What If Clinton had picked KERRY over Gore in '92?

[liberalpragmatist]

People often compare Kerry and his campaign problems w/ Gore. Certainly things may well have been slightly different, but I think this is a realistic scenario if Kerry voted yes in '90:

- '90: Sen. John Kerry of Mass. votes "yes" on resolution authorizing George H.W. Bush to take action against Saddam Hussein.

- '91: Kerry opts out of running for President in '92, endorses Paul Tsongas.

- Spring '92: Bill Clinton clinches the nomination.

- July '92: Bill Clinton announces his running mate: Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts. Others on his shortlist include Sen. Al Gore of Tenn., Sen. Harris Wofford of Penn., and Rep. Lee Hamilton of Indiana.

- Nov. '92: The Clinton-Kerry ticket wins a substantial victory over George Bush and Ross Perot.

Fast Forward Many Years:

- Fall '99: Kerry the Democratic frontrunner. Bill Bradley challenges Kerry in the primaries and leads in NH.

- Jan. '00: John Kerry pulls ahead of Bill Bradley and wins NH.

- Winter/Spring '00: Gov. George W. Bush of Texas and Sen. John McCain square off. Bush prevails.

- Summer '00: Bush leads Kerry by a large margin in polls. Kerry seen as aloof and unexciting, criticized for not telling the truth and speaking in "Legalese."

- July '00: Kerry picks new Senator John Edwards as his running mate over Sen. Al Gore of Tenn.

- Sept. '00: Kerry-Edwards leads Bush-Cheney by a large margin after strong post-convention bounce.

- Oct. '00: Kerry and Bush square off in debates. Kerry bests Bush, but the mediawhores declare Bush the winner b/c he "beat expectations." Cheney is praised as more "authoritative" than Edwards.

- Nov. 7 '00: Kerry and Bush square off in the closest election in 40 years. Kerry prevails by 600,000 votes in the GE, but Florida is disputed and after a long recount, Bush prevails. Kerry's downfall is his inability to win NH after Bush's tax plan proved competitive and Ralph Nader won 5% of the vote in the state.

Fast forward

- 2003: Year begins with war in Iraq. Al Gore voted for the war with reservations, as did other Democratic candidates for president, John Edwards, Dick Gephardt, and Joe Biden. Vt. Gov. Howard Dean speaks out against the war in January and denounces those who voted for the war.

- Gore seen as frontrunner, but as year goes on, he loses much of his support. Edwards and then Wesley Clark prove more competitive in the South and Clark in NH. Dean leads Gore by a wide margin in NH.

- Dec. 2003: Former VP John Kerry, now a fierce critic of the Bush administration who has denounced the Iraq War in speeches sponsored by moveon.org announces his enthusiastic endorsement of Howard Dean.

- Gore denounces the action of Kerry, who he says is interfering in the Democratic primary. Voters shall decide, he says.

- Edwards receives a large amt. of sympathy.

* I know this scenario is very variable. Had Kerry been picked as VP by Clinton he may well have won in '00 -- it would have been a different race. Likewise, an Al Gore who was in the Senate in '02 may not have voted for the IWR, but the fact is Kerry and Gore strike me as very similar. Gore seems like the type that would have voted for the war with reservations, like Kerry, but his experience in '00 changed him into a far bolder and more decisive person. The same may have happened to Kerry. I mean no bad intentions to anybody here, I just think this is a fun little what if game, nothing more. Feel free to disagree.

[NavajoRug]

1. I don't think there would have been much of a difference . . .

Kerry and Gore both have the same problem, and it has nothing to do with which one of them Clinton had selected in 1992.
<p>
Former Senators generally make the worst presidential candidates -- by far. George McGovern . . . Walter Mondale . . . Bob Dole . . . Al Gore . . . John Kerry . . . John Edwards . . . Joe Lieberman. Note that with the exception of Gore, every one of these guys has had an abysmal track record in nation-wide political campaigns.