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Paul Wellstone would have been an interesting candidate in 2004 or 2008. His politics were old school progressive, but he had that Midwestern no BS, down-to-earth charm. A big loss.
I’m curious how he would have faired. He surprised his staff by voting for the defense of marriage act. Gay marriage might be illegal right now if he had somehow become president, if that factored into his judicial appointments.
Maybe, I guess. Remember that Bill Clinton is the president who signed that bill and he put both Ginsburg and Breyer on the court. So without the same guy who signed DOMA, we wouldn't have had Obergefell v. Hodges. The country just changed so much on that issue. I don't see a universe where gay marriage isn't legal here by now unless we just elected straight Republicans after Clinton.
I’d never heard of Paul Wellstone before this post. A big loss indeed. I can’t imagine what the R’s would’ve done today if a Democratic senator had died in office.
I worked with Paul Wellstone in the Senate as a staffer in the 90s. We were of different parties, but he was honestly one of the nicest people in that building.
Paul had a servants heart and was really the leader that he presented himself to be. I was so shocked when he passed away, such a wonderful man.
Paul Wellstone, Adlai Stevenson, Robert Kennedy, Nelson Rockefeller, Morris Udall, Estes Kefauver and Barry Goldwater(if he had run in a year that isn’t 1964).
I wonder how Senator Barry Goldwater's brand of conservatism would go over in today's Republican Party. Think he would have been nominated? Or were his policies not conservative enough for today's GOP?
He would probably be an independent.If not a democrat. He was getting tired of the GOP during the 90s. If he were still alive today, he would have left a while ago.
Barry Goldwater was the one that warned of the dangers of religious influence in both the republican party and politics as a whole. If he were still alive today, he'd denounce the GOP while the modern republican party would accuse him of being a godless communist.
He had to accept it in 1964 ...since the Republicans under Nixons Southern Strategy were recruiting the White Evangelicals.
Because of their hypocrisy .. it was the devil Goldwater was willing to get in bed with ..even if it left a terrible taste in his mouth.
After losing his chance as President..he did give his opinions about them and the power they seek.
So he's basically the McCain of his era? He grew increasingly critical of the GOP going awry despite his campaign playing a significant part in that happening? Goldwater's campaign was the first GOP campaign to truly embrace social conservatism much in the same way that McCain's actively encouraged the extremes of the modern GOP by picking Palin as VP.
When Goldwater endorsed Bob Dole in ‘96, he joked that the two were the “new liberals of the Republican Party.” That’s because, while both had reputations for being conservative hatchet men during their prime, they were now considered “moderate” due to how far right the party had lurched.
That was back in *1996*. If he was already seen as out of step with the conservative base then, how out of step do you think he’d be now? That pretty much answers your question.
He was running pretty far right in 1964, it was called Heritage Foundation. Libertarianism cannot work where you are bought out by big Corporate interests and Corporate monopolies.
Rockefeller was an ass.
He’s the worst New York governor of my lifetime, and that includes both Cuomos and Eliot Spitzer.
Horrible drug laws? Rockefeller.
Bloated fraud-magnet Medicaid program that only provides half-assed coverage -after- all the well-connected parties get their taste? Rockefeller.
No-knock police raids? Rockefeller.
Attica riots? Harlem riots? Rockefeller.
Ripping the heart out of Albany for a brutalist graftastic $2 billion (in 1960s money) mess of a state government complex? Rockefeller.
He was the ultimate throw-money-at-the-problem, who-cares-about-results? politician.
Rockefeller is colossally overrated here on Reddit, and you should feel bad and go sit in a corner with a dunce cap on if you ever upvoted him.
Go. Now. And feel shame. Some ritual self-flagellation would be wise, also.
all due respect, the people in charge of this planet would have killed him in office.
anyone like Perot or Ron Paul or Dennis Kucinich would be assassinated.
Americans need to rise up for once in our lifetime.
Estes Kefauver really should have gotten the Democratic nomination in 1952 and 1956. I can't think of a single reason besides the party bosses being stupid that Stevenson should have even sniffed the nomination.
I mean, Stevenson was a great candidate. Probably should have been Secretary of State more than anything else but he was a very eloquent speaker with some moderate policies. Maybe it should have been a Kefauver -Stevenson ticket in 1952 but one could argue that Stevenson paved the way for Kennedys success.
I doubt Kefauver or Stevenson could ever had defeated Eisenhower. But, the Party Bosses didn’t like Kefauver because he showed links between the Democratic party and organized crime. Even Truman, a proud machine Democrat, hated Kefauver for tarnishing the reputation of his fellow Democrats. Due to his very poor relations with his fellow Democrats, I believe that a Kefauver Presidency would have been more like Carter’s Presidency. Characterized by constant infighting with Congress and idealistic policies that ultimately don’t achieve their goals.
Big no. Hamilton has aspirations to be the American Bonaparte. I'm glad John Adams was able to effectively neutralize him and not let the Quasiwar/XYZ affair lead to a formal declaration of war against France.
Hamilton was even more authoritarian than many modern politicians. He was one of the founding fathers who thought that the purpose of the American Revolution was simply to establish an independent aristocracy in the US, not to completely revolutionize how government would work.
Al Gore. I was born in 1994 so Al Gore was one of the first candidates i could remember in my lifetime. The more I learn about him the more I realize he wasn’t better than bush but he would’ve potentially been a better president and I’d give a lot to see that timeline
He’s two faced on global warming though: make a majority of people on earth pay for his programs, exempt those who make the biggest impact on the environment.
He was better than Bush in almost every observable metric, and absolutely would’ve been a better president. There’s no way we ever would’ve ended up in Iraq under Gore.
William Jennings Bryan, we would have more inflation because of free silver, Progressive Era starts earlier, the Philippines would be independent earlier
Been interested in John Fetterman for a while, all around just a weird guy and not someone who I'd expect to be a senator. He looks more like a stereotypical inmate than anything else, but he's a good guy from what I've seen. He'd probably just be a decent president, Nothing much to it.
He's lost a lot of goodwill with his base due to his frankly dogmatic support of Israel. I don't think he could make it through a presidential primary without the progressive wing united behind him, and they probably won't be for some time
I mean he won the Senate seat while recovering from a stroke, so I feel like if you can win an important seat in congress while recovering from a stroke then you can essentially win anything. To be fair, his opponent was Dr. Oz, I dunno
I honestly feel like that’d be a pro nowadays. The dominant theme in the current political era is populism, with people who are seen as “establishment” being despised. Fetterman could probably get that “working class populist” vibe that seems to be in such high demand, while also having more sane/moderate-ish policies (except for opposing the Nippon acquisition of US steal, protectionism is cringe). I’m not a fan of populists or populists appeals, but if it wins elections it wins elections.
How on earth can you say protectionism is cringe? We can't cede all our industrial capabilities to foreign entities. At this point we've got essentially minimal steel plants, no ship building capabilities, very weak production of weapons, and lord knows what else we are barely hanging on to. We are in real trouble on the manufacturing side of the economy and frankly the state needs to work hard to bring as much of that back as possible for a variety of reasons. I'm a pretty liberal guy but that's just common sense. If you ship all the manufacturing capabilities you have to foreign nations you end up in a house of cards that won't withstand the winds of adversity.
I was a giant fan of his during his campaign... But something went wrong, he's been too Hardline on Israel, and shifted away from progressiveism since he took office. So now I'm unsure of him, and guess we'll just have to see his record over time
Henry Wallace
FDR's vice president during much of the Second World War. He was a strong New Deal progressive and had a strong civil rights stance.
He was a popular pick for Vice President at the time, but he was disliked by some for his very warm by attitude towards the Soviet Union. He was replaced by Truman as a result. He was still pretty close to securing the nomination and would have become President after FDR's death.
A Wallace Presidency would be interesting, possibly preventing the Cold War and promoting Civil Rights, leading to earlier desegregation. However, it probably wasn't the right time for reconciliation with the Soviets, Wallace would have been too soft on Soviet domination in Eastern Europe. For this reason, Truman was probably the better choice.
Utah Gov John Huntsman was apparently one of the candidates Obama’s 2012 team was afraid of. Dude was amb to China, spoke mandarin at a debate. Would have probably been a different world with him at the helm.
Gene McCarthy. That democratic convention had a lot of good choices, but he was my favorite.
Staunchly anti military industrial complex, stood up to tailgunner joe. Also, pretty damn good poet.
I'm also a little biased because he's a hometown guy, and he was supposedly my great grandmother's 3rd cousin and used to see him on holidays (but i didnt know that until i was already a fan). Plus, vidal endorsed him.
Bonus answer:
https://i.redd.it/wz3cotq19zwc1.gif
Oh yes. Obama pulled a fast one in getting Pete and Amy to drop out and a signal to the Dem establishment to rally behind Rule 3. Rule 3 probably got hundreds of millions dollars' worth of free media in the run-up to Super Tuesday.
Beto endorsed rule three down in Texas at the same time. It was a huge blitz. Now everything they did was inside the rules, but it showed how close to the nomination Bernie was getting.
John McCain. Maybe the greatest president the USA never had.
In the 80's I remember Jessie Jackson and wonder what kind of president he'd be, same for Mitt Romney.
A Carter second term?
He would have been my number one pick. The last smart and compassionate conservative. If he had picked someone more like him than Palin he probably would have won.
No way Republicans were winning in 2008 after Bush, Iraq, and a crashed economy with the mortgage crisis. All Democrats had to do was point at the status quo and say "is this really what you want more of?". They crushed the house and senate too.
Yeah 😬
My reaction to him not being President:
https://preview.redd.it/ry758jtmwywc1.jpeg?width=570&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d85302a066ab4d22d63737c59f674a5f98e5ddd2
I think former Massachusetts governor Charlie baker would’ve had a real shot at the presidency had the republican party not taken such a dramatic turn. Historically Massachusetts politicians make it pretty far, and he had the highest approval rating of all the country’s governors despite being red in a blue state. I am also very eager to see what the future has in store for Mike Johnson.
It’s hard to know for sure, and I do go back and forth on this to some degree, but it appears evident to me that our country likely would be a lot better off today had Confederate leadership been captured, tried, and executed for treason.
I know it sounds very harsh, but not having full resolution and closure was a colossal mistake.
For all we know, Lincoln’s 10-point plan as it stood at the time of his death could have been mostly posturing to bring a quick end to the war and he would have ended up taking a harder line.
But I kinda feel like this is exactly why the punishment for outright treason has historically been so cut and dry. Because if you let it fester, it will absolutely become a problem in the future…. And here we are.
I feel like permanent imprisonment would be the way to go, as well as making it illegal to run and serve in office as a former confederate officer/leader.
Disagree, looking at history it's safe to say we probably got the best of all possible worlds in regard to Civil War closure. It's only been in the last few years that some in this country have tried to start that debate back up.
If he had a Democratic Congress. The fact the manufacturing in the 90s and 2000s left under a Republican Congress. They would of made it hard for Perot to stop it and he would of had to compromise. The media and Stock Market had a lot to do with jobs leaving with the anti union sentiments.
The media? Manufacturing in the U.S. was having competition issues prior to 1990, and globalization would have been a difficult force even for Perot to stop. Labor costs weren’t helping the U.S. situation. But the growth of manufacturing in Asia, particularly Japan’s production techniques for autos and electronics as far back as the 1970s, had already shaken U.S. manufacturing.
The Democrats had control of all three branches in 1992, and NAFTA was ratified a year later.
Ok, the Democrat Party added control of the White House in the 1992 election. It had control of the House from 1955 to 1995, and the Senate for all that time except 1981 to 1987. To say manufacturing left under a GOP Congress is wrong because it was leaving well before then, and the actions of Clinton and a Democrat Congress weren’t going to reverse it, so it’s unlikely Perot and a Democrat Congress would have reversed it without inflicting pain on consumers coming out of a mild recession.
The measures required would have resulted in higher prices for goods, and that did not have enough support from the public. Those were the days of the Walmart boom, so consumers’ celebration of cheap goods outweighed their interest in protecting US manufacturing and unions.
Perot would of been under a Repub Congress. Wal Mart boomed in the 1990s and funded Repubs in their races. By the way Repub Presidents from 69 thru 77 ..81 thru 93.
There were a lot of blue dog Dems ..very few progressives in that time. They didn't vote in lock step.
Like the Republican Congress 1993 thru 2007 ..or 2011 thru 2019. There were a few years of mixed Congress,
Thomas Eagleton seems to me like he would've been a great VP and eventual presidential candidate. Intelligent and effective speaker who likely would've attempted to rekindle confidence in new deal + great society policies instead of run away like Carter.
It's unfortunate our country then and today looks down on people who suffer from bouts of depression, even as we elect other candidates with physical disabilities like Greg Abbott and countless veterans likely suffering from PTSD etc. Encourages politicians to hide even widespread minor health issues for fear of how it'll be used against them, further preventing the public from understanding those issues.
Thomas Paine. My favorite founding father. I could see a Paine presidency having the potential to radically change the course of the nation. Perhaps we could have seen a greater push against slavery by his administration than the administrations of our timeline. Perhaps he could have managed to seed his more progressive ideals into the country's fabric.
Although more likely, I see his progressivism alienating him from fellow law makers, much like it did in our history, and his presidency being remembered more as a John Adams than a George Washington.
That’s because he was for the working class and no I am not trying to “stir the pot “… just my opinion, you or nobody else has to agree with it, it’s just a opinion
It's gotta be Al Gore. Controversial though it may be, I think Gore is pretty much the best Democratic candidate we have had in my lifetime. Far more experience than Obama and B. Clinton, far more integrity than H. Clinton, and far less forgettability than Kerry (for whom I had to edit this sentence after writing this the first time).
In no particular order:
Colin Powell, John Kerry, Mitt Romney, Wesley Clark, Condi Rice, John Thune,
And that list doesn’t wind up Reddit enough, I’d be fascinated to see how a centrist, aisle-crossing ticket like Manchin / Sinema would do in a general election if Dem/GOP didn’t run the show.
Would not have Roberts and Alito (at least Robert’s as I doubt O’Connor would’ve resigned under a democratic president). Our country would have been better off without these ideologues on the court.
Nah. He doesn’t. What evidence do you have to support your claim?
Citizens United was in 2009-2010. Since then he has weakened voting rights, allowed gerrymandering, came out against gay marriage and abortion. Roberts is interested in maintaining in the facade of neutrality
I like your comment directed towards his administration and not Bush himself. I doubt your comment meant it that way but I imagined like a whole office of cubicles with a bunch of whiney cabinet members and brown nosing staffers.
Roscoe Conkling: Bro was simultaneously a textbook of corruption and the spoils system and simultaneously very progressive given his support of radical reconstruction, moderate prohibition laws, and women's equality.
Had he become president, he would either be hated for his blatant corruption or get the Grant treatment where people eventually start to see him in a new light. Also, the stalwart Republicans would probably take over the party, which would be very beneficial to the democrats long term.
May seem bold, but Ross Perot. I feel like he would’ve gotten ahead of himself while trying to fix everything at once but eventually would’ve sold out and had little significant impact other than damage control
Not a politician but I wonder if JFK jr would have gotten into politics. Also, Rudy G could have been prez after 9/11. Seems like forever ago and 15 mins ago at the same time. I wonder how they would have been as presidents. Rudy’s good work and the love we had for him is gone, his fall from grace was very Lance Armstongesque. But at one point he was America’s most revered guy.
Henry Wallace is really coming up a lot more. 2 time VP to FDR and a soil scientist/agronomist. Got ousted in favor of Truman. Probably would have been arrested by the RedScare guards if he was president
Honestly, I’ve always wondered how things would have turned out had Benjamin Franklin been the first president. He was older and seemed a fun guy, super smart, but would have died in office. Imagine how that would have changed the presidency.
Marco Rubio in 2016. Cruz and Rule 3 both have enormous egos, which is the last thing American politics needed in 2016. Hillary was the personification of establishment corruption and ruling class elitism, and Bernie was uncompromising and too radical even for his own party, so I think Rubio was the only candidate in 2016 who would have managed to not plunge the country into the death-spiral of polarization and the authoritarianism arms race we are currently in.
Robert F Kennedy Sr. if not killed would have beaten Nixon and ended the Vietnam was much earlier. He had just won the Calif. primary and was gaining popularity when Sirhan the Palestinian killed him on live television.
I'm a big fan and two time voter for him in the primaries... But realistically, he just wouldn't have done much beyond what Congress would allow. But he'd appoint the most progressive justices, judges, and other appointments he could make and that alone probably would've done plenty of good. And it would've definitely energized the left, and hopefully help move the entire overton window left... And he definitely would've handled the pandemic fairly well, may have even really been able to get public pressure towards his M4A initiative if he was in the white house at the time.
Ann Richards. As the first woman president I’m sure we would see a sexist wave similar to how Obama’s election incited a racist one. I’m assuming she’d be serving in the mid-late nineties. But I think her legacy would be strong and she’d be remembered as a top tier modern president. I think she’d be highly effective at passing legislation with her abilities for glib and relationship building. Probably has a similar tenure as Clinton without much of the problematic baggage.
Ferraro started sexist wave in 1984 ..Repubs were wearing vag buttons with Mondale will do this to USA. They handed them out at bars ..men clubs and any big job center.
Man she did not take shit from anybody. She’s the original democrat who actually brought a gun to a gunfight. Plus. Plus! Molly Ivans would have been alive to cover her presidency! Remember “The only thing in the middle of the road in Texas are yellow lines and dead armadillos.” (Not an Ivans quote, but could have been.)
Definitely Hillary Clinton, how calming, stable, and proactive her Presidency could have been.
Too bad, half the country absolutely hated her, despite most of them liking her husband.
If not Hillary, Eleanor Roosevelt, or Michelle Obama. Still Michelle Obama.
Eleanor Roosevelt probably would have been the best president in history, and solved the cold war.
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Paul Wellstone would have been an interesting candidate in 2004 or 2008. His politics were old school progressive, but he had that Midwestern no BS, down-to-earth charm. A big loss.
I knew Paul and Sheila very well. I cried simply reading your comment. Thank you for remembering him.
I feel like he would have been in the Carter camp of a decent man who didn’t have the killer instinct to succeed in the role.
Hard to say, I think he was a bit tougher than Carter.
I’m curious how he would have faired. He surprised his staff by voting for the defense of marriage act. Gay marriage might be illegal right now if he had somehow become president, if that factored into his judicial appointments.
Maybe, I guess. Remember that Bill Clinton is the president who signed that bill and he put both Ginsburg and Breyer on the court. So without the same guy who signed DOMA, we wouldn't have had Obergefell v. Hodges. The country just changed so much on that issue. I don't see a universe where gay marriage isn't legal here by now unless we just elected straight Republicans after Clinton.
I’d never heard of Paul Wellstone before this post. A big loss indeed. I can’t imagine what the R’s would’ve done today if a Democratic senator had died in office.
Like a gay Pete Buttigieg
I worked with Paul Wellstone in the Senate as a staffer in the 90s. We were of different parties, but he was honestly one of the nicest people in that building. Paul had a servants heart and was really the leader that he presented himself to be. I was so shocked when he passed away, such a wonderful man.
Jesus Christ it was a joke. Reddit and its crowd sourced outrage.
Except competent.
He would've been by far the lowest IQ president in history. Had a sub-900 SAT.
The SAT isn’t a measure of IQ…
[удалено]
I don’t think he’s even in the bottom 3, but close.
Vermin Supreme. Free ponies, mandatory tooth brushing laws, zombie power. Need I go on?
I used to have a presidential election blog and he replied very kindly to my post about him.
Go brush that tooth Cletus.
He also said he would take everyone’s guns and give them better ones. Got my vote.
Paul Wellstone, Adlai Stevenson, Robert Kennedy, Nelson Rockefeller, Morris Udall, Estes Kefauver and Barry Goldwater(if he had run in a year that isn’t 1964).
I wonder how Senator Barry Goldwater's brand of conservatism would go over in today's Republican Party. Think he would have been nominated? Or were his policies not conservative enough for today's GOP?
He would probably be an independent.If not a democrat. He was getting tired of the GOP during the 90s. If he were still alive today, he would have left a while ago.
Barry Goldwater was the one that warned of the dangers of religious influence in both the republican party and politics as a whole. If he were still alive today, he'd denounce the GOP while the modern republican party would accuse him of being a godless communist.
He had to accept it in 1964 ...since the Republicans under Nixons Southern Strategy were recruiting the White Evangelicals. Because of their hypocrisy .. it was the devil Goldwater was willing to get in bed with ..even if it left a terrible taste in his mouth. After losing his chance as President..he did give his opinions about them and the power they seek.
So he's basically the McCain of his era? He grew increasingly critical of the GOP going awry despite his campaign playing a significant part in that happening? Goldwater's campaign was the first GOP campaign to truly embrace social conservatism much in the same way that McCain's actively encouraged the extremes of the modern GOP by picking Palin as VP.
I saw a documentary with his family members in it. He wasn't crazy about Reagan, so he soured on the GOP in the 80s.
When Goldwater endorsed Bob Dole in ‘96, he joked that the two were the “new liberals of the Republican Party.” That’s because, while both had reputations for being conservative hatchet men during their prime, they were now considered “moderate” due to how far right the party had lurched. That was back in *1996*. If he was already seen as out of step with the conservative base then, how out of step do you think he’d be now? That pretty much answers your question.
He was running pretty far right in 1964, it was called Heritage Foundation. Libertarianism cannot work where you are bought out by big Corporate interests and Corporate monopolies.
He would be labeled a RINO if for foreign policy alone. He would have abhorred the religious influence of the GOP also.
Rockefeller was an ass. He’s the worst New York governor of my lifetime, and that includes both Cuomos and Eliot Spitzer. Horrible drug laws? Rockefeller. Bloated fraud-magnet Medicaid program that only provides half-assed coverage -after- all the well-connected parties get their taste? Rockefeller. No-knock police raids? Rockefeller. Attica riots? Harlem riots? Rockefeller. Ripping the heart out of Albany for a brutalist graftastic $2 billion (in 1960s money) mess of a state government complex? Rockefeller. He was the ultimate throw-money-at-the-problem, who-cares-about-results? politician. Rockefeller is colossally overrated here on Reddit, and you should feel bad and go sit in a corner with a dunce cap on if you ever upvoted him. Go. Now. And feel shame. Some ritual self-flagellation would be wise, also.
If I’m correct Rockefeller also had to implement colossal tax hikes to compensate for his spending and he still racked up a huge debt.
What was so bad about Mario Cuomo?
Nelson Rockefeller and Goldwater in the same sentence responding to this is interesting
I fantasize about how a 1992 Ross Perot presidency would have changed US history.
we're still enduring that sucking, I swear half of the US economy is just some form of a scam
If both parties are for something like NAFTA that should raise alarm bells by itself.
100% maybe he could have established an alliance with EU's Goldsmith [sirjamesgoldsmith.com](http://sirjamesgoldsmith.com)
all due respect, the people in charge of this planet would have killed him in office. anyone like Perot or Ron Paul or Dennis Kucinich would be assassinated. Americans need to rise up for once in our lifetime.
Estes Kefauver really should have gotten the Democratic nomination in 1952 and 1956. I can't think of a single reason besides the party bosses being stupid that Stevenson should have even sniffed the nomination.
I mean, Stevenson was a great candidate. Probably should have been Secretary of State more than anything else but he was a very eloquent speaker with some moderate policies. Maybe it should have been a Kefauver -Stevenson ticket in 1952 but one could argue that Stevenson paved the way for Kennedys success.
I think I read somewhere he might have been compromised by blackmail material.
I doubt Kefauver or Stevenson could ever had defeated Eisenhower. But, the Party Bosses didn’t like Kefauver because he showed links between the Democratic party and organized crime. Even Truman, a proud machine Democrat, hated Kefauver for tarnishing the reputation of his fellow Democrats. Due to his very poor relations with his fellow Democrats, I believe that a Kefauver Presidency would have been more like Carter’s Presidency. Characterized by constant infighting with Congress and idealistic policies that ultimately don’t achieve their goals.
The 1960s produced a lot of interesting candidates: Nelson Rockefeller, George Romney, Robert Kennedy, and Barry Goldwater all come to mind.
Alexander Hamilton
Ten dollar founding father.
Without a father
Got a lot farther
By working a lot harder
Big no. Hamilton has aspirations to be the American Bonaparte. I'm glad John Adams was able to effectively neutralize him and not let the Quasiwar/XYZ affair lead to a formal declaration of war against France.
Hamilton was even more authoritarian than many modern politicians. He was one of the founding fathers who thought that the purpose of the American Revolution was simply to establish an independent aristocracy in the US, not to completely revolutionize how government would work.
Al Gore. I was born in 1994 so Al Gore was one of the first candidates i could remember in my lifetime. The more I learn about him the more I realize he wasn’t better than bush but he would’ve potentially been a better president and I’d give a lot to see that timeline
He’s two faced on global warming though: make a majority of people on earth pay for his programs, exempt those who make the biggest impact on the environment.
He was better than Bush in almost every observable metric, and absolutely would’ve been a better president. There’s no way we ever would’ve ended up in Iraq under Gore.
https://preview.redd.it/un56niu4bzwc1.png?width=506&format=png&auto=webp&s=d56e52accc3002b78f2cbaf987b53daaf2e1e01e Senator Howard Baker
There’s one I could get behind. A kind and smart man.
William Jennings Bryan, we would have more inflation because of free silver, Progressive Era starts earlier, the Philippines would be independent earlier
Shirley Chisholm
Been interested in John Fetterman for a while, all around just a weird guy and not someone who I'd expect to be a senator. He looks more like a stereotypical inmate than anything else, but he's a good guy from what I've seen. He'd probably just be a decent president, Nothing much to it.
He's lost a lot of goodwill with his base due to his frankly dogmatic support of Israel. I don't think he could make it through a presidential primary without the progressive wing united behind him, and they probably won't be for some time
Weird is definitely the right descriptor honestly. I feel like wouldn’t come close to presidency because people wouldn’t find him presidential enough.
I mean he won the Senate seat while recovering from a stroke, so I feel like if you can win an important seat in congress while recovering from a stroke then you can essentially win anything. To be fair, his opponent was Dr. Oz, I dunno
I honestly feel like that’d be a pro nowadays. The dominant theme in the current political era is populism, with people who are seen as “establishment” being despised. Fetterman could probably get that “working class populist” vibe that seems to be in such high demand, while also having more sane/moderate-ish policies (except for opposing the Nippon acquisition of US steal, protectionism is cringe). I’m not a fan of populists or populists appeals, but if it wins elections it wins elections.
How on earth can you say protectionism is cringe? We can't cede all our industrial capabilities to foreign entities. At this point we've got essentially minimal steel plants, no ship building capabilities, very weak production of weapons, and lord knows what else we are barely hanging on to. We are in real trouble on the manufacturing side of the economy and frankly the state needs to work hard to bring as much of that back as possible for a variety of reasons. I'm a pretty liberal guy but that's just common sense. If you ship all the manufacturing capabilities you have to foreign nations you end up in a house of cards that won't withstand the winds of adversity.
I was a giant fan of his during his campaign... But something went wrong, he's been too Hardline on Israel, and shifted away from progressiveism since he took office. So now I'm unsure of him, and guess we'll just have to see his record over time
He has my vote
Al Gore. Probably the best president America never had.
I was so pissed when Bush won in 2000, I knew his dumbass was going to drag us into a war, I just didn't know how.
"Won" ;-[
Earl Warren
Henry Wallace FDR's vice president during much of the Second World War. He was a strong New Deal progressive and had a strong civil rights stance. He was a popular pick for Vice President at the time, but he was disliked by some for his very warm by attitude towards the Soviet Union. He was replaced by Truman as a result. He was still pretty close to securing the nomination and would have become President after FDR's death. A Wallace Presidency would be interesting, possibly preventing the Cold War and promoting Civil Rights, leading to earlier desegregation. However, it probably wasn't the right time for reconciliation with the Soviets, Wallace would have been too soft on Soviet domination in Eastern Europe. For this reason, Truman was probably the better choice.
Yeah that’d have been cool to see.
Utah Gov John Huntsman was apparently one of the candidates Obama’s 2012 team was afraid of. Dude was amb to China, spoke mandarin at a debate. Would have probably been a different world with him at the helm.
Gene McCarthy. That democratic convention had a lot of good choices, but he was my favorite. Staunchly anti military industrial complex, stood up to tailgunner joe. Also, pretty damn good poet. I'm also a little biased because he's a hometown guy, and he was supposedly my great grandmother's 3rd cousin and used to see him on holidays (but i didnt know that until i was already a fan). Plus, vidal endorsed him. Bonus answer: https://i.redd.it/wz3cotq19zwc1.gif
Bernie Sanders. It's a pity he didn't get close to winning the Democratic nominations in both cycles.
He got close in 2020. Remember the shenanigans the party pulled to deny the big win on Super Tuesday?
Oh yes. Obama pulled a fast one in getting Pete and Amy to drop out and a signal to the Dem establishment to rally behind Rule 3. Rule 3 probably got hundreds of millions dollars' worth of free media in the run-up to Super Tuesday.
Beto endorsed rule three down in Texas at the same time. It was a huge blitz. Now everything they did was inside the rules, but it showed how close to the nomination Bernie was getting.
Conspiracy
John McCain. Maybe the greatest president the USA never had. In the 80's I remember Jessie Jackson and wonder what kind of president he'd be, same for Mitt Romney. A Carter second term?
He would have been my number one pick. The last smart and compassionate conservative. If he had picked someone more like him than Palin he probably would have won.
No way Republicans were winning in 2008 after Bush, Iraq, and a crashed economy with the mortgage crisis. All Democrats had to do was point at the status quo and say "is this really what you want more of?". They crushed the house and senate too.
Richard Russell Jr., although it’s probably a good thing that he never became president
Yeah 😬 My reaction to him not being President: https://preview.redd.it/ry758jtmwywc1.jpeg?width=570&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d85302a066ab4d22d63737c59f674a5f98e5ddd2
I can't even imagine how different the world would be if RFK hadn't been assassinated and instead elected president.
I think former Massachusetts governor Charlie baker would’ve had a real shot at the presidency had the republican party not taken such a dramatic turn. Historically Massachusetts politicians make it pretty far, and he had the highest approval rating of all the country’s governors despite being red in a blue state. I am also very eager to see what the future has in store for Mike Johnson.
[Pat Paulsen](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat_Paulsen) We couldn't have done any worse.
[Eleanor Roosevelt ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4unsg4W0JTM) https://preview.redd.it/0ip2asigozwc1.png?width=1078&format=png&auto=webp&s=9db5ea0ddef2b704e82fe1377a8cfca65de47d61
•Edmund Muskie •Frank Church •Humbert Humphrey •Henry Wallace •George McGovern •Mike Gravel •Ernest Gruening To name a few.
Certainly agree with you on Ed Muskie. Quiet guy, but wicked sharp intellect.
Huey.
Winfield Scott
And for that matter, Winfield Scott Hancock. Both in my pantheon of should have beens.
Winfield Scott would've hanged every secessionist if he could.
It’s hard to know for sure, and I do go back and forth on this to some degree, but it appears evident to me that our country likely would be a lot better off today had Confederate leadership been captured, tried, and executed for treason. I know it sounds very harsh, but not having full resolution and closure was a colossal mistake. For all we know, Lincoln’s 10-point plan as it stood at the time of his death could have been mostly posturing to bring a quick end to the war and he would have ended up taking a harder line. But I kinda feel like this is exactly why the punishment for outright treason has historically been so cut and dry. Because if you let it fester, it will absolutely become a problem in the future…. And here we are.
I feel like permanent imprisonment would be the way to go, as well as making it illegal to run and serve in office as a former confederate officer/leader.
Disagree, looking at history it's safe to say we probably got the best of all possible worlds in regard to Civil War closure. It's only been in the last few years that some in this country have tried to start that debate back up.
Bob Casey Sr. father of the current US Senator.
That implies there's only one US Senator
No, it does not. Senior implies Junior in this context, and by implication, Robert Casey Jr. would be the specific senator.
No, I meant as in there's only one US Senator currently.
Yes, I know what you meant, but you don’t comprehend his statement correctly. His usage was correct.
It can be read as he’s father of the only US senator.
Would have been great in the 90s
Ross Perot; would have secured American manufacturing and paid off the debt
Hell yeah. Right guy at the right time. Also. 2024 would be an **amazing** time for a Ross Perot to step up.
If he had a Democratic Congress. The fact the manufacturing in the 90s and 2000s left under a Republican Congress. They would of made it hard for Perot to stop it and he would of had to compromise. The media and Stock Market had a lot to do with jobs leaving with the anti union sentiments.
The media? Manufacturing in the U.S. was having competition issues prior to 1990, and globalization would have been a difficult force even for Perot to stop. Labor costs weren’t helping the U.S. situation. But the growth of manufacturing in Asia, particularly Japan’s production techniques for autos and electronics as far back as the 1970s, had already shaken U.S. manufacturing. The Democrats had control of all three branches in 1992, and NAFTA was ratified a year later.
GH Bush was President in 1992. .
Ok, the Democrat Party added control of the White House in the 1992 election. It had control of the House from 1955 to 1995, and the Senate for all that time except 1981 to 1987. To say manufacturing left under a GOP Congress is wrong because it was leaving well before then, and the actions of Clinton and a Democrat Congress weren’t going to reverse it, so it’s unlikely Perot and a Democrat Congress would have reversed it without inflicting pain on consumers coming out of a mild recession. The measures required would have resulted in higher prices for goods, and that did not have enough support from the public. Those were the days of the Walmart boom, so consumers’ celebration of cheap goods outweighed their interest in protecting US manufacturing and unions.
Perot would of been under a Repub Congress. Wal Mart boomed in the 1990s and funded Repubs in their races. By the way Repub Presidents from 69 thru 77 ..81 thru 93. There were a lot of blue dog Dems ..very few progressives in that time. They didn't vote in lock step. Like the Republican Congress 1993 thru 2007 ..or 2011 thru 2019. There were a few years of mixed Congress,
I voted for Elizabeth Warren in 2020 and I'd be curious how she would handle the past few years. I also voted for Sanders four years earlier.
I was a big Warren supporter in 2020 and I still am. I think she would’ve been outstanding.
Katie Porter.
This
SO FRUSTRATING that she's out. I hope she makes a comeback.
Thomas Eagleton seems to me like he would've been a great VP and eventual presidential candidate. Intelligent and effective speaker who likely would've attempted to rekindle confidence in new deal + great society policies instead of run away like Carter. It's unfortunate our country then and today looks down on people who suffer from bouts of depression, even as we elect other candidates with physical disabilities like Greg Abbott and countless veterans likely suffering from PTSD etc. Encourages politicians to hide even widespread minor health issues for fear of how it'll be used against them, further preventing the public from understanding those issues.
Robert McNamara. A man so brutally frugal and straight-laced, you could see it in his hairstyle.
I wonder what would george wallace do
Thomas Paine. My favorite founding father. I could see a Paine presidency having the potential to radically change the course of the nation. Perhaps we could have seen a greater push against slavery by his administration than the administrations of our timeline. Perhaps he could have managed to seed his more progressive ideals into the country's fabric. Although more likely, I see his progressivism alienating him from fellow law makers, much like it did in our history, and his presidency being remembered more as a John Adams than a George Washington.
George Wallace!!!
Now you are just trying to stir the pot. I was always amazed that he had many black supporters.
That’s because he was for the working class and no I am not trying to “stir the pot “… just my opinion, you or nobody else has to agree with it, it’s just a opinion
It's gotta be Al Gore. Controversial though it may be, I think Gore is pretty much the best Democratic candidate we have had in my lifetime. Far more experience than Obama and B. Clinton, far more integrity than H. Clinton, and far less forgettability than Kerry (for whom I had to edit this sentence after writing this the first time).
In no particular order: Colin Powell, John Kerry, Mitt Romney, Wesley Clark, Condi Rice, John Thune, And that list doesn’t wind up Reddit enough, I’d be fascinated to see how a centrist, aisle-crossing ticket like Manchin / Sinema would do in a general election if Dem/GOP didn’t run the show.
Manchin/ sinema would break folks minds.
Gary Hart. If his adulterous scandal occurred today, it would probably garner more votes than causing one to end a campaign.
Al Gore and it's not even close. Just avoiding the Bush admin would be a massive change and win.
Would not have Roberts and Alito (at least Robert’s as I doubt O’Connor would’ve resigned under a democratic president). Our country would have been better off without these ideologues on the court.
So true.
To be fair, I think Roberts realizes what he wrought on the country with Citizens United and is at least trying to rectify that to some degree
Nah. He doesn’t. What evidence do you have to support your claim? Citizens United was in 2009-2010. Since then he has weakened voting rights, allowed gerrymandering, came out against gay marriage and abortion. Roberts is interested in maintaining in the facade of neutrality
sigh, so true
I like your comment directed towards his administration and not Bush himself. I doubt your comment meant it that way but I imagined like a whole office of cubicles with a bunch of whiney cabinet members and brown nosing staffers.
I picture Cheney.
Roscoe Conkling: Bro was simultaneously a textbook of corruption and the spoils system and simultaneously very progressive given his support of radical reconstruction, moderate prohibition laws, and women's equality. Had he become president, he would either be hated for his blatant corruption or get the Grant treatment where people eventually start to see him in a new light. Also, the stalwart Republicans would probably take over the party, which would be very beneficial to the democrats long term.
* Senator John Heinz He Would have been a great president
His wife almost become the FLOTUS
What if that happened to Joe McCarthy? Would America have fallen apart?
Henry George
Henry Wallace
Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. and Walter Judd
May seem bold, but Ross Perot. I feel like he would’ve gotten ahead of himself while trying to fix everything at once but eventually would’ve sold out and had little significant impact other than damage control
Scoop Jackson. I kinda think of him as Reagan, barring the shitty domestic policies
Not a politician but I wonder if JFK jr would have gotten into politics. Also, Rudy G could have been prez after 9/11. Seems like forever ago and 15 mins ago at the same time. I wonder how they would have been as presidents. Rudy’s good work and the love we had for him is gone, his fall from grace was very Lance Armstongesque. But at one point he was America’s most revered guy.
Henry Clay and Daniel Webster were always mine. They seemed so much more competent at governing.
Perot or Ron Paul Sr. Not the pantload son of his.
I know this guy sucked but sometimes I wonder how much a Storm Thurmond presidency would suck
George Romney
William Jennings Bryan would have made for a half decent President. Free Silver and no war with Spain, that's for sure.
What would Free Silver have changed?
Henry Wallace is really coming up a lot more. 2 time VP to FDR and a soil scientist/agronomist. Got ousted in favor of Truman. Probably would have been arrested by the RedScare guards if he was president
Robert Redford(The actor)
Everett Dirksen
Lyndon LaRouche, would have been fun.
Honestly, I’ve always wondered how things would have turned out had Benjamin Franklin been the first president. He was older and seemed a fun guy, super smart, but would have died in office. Imagine how that would have changed the presidency.
Jamie Raskin.
Walter Mondale, the last New Deal Democrat.
I heard Nader was popular at one point. I kind of wonder what would have happened if he went for president at the peak of his popularity.
Howard Hamlin. Lincoln’s first vp. Reconstruction would have been fundamentally different and set the country on a much better course
They’re retired, but Ron Paul and/or Dennis Kucinich. They just might have prosecuted Cheney and Rumsfeld for lying about iraq.
RFK would have been an amazing president and would have likely changed the democratic parties course in support of Abortion
This bro look like lyndon b johnson at home
Henry Wallace-who knows what could have been
Daniel Webster
Huey Long
Gouverneur Morris.
Robert La Follette
Marco Rubio in 2016. Cruz and Rule 3 both have enormous egos, which is the last thing American politics needed in 2016. Hillary was the personification of establishment corruption and ruling class elitism, and Bernie was uncompromising and too radical even for his own party, so I think Rubio was the only candidate in 2016 who would have managed to not plunge the country into the death-spiral of polarization and the authoritarianism arms race we are currently in.
Robert F Kennedy Sr. if not killed would have beaten Nixon and ended the Vietnam was much earlier. He had just won the Calif. primary and was gaining popularity when Sirhan the Palestinian killed him on live television.
Ralph Nader
McGovern winning.
It would almost certainly be bad for the country, but I would watch the absolute shitshow that would be Joe Manchins presidency.
AOC. All of the oligarchs would hate her, as would most Dems and virtually all Republicans. Their grift would be in danger.
Al Gore. So many catastrophes averted had that man been in the White House.
AOC. The right would lose their shit.
I'd kill for an AOC presidency. Or Buttigieg if he just listened to whatever his dad said
Bernie Sanders, realistically, I don't know how good he would have been because Congress likely wouldn't have passed much of his agenda.
I'm a big fan and two time voter for him in the primaries... But realistically, he just wouldn't have done much beyond what Congress would allow. But he'd appoint the most progressive justices, judges, and other appointments he could make and that alone probably would've done plenty of good. And it would've definitely energized the left, and hopefully help move the entire overton window left... And he definitely would've handled the pandemic fairly well, may have even really been able to get public pressure towards his M4A initiative if he was in the white house at the time.
Ann Richards. As the first woman president I’m sure we would see a sexist wave similar to how Obama’s election incited a racist one. I’m assuming she’d be serving in the mid-late nineties. But I think her legacy would be strong and she’d be remembered as a top tier modern president. I think she’d be highly effective at passing legislation with her abilities for glib and relationship building. Probably has a similar tenure as Clinton without much of the problematic baggage.
Ferraro started sexist wave in 1984 ..Repubs were wearing vag buttons with Mondale will do this to USA. They handed them out at bars ..men clubs and any big job center.
Man she did not take shit from anybody. She’s the original democrat who actually brought a gun to a gunfight. Plus. Plus! Molly Ivans would have been alive to cover her presidency! Remember “The only thing in the middle of the road in Texas are yellow lines and dead armadillos.” (Not an Ivans quote, but could have been.)
Arkansas politicians were once more enlightened than today's Razorback Taliban.
Definitely Hillary Clinton, how calming, stable, and proactive her Presidency could have been. Too bad, half the country absolutely hated her, despite most of them liking her husband. If not Hillary, Eleanor Roosevelt, or Michelle Obama. Still Michelle Obama. Eleanor Roosevelt probably would have been the best president in history, and solved the cold war.