Americana

[NHI]

...

"We had one strategy, and it was to win. The Republican Party had descended into chaos and anarchy.
We were the adults in the room. We were the responsible ones. This would be easy. If 2008 was the Marathon, then 2012 would be a sprint."

--- From The Prologue of: Yes, We Can: The Audacious of Barack Obama's Campaigns for the White House By: David Axelrod

..

"... I believed the President stood a great chance for reelection, and early on he came to me and asked if I would be interested in two options; 1.) Continuing to serve as Secretary of State for a Second Term. My answer was, no. I had decided upon being sworn-in, I would serve only one-term regardless of the President's reelection. He did not fight me on. He knew I was looking past the exit door. Next came the second question. 2.) Switching with Joe Biden, and running as Vice President.
My internal response was, 'excuse me, do you realize what you are asking, but my external, and perhaps nuanced response was, 'I'm not sure, Mr. President...'

--- From Chapter 1; Hard Decisions by Hillary Rodham Clinton.

.

... President Barack Obama boarded Marine One. He looked back at the Capitol. The gray skies added to the depression of the day. A final salute, then a parting wave before ducking into the chopper. January 20, 2013, Barack Obama is no longer President of the United States.

--- From History Abridge: The Rise and Fall of Barack Obama

Americana

By: NHI

[tmthforu94]

Always love your timelines - looking forward to this one!

[erſatz-york]

I'm looking forward to this timeline!

[TheSaint250]

Always love your timelines - looking forward to this one!

[America Needs R'hllor]

Always love your timelines - looking forward to this one!

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

The name's been taken.

[UWS]

Ok, so Mitt Romney won in 2012?

[NHI]

Romney Looks Back on 2012 Race; Talks Regrets and Missteps

Romney campaigning in New Hampshire, back in Summer 2011.

Mitt Romney, speaking to Steve Kroft on 60 Minutes, the twice-Republican candidate for President, and former Governor of Massachusetts openly discussed the 2012 Election, and what he felt was his biggest regrets as a candidate.

"I was on my way to winning the nomination," Romney told Kroft. "I had laid out a very clear strategy which was aimed saying I'm the guy who can defeat the President. I'm the guy who can get the economy up and going again. I can fix this mess... I was not the guy screaming at the top of my lungs,
the sky is falling, the sky is falling!"

Kroft added, "did you misread the electorate?"

"I did," Romney said. "I was the guy running with a plan, and voters were looking for something and someone different..."

From the Book: Profiles in Cowardice:

... Newt Gingrich, the former Conservative Speaker of the House and bomb thrower, who lambasted President Bill Clinton over his Oval Office extramarital affair, before having to resigning as a result of his own extramarital affair. Disgraced from his office, and abandoned by his party, Gingrich spent the intervening years in the political wilderness, before returning to the spotlight in 2012 to seek the Republican nomination for President. There Gingrich would emerge as a new aged firebrand and political heavyweight in a era where flash outweighed substance... 

[Jaguar4life]

Please let this be a Ron Paul 2012 TL

[NHI]

Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann, hoped to capture the passionate supporters of Sarah Palin, with an open appeal to the Tea Party.

...Launching her campaign for President in Iowa, Michelle Bachmann sought to claim the Iowa Caucuses for herself, by positioning herself as the electable Sarah Palin, ans the only conservative in a race dominated so far by Tim Pawlenty, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul and Herman Cain. "I am in it, and in it to win with for you," Bachmann told a tepid crowd of supporters. She delivered a home strung speech, with appeals to base conservatives, but without the zing and charm of one Sarah Palin.

For Bachmann, entering the race early (in June) meant boxing out Sarah Palin from running. Rick Perry, the conservative Governor of Texas was reportedly considering a run for President; and Palin was still publicly flirting with the idea. Bachmman believed the key to winning the conservative vote meant running early and running hard. Winning the Iowa Straw Polls, locking down religious conservatives, and of course winning the caucuses in January...

From E.G. Dionne's Let's Have a Tea Party; Chapter 2: Palin-Lite.

Romney locks down the Establishment; nets NH Senator Kelly Ayotte's endorsement early.

Palin: "I could win"

The Former Governor of Alaska, spoke on the stump after speaking at a Tea Party Express Rally in New Hampshire; partially stepping on Mitt Romney's presidential announcement launch. The Tea Party superstar and former Vice Presidential nominee, lambasted the President in a speech peppered with red meat for the base. "The President believes the nation is imperfect and must be change, we don't believe it. We love America. We respect this great country and so help us God we will keep on fighting for it!"

When asked if she is considering a run for President, Palin played coy. "I will decide in the appropriate time." Even potential rivals, Mitt Romney and Tim Pawlenty have said, Palin 'deserves room to make the decision and should not be rushed'. However, the clock is narrowing for the former Governor. With primary debate upcoming, and state filing deadlines, Palin has until likely early August.


From: CNN News Article:

In July 2011 31% of Republicans backed Romney.

From: Fury: The Election of 2012 by Mark Halperin and Jon Heliman

... Donald Trump captivated a section of the Republican base, ever since he dared to question the legitimacy of Barack Obama's birth certificate. While the President rebuffed the billionaire TV personality by showcasing his certificate, and then upstaging him at the White House Correspondent's Dinner, the incidents left Trump fuming.

Trump had been considering a run for President, at least seriously ever since 1987, when he took out a full page ad in the New York Times, and laid out his vision for American foreign policy. Throughout the 90s and 2000s, he continued to open the door to the possibility of running, but quickly dismissed much talk, beyond a speculation stage.

However, in late 2010 and throughout 2011 as Trump was stoking birtherism, and making speeches at Tea Party rallies from New Hampshire to Florida, he was continuing to draw large and enthusiastic crowds; with many people calling for him to run in 2012.

Trump, a political chameleon certainly saw the writing on the wall, and perhaps an opportunity. He had said openly in early 2011 he was 'strongly considering running', however when the birth certificate fiasco made Trump a page one dumbell, and late night fodder, many political analysts dismissed the reality TV star; echoing the sentiments of Comedian Seth Meyers, who roasted Trump with a politically twinged joke at the Correspondent's Dinner.

..." Donald Trump may run for President as a Republican, when here I thought he was running as a joke."

The correspondent's dinner took place in May 2011. Trump barely registered, or was never even included in major polls. Three months, later he was an official candidate for President of the United States.  

Excerpt from Donald Trump's Announcement Speech: August 11, 2011

... "Our country is being ripped off by China and other countries. We're the laughing stock of the world, and everybody knows it, including our President. [applause/boos] The President, Obama is weak by the way. He is really weak and has done nothing to bring back the jobs and make our country win again at trade and at our the border. I will change all that. First, I will be the greatest job's president that God ever created - believe me. [applause] I will also bring back the jobs that are being taken overseas by foreign countries and I'll do it by using the power of negotiation, something Obama has never tried. Simple folks, either give us back the jobs or you're getting taxed back to the stone ages. [applause]

And we will not only win again at trade, but at the border, because we will stop the illegals who are pouring into our country, stealing our jobs, breaking our laws and getting nothing but a slap on the wrist from our President. I will bring back Law and Order for the American people! [applause]

I will do all this and more, and more, because it's time for this country to once again stand tall and proud and be something it once was, which was great. [Applause]

Together, we will make America secure again, we will make America strong again, we will make America Great Again..."

From: Transformed: The Making of a President
... Steve Bannon's hope was Sarah Palin. The editor of Brietbart saw the Alaska Governor as the GOP's savoir. A populist warrior who could do battle with the elites, rally a coalition of white-working class voters, and remake the United States Government. The problem for Bannon, Palin was a No on 2012.

For Bannon, the exit of Sarah Palin as a contender for the Republican nomination, meant the increasingly likelihood of Mitt Romney as the Republican nominee, and the reelection of Barack Obama. Two unacceptable options, but the problem he did not have a candidate and the established which included the likes of Newt Gingrich, Michelle Bachmann, Rick Perry, Jon Huntsman and Tim Pawlenty did not intrigue Bannon at all.

"I believe Mitt Romney will destroy the Republican Party," Bannon said in July of 2011. "And if he doesn't destroy it Gingrich or someone else will and there will be nothing left." Bannon did add, "but maybe that's what needs to happen."

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

That picture of Trump with the bunting was from Boca, 2011. I was there, more interested in my new Congressman Allen West than Trump. The mud in the park was churned up by an earlier storm, and it steamed in the sun. My mom and Grandma made me leave midway through Trump's remarks.

The PBC GOP Chair, who I knew well, refused to let me into the holding area to meet Trump. Dick

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Please please please create a Ron Paul/Steve Bannon axis

[America Needs R'hllor]

Ok, so not Romney or Obama. I doubt it's Gingrich, so I guess I'm betting on Trump right now.

[NHI]

From: Seeds of Revolution

....No one on Capitol Hill, on both sides cared much for Bernie Sanders. The independent and self-described Democratic-Socialist was not on the invite list for cocktail parties, but as he repeatedly reminded people, he did not run to be the most liked man in Washington, D.C., but instead to lead a political revolution. Drawing from both FDR and Robert Kennedy, Sanders continued to lay out a vision of a progressive America, not too unlike many European Countries, where socialism was the norm. In 2012, Bernie Sanders found himself man with an idea, but without a movement.

He liked Barack Obama, personally, but he did not feel he represented the best of the Democratic, nor did he stand for a true liberal vision of where the country should be heading; especially heading into a reelection fight with the likes of Mitt Romney, or God forbid - Donald Trump. Sanders, wanted Obama to be primaried, and many on the progressive side wanted Bernie to be the candidates, but outside of the polling (a sample from 2011 found Obama was favored 89% to 4%) and the incumbent advantage -- Sanders did not want to run. For he believed a Democratic primary by him would splinter the party and hurt Obama's chances going into reelection. He would pass, saying unequivocally he would 'not challenge Barack Obama - ever'.

Still, Sanders, and for many of his supporters longed for a primary challenge, to remind the President of who elected and where the base wanted to go.

[P. Clodius Pulcher did nothing wrong]

Oh dear