida!"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On the Convention Floor, delegations continued to vote even as they were being lobbied by phone.

The south stayed with Buchanan.  Most of the plains stayed with Quayle.  California, Texas, and New York were with Wilson.  Florida went to Buchanan.  The Industrial states were split between the Governor and the Vice President.

In the bellows of the stadium, James Baker met with the three candidates for Vice President.

"We're gonna be deadlocked on the first ballot.  No one is going to get to 1,023.  One night of this is entertaining, its great TV.  But if we're still sitting here tomorrow night without a nominee, we're gonna look like idiots."

Quayle interjected, "I want a chance to address the delegates.  One of us has had a chance to do that, but not all of us."

"You'll address the delegates, each of you, tomorrow night.  We're canceling the regular speeches to put you up there in prime time.  You each get 20 minutes, and if you go over your time I'm cutting you off.  You get 20 minutes, not 21 or 20 and a half, you get 20 minutes and I don't care if I have to personally cut your microphone wire to get you off stage.  Draw straws to see who goes first."

Baker pulled out three straws.  Wilson would speak first, Quayle second, and Buchanan third.

In the background, "The state of Wyoming casts its 22 delegates for Vice President Dan Quayle.  Governor Wilson has 838 delegates, Mr. Buchanan has 634 delegates, and Vice President Quayle has 573 delegates.  Mr. Chairman, we do not have a nominee."

"Somebody better talk to somebody before 6pm tomorrow night." Said Baker.

[The Duke]

I am writing the conclusion to the convention on Saturday.  Sorry for the delay, this has been a very busy week, and I know its been a while since the last update.

[The Duke]

Episode Thirteen: Deadlock Part III

The Vice President's limo was driving from the convention center to his hotel.  Quayle and Kristol were alone in the back.

"I think I should consider withdrawing."  Said Quayle.

"I think you shouldn't." Responded his confidante.  "The convention won't nominate Pete Wilson.  With each ballot that goes by, his hand grows weaker.  If he couldn't get nominated on the first ballot, he can't get nominated at all."

"So we want Buchanan to be the VP?  I don't see how that makes sense for us."

"The delegates will turn to you once they realize their other choices are a poison pill for the ticket or a poison pill for the base of the party."

"Pat Buchanan managed to get almost seven hundred delegates within hours of announcing his intentions.  He is a very compelling choice.  He has more appeal to these delegates than you think."

"He didn't do all that in a few hours.  I guarantee you he had a lot of delegates locked up which is why so many delegations stayed undecided all week and then flipped as soon as Buchanan announced."

The limo pulled into the ellipse at the Vice President's hotel.

"Stay in."  Said Kristol.

"Alright." Said Quayle.

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It was 2am, and Mike Deaver and Bob Teeter were looking out of the President's now empty box at the now also empty convention floor.

"I'm meeting with the heads of the Michigan and Ohio delegations tomorrow." Said Teeter.

"You mean you're meeting with them today?" Responded Deaver.

Teeter looked at his watch. "Oh, Jeez, yeah, today I mean.  In the afternoon I've got Florida and Pennsylvania."

"Good luck with that."

"You don't sound optimistic."

"I'm not."  Said Deaver.

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"We aren't voting for your guy.  I don't care how many meetings we have, we can't do it."  Said the head of the Michigan delegation.

"If you don't vote for Wilson we're stuck with either tweedledumb or tweedlecrazy."

"That's you're problem not ours." Said Ohio.

"Of course its your problem because we can't win this election if we have an anchor at the bottom of the ticket we have to drag around for three months!" Teeter protested.

"What I mean is that we didn't decide to pick Dan Quayle four years ago and we didn't decide to pick Pete Wilson this time.  You got yourselves into this mess by elevating someone who is unqualified last time and switching to someone who is disqualified this time."

"You don't give us Wilson and we lose.  That's it.  That's the bottom line."

"We're not voting for a pro-choice VP.  That's our bottom line." Michigan Retorted.

"How do you think Bill Clinton's Supreme Court is going to look on life issues?  Why isn't that even part of the equation?"

"Apparently it will look a lot like Pete Wilson's Supreme Court." Quipped Ohio.

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Teeter, the President, and Governor Wilson were huddled with Jim Baker and Mike Deaver discussing delegate counts.  In the background, Pat Buchanan was delivering his speech to the delegates.  The sun had just set and the sky seen through the windows was a deep purple, the purple you get in Texas at about 8pm in August when the sun is out of view and its light hits the sky but not the Earth itself.

"The meeting with Florida and Pennsylvania didn't go any better than the one with Michigan and Ohio.  That leaves us 184 delegates shy of what we need."

"What effect did my speech tonight have on the delegates?" Asked Wilson.

"It was well received, but we have no idea if it will change any minds."

"We won't beat Clinton and Clinton by abandoning our principles!" Blared Buchanan on the television.  "We can only do it by embracing our principles, something Mr. Wilson is unwilling to do and something Mr. Quayle is unable to articulate!"

"Man, I hate that guy." Muttered the President.

"You may have to warm up to him because he's a stiff breeze away from being your running mate." Said Deaver.

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As Buchanan was wrapping up his speech, Dan Quayle was waiting in the bowels of the Astrodome.

"What's the delegate count?" He asked.

"We're having trouble hanging on to Mississippi and Kentucky right now.  We haven't picked up anyone today." Said Kristol.  "It looks like you were right about Buchanan, I was underestimating him.  Mr. Vice President, if you don't knock this speech out of the park, I don't see how we can win this nomination."

"Bill, pull the speech we wrote off the prompter, I'm just going to go and talk for a little bit."

Kristol was a little shocked.  "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, trust me."  Said Quayle.

"Alright, Mr. Vice President.  We'll pull it."

Quayle and Kristol could hear the crowd chanting, "Go Pat, Go!" as Buchanan wrapped his address.

"My fellow Republicans, I ask you to join the Buchanan Brigades for one last charge, I ask you to make me the next Vice President of the United States!  Thank you, God bless you, and God bless the United States of America!"

Buchanan walked off the stage and right past Quayle.  He smirked a bit, feeling as though he had just closed the deal with the delegates.  Quayle turned to Bill Kristol and extended his right hand.  "Shake my hand."

Kristol did so.

"Thank you." Said Quayle, and the handshake ended.

"For what?" Asked Kristol as Quayle turned to walk on stage.

As Dan Quayle walked into the bright white lights that lit the stage, he replied, "For everything."  As Quayle walked on stage, Kristol could see only his silhouette.

[The Duke]

Episode Fourteen: Deadlock Part IV

The President and his staff were gathered in his box to watch the final speech to be given by the candidates for Vice President.

"That was a great speech."  Said Teeter, referring to Buchanan's address.

"We'll hold on the second ballot, but after Quayle comes in third place again, his delegates will abandon him and go to Buchanan." Said Deaver.  "It's over."

"Unless the Vice President gives the greatest speech in the history of American politics." Said Teeter.

"Yeah, its over." Said Deaver.

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J. Danforth Quayle took the podium knowing that the odds of being re-nominated were prohibitively long.  So he did the only thing he could do.

"I have been given twenty minutes to speak to you tonight and tell you why I should be re-nominated as Vice President.  I assure you that to say what I have to say will not take anywhere near that time.  Four years ago, in the Vice Presidential debates, Senator Bentsen informed me that I was no Jack Kennedy.  Well, he was right.  I have never had President Kennedy's talent for the grand, soaring address.  I have never had his charisma.  I have never had the kind of intangible quality that he had.  You can't learn to have these things.  But as a young kid growing up during those years, I did learn one thing from Jack Kennedy.

"I learned to ask not what your country can do for you, but to ask what you can do for your country.  I have spent this entire convention asking what my country can do for me.  I have asked you, my fellow Americans, to re-nominate me for the Vice Presidency.  Since it is clear I am not likely to get my wish, it is time for me to stop asking what my country can do for me and instead ask what I can do for you all.

"What I can do is step aside and give my endorsement to Governor Wilson."

Those delegations still loyal to Quayle let out a groan.

Those delegations loyal to Wilson cheered.

In the President's box, relief and joy set in, and it was hugs all around.

"My fellow Americans, my fellow conservatives, we need a party that is united behind its ticket.  We need a party that is a big tent and accepts differing points of view, even sometimes on issues that stir deep emotions.  We need build a party that includes all Americans so we can build an country that serves all Americans.  I believe that President Bush and Governor Wilson are the right men for that job, and I endorse both of them fully."

The crowd cheered, out of respect for a man who fell on his sword.  The Vice President exited stage right.

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As the delegate roll call took place late on night two, Michael Deaver found William Kristol backstage.  "Did you write that speech?" Asked Deaver.

Kristol turned and saw Deaver behind him.  "No, he just went up there and spoke from the heart."

The state of Utah casts its 29 delegates to Governor Pete Wilson!  Blared the PA.

"He's a good man." Said Deaver.

"I know." Said Kristol.

The state of Wisconsin casts its 37 delegates for Governor Pete Wilson!

"The Bush-Wilson campaign could always use a few good men.  We'd love to have you on board."

"I don't think so.  I'm done for a little while.  I'm going to go get my first good sleep in about four years."

The state of Wyoming casts its 22 delegates for Governor Pete Wilson!

"You've run a fabulous campaign, Mike.  You've turned around a sinking ship and drawn even in a race you have no business winning.  Congratulations, and I wish I could join you but I have to recharge my batteries and the VP needs me to finish out his term.  It's a loyalty issue.  After what he just did for the party, I don't see how I can just walk out the front door and leave nothing but a get well card."

"I understand, Bill."

With 1,378 delegates, Governor Pete Wilson of California has been nominated for Vice President of the United States!

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As the official announcement was made, Governor Wilson and President Bush stood waiting in the wings to appear on stage together.

It is now my honor to present to you the President of the United States and the next Vice President of the United States, George Herbert Walker Bush and Peter Barton Wilson!

The President turned to Wilson and said, "Okay.  Let's go win this thing."  Then, the two men walked on stage to loud cheers as confetti fell from the rafters.

[The Duke]

The last two parts of the convention are now posted above.