Replies

Artur, pronounced like it sounds.

Junior Ford. Yes, his father was grooming him to be the first Black President. When that would’ve happened (absent Zero) is the question. He couldn’t have run in ‘08, barely a year after winning the Senate seat. However, if both he and Zero had run at the same time, that might’ve had Hillary get the nomination. Junior would’ve had a real problem in a Dem national primary, because he would’ve been considered a “right-winger” by their standards (going by his House record), which is the kiss of death. He’d have had to have moved hard-left the moment he got in the Senate, but doing so would jeopardize his hold on the seat, unless he was only planning to hold it for a single term.

Cory Booker. It will be interesting to see if the Dems try to recruit him to run against Gov. Christie in 2013. If Sarah Palin is President by then, Booker might have a better shot, as the economy may likely still be in the crapper (a la Reagan in his first two years in office), but if Zero is in his second term, probably he’ll have less of a chance. I frankly don’t know what kind of an effect Christie or McDonnell (VA) are going to have given that with respect to the national climate, there’s only so much they can do, since national economic policy and gov’t expansion is well out of their hands.

Had those Presidents/Presidential candidates ended up in the House or Senate at an earlier date, it obviously would’ve changed their careers to a degree. For Zero, the House seat would’ve been a trap for him, with perhaps the only way out attempting one of two ways, either running for Chicago Mayor or IL Governor. If he went for Mayor, he’d never have ended up as President.

For Dubya, had he beaten his DINO opponent in 1978, Kent Hance, he might’ve ended up going to the Senate by 1984 (instead of Phil Gramm), and perhaps the Governorship later on and the Presidency (just a different route there).

Had Clinton won the NW Arkansas 3rd district, he might’ve held onto it for a time (since, after all, starting in ‘74, a LOT of GOP districts were held by Dems), but he’d have been hemmed in, and likely would’ve had to go for the Senate or Governorship before long, probably in 1978, so it might not have changed his career that dramatically (unless he went to the Senate). The GOP would’ve merely gotten the seat back as soon as he vacated it with somebody we’ve never heard of today.

If Papa Bush had won the Senate race in either 1964 or 1970, he’d still have probably found a way to the White House (or Vice-Presidency, at least, maybe as Jerry Ford’s running mate in 1976 - for which he could’ve been like Lloyd Bentsen, running for reelection and for VP at the same time, and it might’ve tipped TX into the GOP column (still for a 271D-266R EV win for Carter, unless Bush could’ve knocked another Southern state into the column).

Kerry might’ve been the least effected. Had he won that then-GOP 5th district in 1972, it would’ve eliminated Paul Tsongas, since he beat that Republican, Paul Cronin, in 1974. Kerry would’ve been the 1978 Senate nominee instead of Tsongas, and perhaps beaten Ed Brooke, so he’d have gotten the same Senate seat 6 years earlier. Although I think Tsongas was considered slightly more Conservative than Brooke, and ‘78 saw a rebuke of the most left-wing people, so perhaps Brooke might’ve eked out a victory over Kerry since he clearly was to the left of both. Kerry might then have run for Governor in ‘82 against Dukakis, perhaps allowing Ed King to win renomination and reelection to a second term. Kerry might then have tried again to run for the Senate in ‘84 against Ed Brooke (presuming Brooke wouldn’t have switched parties, as he would’ve been highly uncomfortable in Reagan’s Republican-majority Senate). Come to think of it, Brooke could’ve had that seat as long as he wanted as a Democrat. It was only a matter of time before he’d have been defeated in a GOP primary as long as he voted that left-wing.