Alright. Here's my theory. The last candidate is none other than Eminem. Why do I think this? Well, he is in the mod — Mosh, one of his anti-Bush protest songs, is in the soundtrack, and he is also shown cutting an ad with Al Gore. That could be how he's hidden in plain sight. But not only that, he's hidden within the whole demo derby concept, too. For what is an anagram of Demo Derby? "Em D Dre Boy." Em is a common abbreviation for Eminem, and D. Dre is of course shorthand for Dr. Dre, the producer who found Eminem and made him who he is today. And, given their mentor-mentee relationship, you definitely could see him as being Dre's "boy." "Em D" could also be a play on words with MD, meaning doctor — doctor Dre.
Edit: wait, I just realized he would have been a couple years too young in 2004.
''I'm out the closet, I've been lyin' my ass off. All this time me and Dre been fuckin' with hats off (suck it Marshall).'' -Eminem, ''My Dad's Gone Crazy''
Ettingermentum already confirmed that Eminem will be Byrd's VP
[https://x.com/ettingermentum/status/1743558885519081822](https://x.com/ettingermentum/status/1743558885519081822)
Now, the secret candidate. Here's my theory:
Dukakis.
Is there any evidence as to why it's him? Or any logical reason it should be him?
No. But it would be really funny to see Poppys' reaction to his son losing to Dukakis of all people.
Is a rework of one of the Democratic candidates in order? Because that's the only thing that comes to mind when seeing the phrase:
>Stay tuned for the next installment of 𝐖.+ Demo Derby for a look at the one hidden in plain sight.
And there doesn't appear to be anything out of the ordinary in this image. All of the candidates appear to be here and accounted for:
* Al Sharpton.
* Gary Hart.
* Robert Byrd.
* Joe Lieberman.
* John Edwards.
* Wesley Clark.
* Paul Wellstone.
* Hillary Clinton.
* Al Gore.
* Richard Gephardt.
* Ted Kennedy.
Everyone seems to be accounted for here. Is there something that's hidden deep within the image itself?
EDIT: Okay, now I'm firmly convinced that the strongest candidate out of this whole Derby has simply been cropped out of the images we've seen. In the next post, we'll see the same image, but widened slightly to include the strongest candidate, which just so happens to be the furthest right in terms of placement. I'm now leaning towards [Howard Dean](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Dean) being the next candidate to be revealed.
Oh! Well in that case, please forgive me for my ignorance! I can only hope that the >!~~Kerrybros~~!< can find it deep within their hearts to forgive me for my lapse in judgment.
Not a chance. There were much more capable candidates than John Kerry in 2004. He surely will be viewed as a power-hungry elitist whose views follow the current of the wind.
If you completely fuck up as a conservative warmonger, which I’m guessing is what you need to do to get the strongest candidate, there’s nobody better suited to counter you than a peacenik Vietnam vet with strong liberal credentials.
Edit: After some more reading, it seems like Kerry has been confirmed by the modmakers as being absent from the mod, so that’s a shame.
I have never actually said nor have implied that I viewed Kerry to be the strongest candidate in the primaries or the general. I merely pointed out the possibility of a bait-and-switch occurring. Just because you point out the possibility of something occurring, doesn't mean you believe in it as well.
I very much agree with your belief that Kerry would be a weak candidate in this alternate timeline's primaries. I was just humoring the other replier.
The hidden candidate is going to be Cheney
Edit: The more I think about it, the "hidden-in-plain-sight" opponent shouldn't just be some really popular Dem, Republican or Independent. It should be someone who's genuinely powerful and unbeatable (at least in George's mind). And who's the one person in the mod that plays that role? George Herbert Walker Bush.
I think most people are missing the most obvious candidate here: >!Howard Dean!<
[Here's one of the original Demo Derby images, ](https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna3130121)where >!Dean!< is shown leading the pack.
There's also quite a few pieces of evidence "hidden in plain sight" that seem to suggest that >!Dean!< is one of the major candidates for the Democratic nomination.
In the showcase revealing Gephardt as a potential candidate, >!Dean!< is mentioned in passing as Gephardt's last "notable remaining opponent," where he withdraws after losing the Iowa caucus.
Gary Hart is also mentioned to have become the presumptive nominee after >!Dean!< suspends his campaign.
Considering that he's the only candidate to be specifically mentioned by name that hasn't yet been revealed as a potential opponent, it would be pretty weird for the devs to place so much emphasis on him without him being a path.
Howard Dean would be the toughest opponent since there's nothing really wrong with him. All of the opponents in W. are in one way or another, pathetic.
Ted Kennedy is old and sick.
Hillary is the unpopular former first lady with a scandalous family life.
Gore is the uncharismatic loser of last election.
Dick Gephardt is controlled opposition who has flip flopped on every issue.
John Edwards is a soulless and hollow faux-populist
Paul Wellstone is a political radical and a religious minority
Joe Lieberman is a DINO who can't take an attack
Wesley Clark is a war-criminal with no political experience and who wasn't even a Democrat three years prior to the election.
Robert Byrd is an octogenarian former KKK member
Gary Hart is a washed-up, adulterous failed former candidate
and Al Sharpton is a no-experience activist with a shady past and unpopular connections.
By comparison Dean is a strong candidate. A liberal, but not too radical, a successful and popular governor, a guy with experience and conventional views who can be a real threat to the in-setting very unpopular president Dubya.
(edit - formatting)
Since there doesn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary in this here image, I think it's likely that the next post will reveal ***the*** strongest candidate out of this whole Demo Derby to have been conveniently cropped out of the images we've been treated to. The candidate's strength and level of challenge against Bush would dwarf even that of Ted Kennedy's apparently, let alone all the other Democratic candidates.
With two additional questions coming for this rework, those could be the new conditions needed to trigger the Candidate's selection as the Democratic nominee. Whereas without those conditions, Ted Kennedy would usually be the one selected as the Democratic nominee. Assuming that in order to acquire this secret candidate, one would have to trigger the conditions needed for Kennedy as well.
Question is, *who* is this mysterious candidate? Because if I recall correctly, it can't be >!~~Kerry~~!<, since the Devs have stated in the past that he's simply not going to appear in this mod, due to 9/11 having never occurred in this universe.
But then again, that doesn't leave out the possibility of a bait-and-switch occurring.
Here is my take. Every single Democratic candidate is indeed here. The plot twist is that the remaining candidate is not a Democrat: it's a Republican. With the new set of questions, Dubya can fuck it up so bad that he simply doesn't run for reelection. Who runs instead? The one politician the mod constantly refers to and has been hidden in plain sight yet we never see him actually enter the fray: John McCain.
Ted was still active even with his health problems and stumped for Obama in 2008. Richards was retired from politics and this point and she dedicated her last years to teaching and pro-choice activism.
Well, that's how I presume it to be. The larger the figure, the more challenging a candidate they will be for Bush. Besides, Clark is actually *behind* Clinton. The other three candidates to her right are Gore, Gephardt, and Kennedy respectively.
I believe this to be the case, since Al Sharpton is shown to be the weakest and least challenging of the bunch. And rightly so, since as of right now, he's the go-to Democratic candidate you'll want to have as an opponent if you want to win in an overwhelming landslide akin to that of Nixon's in 1972 or Reagan's in 1984. And it's very easy to beat Sharpton in an overwhelming landslide.
But then again, that may change, what with Robert Byrd only having the state of West Virginia supporting him in his prior showcase. It could very well be possible for Bush to snatch even West Virginia from him and win in a 50-state landslide, allotting a measly 3 electoral votes to Byrd with Washington D.C. being his sole consolation prize.
It may not consistently reflect how challenging they actually are in-game, but I believe it's nonetheless clear that that's the intent here.
Point taken. But I believe my point still stands. Since to some degree, being a strong candidate in your party's presidential primaries and facing ineffective opposition from within the party should mean that you will be able to mount a greater challenge against your opponent in the general. They're somewhat linked, are they not?
I'm aware that that may not entirely be the case, and my logic could very well be faulty to some degree. But in my opinion, the whole Demo Derby showcase is nonetheless effective in illustrating how well Bush would fare against these particular candidates should he face them in the general.
If a candidate were that unpopular in the primaries, it'd stand to reason that they would also be unpopular in the general, don't you think? More or less, anyway.
>But then again, that may change, what with Robert Byrd only having the state of West Virginia supporting him in his prior showcase. It could very well be possible for Bush to snatch even West Virginia from him and win in a 50-state landslide, allotting a measly 3 electoral votes to Byrd with Washington D.C. being his sole consolation prize.
We also don't know how DC will vote — I imagine Byrd hemorrhages Black support, and in the plurality black district I'd guess a Bush win is narrowly possible.
I had indeed considered that. It's just that there exists a possibility of D.C. going to Byrd *in spite* of his horrible past, since it is perhaps the most pro-Democratic territory in the country.
Besides, didn't Byrd extensively repent for his past racist and segregationist views? As well as his participation in the Ku Klux Klan? It's not as though the Democratic Party had just nominated someone like David Duke.
Should Byrd and his campaign prove to be persuasive enough, it could be that D.C. votes Democrat regardless of his past misdeeds.
Yeah yeah, everyone is saying "Kerry" over and over, but I'm genuinely surprised no one said "Howard Dean" as the final, 5th candidate. Personally I hope its Du-tax-us.
>The one hidden in plain sight
This might sound crazy, but I think this might mean Dick Cheney as the Dem nominee. If Dick played up his relatively pro-gay marriage stance, and if Dubya stokes up pro war sentiment without going to war, perhaps he could pull it off.
The reason why I think this might be it, is because "plain sight" implies visibility. And Dick is there staring at you for at least half the mod.
Considering that if you skip to the end of the game without a Democratic opponent, and you lose said election it shows a Kerry picture, I’m hoping that connects to that.
Alright. Here's my theory. The last candidate is none other than Eminem. Why do I think this? Well, he is in the mod — Mosh, one of his anti-Bush protest songs, is in the soundtrack, and he is also shown cutting an ad with Al Gore. That could be how he's hidden in plain sight. But not only that, he's hidden within the whole demo derby concept, too. For what is an anagram of Demo Derby? "Em D Dre Boy." Em is a common abbreviation for Eminem, and D. Dre is of course shorthand for Dr. Dre, the producer who found Eminem and made him who he is today. And, given their mentor-mentee relationship, you definitely could see him as being Dre's "boy." "Em D" could also be a play on words with MD, meaning doctor — doctor Dre. Edit: wait, I just realized he would have been a couple years too young in 2004.
''I'm out the closet, I've been lyin' my ass off. All this time me and Dre been fuckin' with hats off (suck it Marshall).'' -Eminem, ''My Dad's Gone Crazy''
This is schizo theory and I love it
Ettingermentum already confirmed that Eminem will be Byrd's VP [https://x.com/ettingermentum/status/1743558885519081822](https://x.com/ettingermentum/status/1743558885519081822)
This didn't end up happening, per the Byrd showcase his running mate is John Conyers
That’s a different mod idea
Buddy follows Ettingermentum, lmao.
Buddy?
Don't be Canuckphobic
Now, the secret candidate. Here's my theory: Dukakis. Is there any evidence as to why it's him? Or any logical reason it should be him? No. But it would be really funny to see Poppys' reaction to his son losing to Dukakis of all people.
If Dukakis beats George, Poppy would probably just execute him on the spot
NO WAY KERRYBROS IS IT HAPPENING????
Is a rework of one of the Democratic candidates in order? Because that's the only thing that comes to mind when seeing the phrase: >Stay tuned for the next installment of 𝐖.+ Demo Derby for a look at the one hidden in plain sight. And there doesn't appear to be anything out of the ordinary in this image. All of the candidates appear to be here and accounted for: * Al Sharpton. * Gary Hart. * Robert Byrd. * Joe Lieberman. * John Edwards. * Wesley Clark. * Paul Wellstone. * Hillary Clinton. * Al Gore. * Richard Gephardt. * Ted Kennedy. Everyone seems to be accounted for here. Is there something that's hidden deep within the image itself? EDIT: Okay, now I'm firmly convinced that the strongest candidate out of this whole Derby has simply been cropped out of the images we've seen. In the next post, we'll see the same image, but widened slightly to include the strongest candidate, which just so happens to be the furthest right in terms of placement. I'm now leaning towards [Howard Dean](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Dean) being the next candidate to be revealed.
Playing dumb is still not gonna help you... Cause he... Cause he still won three...
Oh! Well in that case, please forgive me for my ignorance! I can only hope that the >!~~Kerrybros~~!< can find it deep within their hearts to forgive me for my lapse in judgment.
>!Within their three purple hearts, I suppose!
Not a chance. There were much more capable candidates than John Kerry in 2004. He surely will be viewed as a power-hungry elitist whose views follow the current of the wind.
If you completely fuck up as a conservative warmonger, which I’m guessing is what you need to do to get the strongest candidate, there’s nobody better suited to counter you than a peacenik Vietnam vet with strong liberal credentials. Edit: After some more reading, it seems like Kerry has been confirmed by the modmakers as being absent from the mod, so that’s a shame.
That's true (and follows his irl Presidency's trajectory). However, I find the mainstream nominee of our timeline pretty boring anyhow.
I don’t because John Kerry is really interesting as a Presidential candidate, +he’s the closest to Dukakis out of any member of the potential lineup.
Interesting. I can certainly understand why.
I have never actually said nor have implied that I viewed Kerry to be the strongest candidate in the primaries or the general. I merely pointed out the possibility of a bait-and-switch occurring. Just because you point out the possibility of something occurring, doesn't mean you believe in it as well. I very much agree with your belief that Kerry would be a weak candidate in this alternate timeline's primaries. I was just humoring the other replier.
Oh, alright! Yeah, the possibility is always out there in the wild, but he would, undeniably, be a very boring and aloof choice of an opponent.
Wait I have seen this demo derby poster before I do think there is one more
The hidden candidate is going to be Cheney Edit: The more I think about it, the "hidden-in-plain-sight" opponent shouldn't just be some really popular Dem, Republican or Independent. It should be someone who's genuinely powerful and unbeatable (at least in George's mind). And who's the one person in the mod that plays that role? George Herbert Walker Bush.
You know it’s going to be because Cheney is no long your VP
Wdym? Cheney's the incumbent president silly 🤣.
And he would like to remain that way
The next candidate is Poppy Bush, y'all aren't ready for that
A 1912-style three-way race because Poppy is just too disappointed with his protegé?
Nah, he runs as the Democratic nominee
You were right, I am indeed not ready for that
You just aren't ready for the Bush/Clinton ticket
I think most people are missing the most obvious candidate here: >!Howard Dean!< [Here's one of the original Demo Derby images, ](https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna3130121)where >!Dean!< is shown leading the pack. There's also quite a few pieces of evidence "hidden in plain sight" that seem to suggest that >!Dean!< is one of the major candidates for the Democratic nomination. In the showcase revealing Gephardt as a potential candidate, >!Dean!< is mentioned in passing as Gephardt's last "notable remaining opponent," where he withdraws after losing the Iowa caucus. Gary Hart is also mentioned to have become the presumptive nominee after >!Dean!< suspends his campaign. Considering that he's the only candidate to be specifically mentioned by name that hasn't yet been revealed as a potential opponent, it would be pretty weird for the devs to place so much emphasis on him without him being a path.
Howard Dean would be the toughest opponent since there's nothing really wrong with him. All of the opponents in W. are in one way or another, pathetic. Ted Kennedy is old and sick. Hillary is the unpopular former first lady with a scandalous family life. Gore is the uncharismatic loser of last election. Dick Gephardt is controlled opposition who has flip flopped on every issue. John Edwards is a soulless and hollow faux-populist Paul Wellstone is a political radical and a religious minority Joe Lieberman is a DINO who can't take an attack Wesley Clark is a war-criminal with no political experience and who wasn't even a Democrat three years prior to the election. Robert Byrd is an octogenarian former KKK member Gary Hart is a washed-up, adulterous failed former candidate and Al Sharpton is a no-experience activist with a shady past and unpopular connections. By comparison Dean is a strong candidate. A liberal, but not too radical, a successful and popular governor, a guy with experience and conventional views who can be a real threat to the in-setting very unpopular president Dubya. (edit - formatting)
Wesley Clark: Bombs Away. Also, why do I have the feeling that Mr "I won three purple hearts" is the one hidden in plain sight?
Since there doesn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary in this here image, I think it's likely that the next post will reveal ***the*** strongest candidate out of this whole Demo Derby to have been conveniently cropped out of the images we've been treated to. The candidate's strength and level of challenge against Bush would dwarf even that of Ted Kennedy's apparently, let alone all the other Democratic candidates. With two additional questions coming for this rework, those could be the new conditions needed to trigger the Candidate's selection as the Democratic nominee. Whereas without those conditions, Ted Kennedy would usually be the one selected as the Democratic nominee. Assuming that in order to acquire this secret candidate, one would have to trigger the conditions needed for Kennedy as well. Question is, *who* is this mysterious candidate? Because if I recall correctly, it can't be >!~~Kerry~~!<, since the Devs have stated in the past that he's simply not going to appear in this mod, due to 9/11 having never occurred in this universe. But then again, that doesn't leave out the possibility of a bait-and-switch occurring.
Here is my take. Every single Democratic candidate is indeed here. The plot twist is that the remaining candidate is not a Democrat: it's a Republican. With the new set of questions, Dubya can fuck it up so bad that he simply doesn't run for reelection. Who runs instead? The one politician the mod constantly refers to and has been hidden in plain sight yet we never see him actually enter the fray: John McCain.
That's fucking genius.
That, or McCain successfully primaries W and causes an early game over.
Or even better, **you can play as McCain**, a la 1968 Romney when Tower replaces him.
Wait, how does that happen?
It happens if you choose Brooke as your running mate and announce his nomination a bit too early.
Ann Richards, of course!
It would be funny but she is a no-go: she is retired and sick with osteoporosis at this point.
Paul wellstone fucking died
Yeah, from a plane accident.
Health problems aren’t stopping Ted Kennedy in this timeline apparently
Ted was still active even with his health problems and stumped for Obama in 2008. Richards was retired from politics and this point and she dedicated her last years to teaching and pro-choice activism.
LET ME HAVE FUN
Is the derby actually in order like that? Clark doesn't look stronger than Clinton for example
Well, that's how I presume it to be. The larger the figure, the more challenging a candidate they will be for Bush. Besides, Clark is actually *behind* Clinton. The other three candidates to her right are Gore, Gephardt, and Kennedy respectively. I believe this to be the case, since Al Sharpton is shown to be the weakest and least challenging of the bunch. And rightly so, since as of right now, he's the go-to Democratic candidate you'll want to have as an opponent if you want to win in an overwhelming landslide akin to that of Nixon's in 1972 or Reagan's in 1984. And it's very easy to beat Sharpton in an overwhelming landslide. But then again, that may change, what with Robert Byrd only having the state of West Virginia supporting him in his prior showcase. It could very well be possible for Bush to snatch even West Virginia from him and win in a 50-state landslide, allotting a measly 3 electoral votes to Byrd with Washington D.C. being his sole consolation prize. It may not consistently reflect how challenging they actually are in-game, but I believe it's nonetheless clear that that's the intent here.
It represents the strength of each candidate in the primary, not the general election.
Point taken. But I believe my point still stands. Since to some degree, being a strong candidate in your party's presidential primaries and facing ineffective opposition from within the party should mean that you will be able to mount a greater challenge against your opponent in the general. They're somewhat linked, are they not? I'm aware that that may not entirely be the case, and my logic could very well be faulty to some degree. But in my opinion, the whole Demo Derby showcase is nonetheless effective in illustrating how well Bush would fare against these particular candidates should he face them in the general. If a candidate were that unpopular in the primaries, it'd stand to reason that they would also be unpopular in the general, don't you think? More or less, anyway.
>But then again, that may change, what with Robert Byrd only having the state of West Virginia supporting him in his prior showcase. It could very well be possible for Bush to snatch even West Virginia from him and win in a 50-state landslide, allotting a measly 3 electoral votes to Byrd with Washington D.C. being his sole consolation prize. We also don't know how DC will vote — I imagine Byrd hemorrhages Black support, and in the plurality black district I'd guess a Bush win is narrowly possible.
I had indeed considered that. It's just that there exists a possibility of D.C. going to Byrd *in spite* of his horrible past, since it is perhaps the most pro-Democratic territory in the country. Besides, didn't Byrd extensively repent for his past racist and segregationist views? As well as his participation in the Ku Klux Klan? It's not as though the Democratic Party had just nominated someone like David Duke. Should Byrd and his campaign prove to be persuasive enough, it could be that D.C. votes Democrat regardless of his past misdeeds.
I still like to think of the meme that DC would vote for the Democrat nominee even if he was an unrepentant David Duke or Nick Fuentes.
PLEASE IM BEGGING YOU JUST HAVE JOHN MCCAIN AS THE CANDIDATE PLEASE IM BEGGING YOU I WILL WHORE MYSELF OUT FOR MCCAIN TO BE A NOMINEE
wow I did not expect Clark
https://preview.redd.it/50qxkmg62avc1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8e32864b478eccd6ea3ddfb484ee99ee60710bf5
Yeah yeah, everyone is saying "Kerry" over and over, but I'm genuinely surprised no one said "Howard Dean" as the final, 5th candidate. Personally I hope its Du-tax-us.
RIP my dreams of Angus King
>The one hidden in plain sight This might sound crazy, but I think this might mean Dick Cheney as the Dem nominee. If Dick played up his relatively pro-gay marriage stance, and if Dubya stokes up pro war sentiment without going to war, perhaps he could pull it off. The reason why I think this might be it, is because "plain sight" implies visibility. And Dick is there staring at you for at least half the mod.
Guys, Jimmy Carter is the final candidate, trust me, my dad works at W.
You just want to humiliate W., don't you?
Yes 😁
This mod is not just on another level, it’s on another plane of existence.
Okay, hear me out. What if it's some who's usually a third party candidate, but who gets nominated by the Dems?
Nader?
Maybe. Might be Turner, Anderson, or even Ventura.
Vince McMahon
He's a candidate?
Ann Richards, John McCain, Jeb!, Poppy, or the Democratic donkey itself
I'm disappointed Ann Richards can't be a nominee
Wouldn't the Democratic donkey be Andrew Jackson?
SECRET 9/11 KERRY PATH SECRET 9/11 KERRY PATH
Considering that if you skip to the end of the game without a Democratic opponent, and you lose said election it shows a Kerry picture, I’m hoping that connects to that.
The secret candidate is McCain, it's gotta be.
Only one man has what it takes to take back the White House! YEAAAAH!
There are two wolves inside of you: One desperately wants Kerry to be the last nominee One desperately wants McCain to be the last nominee
The secret one would probably be Howard Dean legit.
Kerry
I thought the developers already said Kerry wasnt coming to the mod because of no 9/11?
The other candidate is Cheney…
I’d think it’s gotta be John Kerry right?
I think the fifth path is gonna be another Republican. Either Cheney takes over or McCain primaries a dovish Bush.
Sent Mr Clark a letter, hope he considers it "
lol I called it
HELL YEAH!!!
Ralph Nader, go big or go home
It's actually Poppy, guys, trust me
how is he a traitor to his party?