The Second Term of Gerald Ford

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"Presidents have some of the best care in the nation," said President Bentsen. "Infact, I'm only a few years older than Senator Baker myself. I can assure you, despite the tragic death of President Jackson, neither me nor my Vice President will die in office." The Baker campaign harped on Bentsen's choice of Thurgood Marshall as symbolism over substance, and that the President wasn't doing enough to investigate the Savings and Loans crisis or improve the economy. On the issue of the war in Iran, he said the President was handling the situation admirably, and he would continue the peace-keeping process.

The People's Progressive Party did not nominate a candidate, and endorsed President Bentsen.

Though things looked like a dead-heat coming out of the Convention, Baker's message to "turn the page on the tragic events of the 80's" and to return to normalcy, resonated with the voters and Senator Baker won, handily.

Senator Howard Baker/Senator Paul Laxalt, 365 ev, 52% PV
President Lloyd M. Bentsen/A.J. Thurgood Marshall, 173 EV, 47% PV

Several states were very close (MO, OH, PA, CA, MI) due to high black turnout, but Baker managed to carry the day.

President-elect Baker made frequent visits to the White House during the final months of Bentsen's Presidency, and frequently consulted him. Having worked together in the Senate, it was one of the friendliest transitions, in stark contrast to the distasteful one between Ford and Jackson.

[Historico]

Atleast my boy Lloyd was able to pull in Texas ITTL...Baker should shape up to be the Best President in regards to getting stuff through Congress since LBJ. The Great Concillitator will be able to call in alot of favors and have a very successful Presidency. Keep it comming

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The First Term of Howard Baker

Vice President: Paul Laxalt
Secretary of State: George Shultz
Secretary of Defense: Dick Cheney
Secretary of Treasury: Pete DuPont
Attorney General: Winfield Dunn
Chief of Staff: George H. W. Bush
U.N. Ambassador: John J. Duncan Jr.

1988 Senate Elections

Incidentally, despite Baker's electoral margin, the Senate elections went dutch, as far as pick-ups are concerned. Republicans were worried about the seat of Lowell P. Weicker, however, he narrowly managed to beat challenger Joseph Lieberman.

On the other hand, Republicans managed to pick up 25 house seats.

Senate
Republicans: 50 (Majority)
Democrats: 50

House
Democrats: 220
Republicans:215

President Baker, with some negotiating to House Leaders, managed to cut taxes across the board, and pledged to reduce the deficit before the 1992 election, and improve relations with the Soviet Union.

[Bleeding heart conservative, HTMLdon]

Attorney General: Winfield Dunn

Great choice!

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Attorney General: Winfield Dunn

Great choice!

Thanks man, didn't know you were a reader. Enjoying the TL?

[Vosem]

[quote author=Northeast Assemblyman Xuande
Enjoying the TL?
[/quote]

Yes!!

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

Attorney General: Winfield Dunn

Great choice!

Thanks man, didn't know you were a reader. Enjoying the TL?

I enjoy too

[Alexander Hamilton]

HOWARD BAKER!!!!

[Bo]

Attorney General: Winfield Dunn

Great choice!

Thanks man, didn't know you were a reader. Enjoying the TL?

I enjoy too

[Historico]

Solid Plausible Cabinent for the Great Concillitator...Can't wait to see how the Senator from Tennessse handels the Persian Gulf Crisis(This maybe were some huge butterflies come in from the Iranian War). Keep it commng

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Update coming soon, I swear.

[Obnoxiously Slutty Girly Girl]

Update coming soon, I swear.

We're waiting patiently.

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In late 1989, due to much investigation concerning the Savings and Loans crisis, the Senate Ethics Committee, with cooperation of Attorney General Winfield Dunn, uncovered that four Senators had received over $1.5 million in contributions to various Senators, known as the Keating Four: Senator Alan Cranston, Senator Pete Dunn, Senator John Glenn, and Senator John McCain. In the end, three out of the four Senators were found guilty only of having exercised 'poor judgement.' Alan Cranston was reprimanded by the Senate, and announced he would not run for reelection.

On August 2th, 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait. Many speculated that this was due to imperialistic ambitions, or debt to the Kuwaiti government, but Saddam Hussein cited their refusal to cooperate with OPEC standards and harm to the Iraqi economy, which had been struggling.

On August 3rd, President Baker issued an ultimatum to Iraq: Either vacate Kuwait in 48 hours, or yet another bombing campaign would begin, with troops adjacent in Iran cooperating with the neighboring Saudi's. He also promised to help arbitrate the debt between Iraq and Kuwait, promising to give Iraq more time to pay it's debt. Saddam, fearing the military might of the U.S., withdrew and submitted to the negotiations.

The economy began to show moderate signs of improvement aswell. Unemployment was down to 7.2%, and inflation was increasing at a much lower rate than it had been. President Baker had a 68% approval rating, heading into the 1990 midterm elections....

(Coming up shortly, 1990 Mid term elections)

[Bo]

Great TL so far.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

Attorney General: Winfield Dunn

Great choice!

Dentist General

[GLPman]

This is a good TL. I'm looking forward to reading more.

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1990 Senate Elections

With mostly their own seats up for re-election, Republicans only managed to make two Senatorial pick-ups. The Democratic Senators were mostly powerful incumbents, and withstood the Republican tide.

Breaking an almost constant trend, the Republicans also managed to increase their numbers in the house, managing to take it with a slim majority.

Senate
Republicans: 52
Democrats: 48

House
Republicans: 225
Democrats: 210

[Historico]

Awesome updates Xuande, it seems Howard Baker is having a trully successful Presidency, especially getting Saddam to withdraw from Kuwait without having to use Overwhelming Force. Can't wait to see what you have in store for the '92 election, cuz I bet after running a Southern Moderate in Bentsen in '88, the party's liberal wing will be aching for a nod. So that means probably former Governor Jerry Brown or even former Senator Paul Tsongas may get the nomination? And Perot may or may not still run? Keep it comming

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The next year of Baker's presidency saw unemployment drop down to 6.4%, and for the first time in over a decade, a surplus in the budget. With the Republican controlled House, President Baker worked with Speaker Gingrich for a balanced budget, bringing on board some more moderate Democrats with his famous skills as "The Great Conciliator."
One other remarkable event was the signing of the Belavezha Accords on December 8th,  1991, marking what many saw as a collapse of the Soviet Union. President Baker saw a 65% approval rating, and many Democrats were hesitant  to match up with President Baker. There were several Democrats pressed to run for the presidency, such as Associate Justice Bill Clinton and General Colin Powell, but both had declined. There were some challengers, though..

On November 9th, 1991, Governor Bob Casey of Pennsylvania announced he would seek his parties' nomination.

On November 15th, 1991, Senator Paul Tsongas announced he would contest the nomination. "The party's liberal wing cannot continue to be held hostage by centrists. If no one else will run against Governor Casey, then I will."

The two headed off to Iowa, the first caucus...

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Iowa Caucuses

Bob Casey: 55%

Paul Tsongas: 45%

New Hampshire Primary

Paul Tsongas: 63%

Bob Casey: 35%

Maine Caucuses

Paul Tsongas: 58%

Bob Casey: 40%

South Dakota Primary

Bob Casey: 52%

Paul Tsongas: 46%

Though Tsongas won by whopping margins in two of the states, most pundits wrote it off as a "New England thing", and opined that Casey was a centrist who could go head-to-head with President Baker and be competitive, while securing the base.

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The March primaries were a continuous back and forth between the two candidates, but with two big upsets - Maryland and Florida going to Tsongas. Though a serious blow to the Casey campaign, the Governor fought on.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

Keep it coming

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Keep it coming

Thanks, another update comin' soon

I was worried people lost interest.

[Bo]

Good TL so far. Go Howard Baker!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BTW, how is the situation in the Middle East?

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After a long, arduous, particularly negative campaign, Tsongas managed to finally clinch the nomination at the last round of primaries on June 2nd. Casey was not an acceptable Vice Presidential pick for the Senator, whom picked a veteran of the Democratic Party, Governor Jerry Brown, a fellow economic moderate whose views were much in-line with Tsongas'. Brown added Pacific Coast appeal, and sorely needed executive experience to the ticket.

Vice Presidential nominee Jerry Brown delivering his acceptance speech at the Democratic Convention.

Senator Tsongas gave a rather milquetoast acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention. With a swiftly recovering economy, the Senator had a tough time championing issues, but talked extensively about the environment, and that the President wasn't socially progressive enough.