1908: President Theodore Roosevelt Runs for Another Term

[Frodo]

Let's suppose that instead of stepping down in favor of William Howard Taft, President Roosevelt runs for what is effectively his third term, and in all likelihood wins re-election (I honestly don't see why he would lose).  

What could he have accomplished with four extra years?  Could he have run yet again in 1912?

[morgankingsley]

I think if he won on 08 I think 12 would be the time he would finally lose. Whether Wilson beats him outright in a 1 on 1 race or he gets defeated in the renomination I don't know. Maybe then he really decides he's done and Wilson wins that way. I truly believe one way or another 1912 would have been a Democrat year, after 16 years of Republican rule their luck would have worn out one way or another

[President Johnson]

Teddy would have won easily. Fairbanks would have been replaced on the ticket, I assume, maybe with Taft.

✓ President Theodore Roosevelt (R-NY)/Secretary of War William Howard Taft (R-OH): 348 EV. (53.35%)
Former Representative William Jennings Bryan (D-NE)/Senator John W. Kern (D-IN): 135 EV. (42.24%)

[morgankingsley]

Teddy would have won easily. Fairbanks would have been replaced on the ticket, I assume, maybe with Taft.

✓ President Theodore Roosevelt (R-NY)/Secretary of War William Howard Taft (R-OH): 348 EV. (53.35%)
Former Representative William Jennings Bryan (D-NE)/Senator John W. Kern (D-IN): 135 EV. (42.24%)

Yeah I would probably agree about Taft. Since he was wanting him to be his successor in a way, and I think that this would have been his way to try to get Taft ready for 1912

[Frodo]

Teddy would have won easily. Fairbanks would have been replaced on the ticket, I assume, maybe with Taft.

✓ President Theodore Roosevelt (R-NY)/Secretary of War William Howard Taft (R-OH): 348 EV. (53.35%)
Former Representative William Jennings Bryan (D-NE)/Senator John W. Kern (D-IN): 135 EV. (42.24%)

Yeah I would probably agree about Taft. Since he was wanting him to be his successor in a way, and I think that this would have been his way to try to get Taft ready for 1912

Since you mentioned it, what would 1912 have looked like with no Republican schism (as you seem to be suggesting here), with Vice-President (and heir-apparent) William Howard Taft facing off with New Jersey Gov. Woodrow Wilson?

[President Johnson]

Yeah I would probably agree about Taft. Since he was wanting him to be his successor in a way, and I think that this would have been his way to try to get Taft ready for 1912

Since you mentioned it, what would 1912 have looked like with no Republican schism (as you seem to be suggesting here), with Vice-President (and heir-apparent) William Howard Taft facing off with New Jersey Gov. Woodrow Wilson?

I think Woodrow Wilson in this scenario would have done better than Bryan ever did, but still lost to Taft.

✓ Vice President William Howard Taft (R-OH)/Former Governor Charles Evans Hughes (R-NY): 286 EV. (50.12%)
Governor Thomas Woodrow Wilson (D-NJ)/Governor Thomas Riley Marshall (D-IN): 245 EV. (46.25%)

[Frodo]

Yeah I would probably agree about Taft. Since he was wanting him to be his successor in a way, and I think that this would have been his way to try to get Taft ready for 1912

Since you mentioned it, what would 1912 have looked like with no Republican schism (as you seem to be suggesting here), with Vice-President (and heir-apparent) William Howard Taft facing off with New Jersey Gov. Woodrow Wilson?

I think Woodrow Wilson in this scenario would have done better than Bryan ever did, but still lost to Taft.

✓ Vice President William Howard Taft (R-OH)/Former Governor Charles Evans Hughes (R-NY): 286 EV. (50.12%)
Governor Thomas Woodrow Wilson (D-NJ)/Governor Thomas Riley Marshall (D-IN): 245 EV. (46.25%)

So VP Taft would still win even with the 'fatigue factor' after sixteen years of Republican control of the White House?

[brucejoel99]

Honestly, he wouldn't even be breaking the two-term tradition in 1908 since he'd only been elected to a term of his own once at that point. So breaking the the two-term tradition probably wouldn't be an issue for him, but even if it was, he could justify it on the basis of him being a "Progressive" & that, with all of the new programs & reforms that come along with that, he could claim that Presidents serving longer terms is just a new modern feature & would be more efficient.

Re: the election result, it's a landslide win & it's not even close. He may actually win every state; he was just that popular. Even in real life, the Republican Party tried to nominate him against his will.

As for his elongated presidency, more progressive reforms happen (& faster); you could possibly see some of the progressive planks from his real-life 1912 Bull Moose platform enacted.

Come 1912, Taft (who didn't really wanna be President) would've been made Chief Justice in 1910, & even though Fairbanks was Roosevelt's VP, he was more conservative, so Roosevelt would more likely have supported Hughes, a like-minded progressive New Yorker, rather than Fairbanks for the GOP nomination. Even if Wilson gets nominated, which he almost wasn't, Hughes would most likely be able to easily win. With regards to World War I, Hughes was obviously an Anglophile, so it's possible he could want to intervene earlier, but it's still more likely that he'd remain neutral.

[morgankingsley]

Honestly, he wouldn't even be breaking the two-term tradition in 1908 since he'd only been elected to a term of his own once at that point. So breaking the the two-term tradition probably wouldn't be an issue for him, but even if it was, he could justify it on the basis of him being a "Progressive" & that, with all of the new programs & reforms that come along with that, he could claim that Presidents serving longer terms is just a new modern feature & would be more efficient.

Re: the election result, it's a landslide win & it's not even close. He may actually win every state; he was just that popular. Even in real life, the Republican Party tried to nominate him against his will.

As for his elongated presidency, more progressive reforms happen (& faster); you could possibly see some of the progressive planks from his real-life 1912 Bull Moose platform enacted.

Come 1912, Taft (who didn't really wanna be President) would've been made Chief Justice in 1910, & even though Fairbanks was Roosevelt's VP, he was more conservative, so Roosevelt would more likely have supported Hughes, a like-minded progressive New Yorker, rather than Fairbanks for the GOP nomination. Even if Wilson gets nominated, which he almost wasn't, Hughes would most likely be able to easily win. With regards to World War I, Hughes was obviously an Anglophile, so it's possible he could want to intervene earlier, but it's still more likely that he'd remain neutral.

Roosevelt would not win every state. The six deep South states would vote for any democrat no matter what at that point.

[President Johnson]

Yeah I would probably agree about Taft. Since he was wanting him to be his successor in a way, and I think that this would have been his way to try to get Taft ready for 1912

Since you mentioned it, what would 1912 have looked like with no Republican schism (as you seem to be suggesting here), with Vice-President (and heir-apparent) William Howard Taft facing off with New Jersey Gov. Woodrow Wilson?

I think Woodrow Wilson in this scenario would have done better than Bryan ever did, but still lost to Taft.

✓ Vice President William Howard Taft (R-OH)/Former Governor Charles Evans Hughes (R-NY): 286 EV. (50.12%)
Governor Thomas Woodrow Wilson (D-NJ)/Governor Thomas Riley Marshall (D-IN): 245 EV. (46.25%)

So VP Taft would still win even with the 'fatigue factor' after sixteen years of Republican control of the White House?

Yes, this was the era of Republican dominance. I think he would have pulled it off. He would may have lost in 1916 though.

[538Electoral]

387-96

His popularity would allow him to win in a blowout.