If you could reverse ONE election outcome, which would it be?

[BlueDemKev]

Of all the presidential elections since Watergate, if you could go back and reverse the outcome of just ONE of them (knowing that would have changed history and subsequent elections most likely would have featured different candidates debating very different issues, which election would you change and why?

1976: Carter d. Ford
1980: Reagan d. Carter
1984: Reagan d. Mondale
1988: Bush d. Dukakis
1992: Clinton d. Bush
1996: Clinton d. Dole
2000: Bush d(?). Gore
2004: Bush d. Kerry
2008: Obama d. McCain

[Electric Monk]

1. 2000 nt

[Cleita]

32. Without a doubt because legally it should have never

happened. I often wondered where we would be now if Al Gore had been allowed to rightfully be President.

[Safetykitten]

2. 3,425 BC. Thurg the clubber over Mog the nice.

[Kennah]

4. That's not nice

Property values were so much higher under Thurg than under Mog.

[Kennah]

3. 1980

Reagan started the 30 year war on Americans. Prevent their Fort Sumter shot.

[Bake]

8. Agreed. That was the seed.

Even though today's Rethugs make Reagan look like a centrist, Reagan was the seed from which the whole evil enterprise sprang.

Bake

[hifiguy]

96. +2

The rot set in on January 20, 1981 and it has been going downhill ever since unless you are a member of the plutocracy.

[blondeatlast]

18. +1. nt

[Arugula Latte]

19. Yes. It's tempting to say 2000, but there would have been no 2000 without '80.

[FLPanhandle]

33. Absolutely.

None of the others come close

[hulka38]

43. +1

[n2doc]

55. yep. And in 1984 Reagan would likely have been seen as too old

[Xicano]

60. +1,000,000,000,000,000,000³

LOL Can you tell how much I dislike Reagan?

[Snoutport]

71. Twas 1980 when evil took over....Bush was just a bastard son... nt

[EstimatedProphet]

80. Yes

Had Reagan not schemed to keep the hostages imprisoned, Carter would have had a much better chance at winning. But he did, and won, and we now have a country full of redneck bullies who excuse Reagan for doing just that.

[guitar man]

84. +1000

I've struggled my entire adult life under the backward slide that bastard started in motion and I know much of my generation has struggled along with me. The culture of regression that started with him has culminated in a large segment of the population who are the first in American history to do worse than our parents no matter how hard we try. May he rot in hell. :grr:

[harun]

91. The nation took the path of greed over the path of goodness.

[pacalo]

5. 2000.

[spartan61]

6. No contest...2000 bush selected by the SCOTUS over Gore.

[opihimoimoi]

10. Yup...KnR

[politicasista]

40. +1 n/t

[Ptah]

7. 1972

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkZC7sqImaM

[eShirl]

26. I lost my nickel allowance betting against Nixon winning that

guess I was born this way

[UrbScotty]

2000. Easily.

[liberal N proud]

9. 1980: Reagan d. Carter

That changed the world and we are still paying the price

[Davis_X_Machina]

11. 2008...

...at least DU'd have been spared the endless moaning about President Obama didn't do this and President Obama didn't that, and Obama didn't listen to me! would have been throttled in its cradle.

[Rex]

15. You really believe anyone on this forum thinks their rants will affect

practically anything in the real world? I find it amusing, these wars between the pro Os and the anti Os. As if anything we/they say here makes a difference out there.

Ludicrous.

[Ezlivin]

12. 1980 - Carter defeats Reagan

It keeps the Neocons at bay for at least another four years and allows Carter to move the country toward energy independence.

In addition, it would have allowed us to start to appreciate the "peace dividend" that came with the ending of the Cold War, thus keeping the MIC from expanding like it has.

[blondeatlast]

22. Plus we'd probably be better off in the Middle East. nt

[polichick]

13. I agree with those who said 1980 - for the reasons already given.

[MilesColtrane]

14. The reversal: 1968

I'd have a very much alive Bobby Kennedy beat Nixon like a rented mule.

[Initech]

21. Actually I'd go a step further and make sure JFK never happened.

[WinkyDink]

51. Because we needed Nixon 8 years earlier?

[Initech]

62. I was referring to Nov. 22nd, 1963.

[WinkyDink]

67. Sorry; didn't know "JFK" was short-hand for that.

[hifiguy]

98. I am old enough to remember 1968, and RFK would

have CRUSHED Nixon in the general election. And what a different country this would be.

[MannyGoldstein]

16. 2008.

In the prior elections, people got what they wanted, whether it was good or bad, perhaps with the exception of the stolen 2004 election (which was close, anyway). So, no matter who won, things would have generally gone the way they did. For example, Al Gore was an active participant in Clinton's development of the outsourced-torture "extraordinary rendition" program.

In 2008, people voted overwhelmingly for hope and change, but we got much other, for examples:

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-june-15-2010/respect-my-authoritah

This is an enormous problem. We've had almost 20% real unemployment for years, and more shoveling of worker's cash to the wealthiest. So now the Democratic brand is badly damaged, and the people have returned even-crazier Republicans to office in a desperate attempt for actual, helpful change. It's like the poor souls who leaped from the Twin Towers on 9/11 to avoid the fire. Awful, awful choices.

Would McCain's policies be much different? I don't see how. In addition, at least we'd have a chance for bringing in people with Democratic ideals in 2010 and 2012 - 2010 was a disaster, and 2012 is unlikely to see a good outcome at the Presidential level.

[Pisces]

17. All you ever post is garbage. You belong at Free Republic and Fox news.

[Maru Kitteh]

30. + a brazillion.

[MannyGoldstein]

34. How will you spend the $50,000+ in lifetime Social Security

benefits that Obama's commission voted to take from you?

Now if I were a Freeper, I'd be in favor of that commission and its recommendations. However, I think Obama's attack on Social Security is shameful.

How do you feel about Obama's attack on Social Security?

[MilesColtrane]

39. Don't forget the Death Panels!

:yoiks:

[MannyGoldstein]

73. Are you stating that Obama's commission did not vote to take $50,000+

from the average Social Security recipient?

It's all pretty clear: http://fdrdemocrats.org/the-common-sense-guide-to-social-security/7/

[Pisces]

44. Your spin is shameful and I am sick of your warped posts. I didn't call you a Freeper, though you

would fit in much better over there.

[MannyGoldstein]

72. Can you be more specific about what upsets you?

Do you feel that I'm not using facts? Or making things up? Or that I'm cherry-picking?

Please be specific, it will be helpful for all of us.

Thanks.

[jberryhill]

54. The same way I feel about his attack on puppies /nt

[SidDithers]

20. LMFAO...

:rofl:

Obama Derangement Syndrome strikes again!

Sid

[Swede]

92. Manny got it bad.

Real bad.

[blondeatlast]

FFS. nt

[Blue-Jay]

76. *sigh*

I don't even...

[Maru Kitteh]

23. Gore v. Bush

no question

[SoCalDem]

24. 1980 would have the biggest effect.

No Reagan...no Bush...either one

probably a greener society by now

[H2O Man]

25. Other.

Since Gore won in 2000, I would prefer to have his victory count, than reverse the others.

[blondeatlast]

27. You have a great point, but I'd prefer 1980 went the other way

even if it meant we still got GWB. I don't think he'd have accomplished so much damage had the stage not been set by Reagan and his SCOTUS, among other things.

[annabanana]

48. You and I had a similar reaction. .(#46). . n/t

[Urban Prairie]

28. 1980 Carter defeated Reagan

It started the US "trickling-down" the path that we are still on now.

Damn...did I ever despise that late SOB!!


I don't believe that GHWB or his son (W the lesser) would have been elected, Poppy (who actually served TWO terms, his and Reagan's second) on Reagan's shirt-tails, once or twice in the years that followed.

[craigmatic]

29. 1980 then this right wing nightmare wouldn't be happening now.

[Arkana]

31. Bush v. Gore.

That election is the fulcrum on which everything that has happened since is balanced.

[Marie Marie]

35. Hands down it would be when Dick Cheney Selected HIMSELF as President.

He was certainly the Enforcer for the Neo-Con agenda

[laruemtt]

36. 1980. The beginning of the end. n/t

[drmeow]

37. Because reversing it

could have changed the next 30 years I would reverse 1980. Of course, one issue is what would they have done about the October surprise? Could GWB have continued to prevent the release of the hostages? That would have been critical. But our energy policy might have been different. And Scalia wouldn't be on the bench.

[Dj13Francis]

38. Duh.

Bush Gore. No doubt.

Of course just counting the votes accurately would have led to the conclusion we all wanted.

[FLAprogressive]

41. 1980 for sure. That's when shit began going downhill.

[The Philosopher]

42. 1994: Bush d. Richards

That's right. America lived a 8 years under that asshole. Texas lived 14.

[Exilednight]

45. 1980, hands down! Reagan out office and there is no birth of the current neo-conservative movement.

[annabanana]

46. I would "re-reverse" the LEGITIMATE outcome of 2000 so that Gore

had been sworn in as he SHOULD have been.

[GSLevel9]

47. can't go back to the 19th Century?

[Blue_In_AK]

49. Reagan 1980

He started the whole damn thing.

[deaniac21]

50. 1988. Dukakis would have been an even better president than

Jimmy Carter!

[BlueDemKev]

64. Not me...

...that is one election defeat which turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Dukakis ran the most atrocious campaign in history and clearly had no clue what the American people were looking for in a president. Had he been elected, I think the Democratic Party would now be extinct. Imagine the early '90s recession happening under him, with Republicans saying "See? We told you the economy would shrivel up again if the Democrats came back into power!" (to which Dukakis would have replied, "I'm not going to respond to these attacks, I'll leave this up to the decency of the American people...")

[TNLib]

52. I'd start with 1980

I think the necons would have assassinated Gore so Lieberman could take over and we would have basically had the same outcome. But if Reagan never became president we would have a very different country right now.

[sakabatou]

53. Hard to choose. 1980 or 2000

[undeterred]

56. 2000 would be first choice 2004 would be second choice.

[markpkessinger]

57. Definitely 1980.

I'm as tempted as many others to say 2000 -- I mean, who wouldn't want to see the president we actually elected take his rightful place, right? But as odious as the Supreme Court's appointment of George W. Bush was, and as bad as his Presidency was, the fact is that most of the problems we experienced under W. had their roots in the so-called "Reagan Revolution." We went off the rails 30 years ago -- it just took until the past decade for the shit to really hit the fan from it.

[IrishEyes]

58. 1984

Of course, I would change all of the elections where the democrat did not win. It is hard to pick one. I would like to say 1968 and make Bobby Kennedy president. Since you asked about the elections since watergate, I'm going to vote for Reagan vs Mondale.

[BlueDemKev]

63. Why '84?

I would have loved to have Walter Mondale as president--he was a very decent and caring man whom I think could have made a good president, although I'm not certain THAT is the election I would have chosen to reverse. Just curious to know your reasons for picking '84?

[IrishEyes]

78. I guess I'm thinking of the timing.

I'm probably not going to be able to explain my opinion very well.

If Carter had won the presidency in 1980, he would only be president for four more years. The economy was very bad in the early 1980s. Republicans would have blamed him for it. A new democrat and new republican would be running in 1984. I think the republican would have won leading to four to eight years of republican rule. Probably, Clinton would have won in 1992 and everything would have turned out more or less the same.

Reagan is president from 1980 to 1984. People realize what an awful job he did and elect Mondale. Mondale is president until 1988 or 1992 when either Clinton or Geraldine Ferraro could have become president. I think that Geraldine Ferraro would have been a great president. Mondale would have been president during the tearing down of the berlin wall and the collapse of the soviet union. He would have gotten credit for it. Republicans would not be able to worship Reagan for these things anymore. Reagan would be remembered as a failure president. If Mondale or Ferraro had been president from 1988 to 1992, we would not have had the first gulf war. Bush would not have been able to win in 1988 if he hadn't been riding on the coattails of Reagan. It is crazy the way republicans worship that horrible man.

Of course, there is no way to know what could have happened. Carter is a wonderful man and he should have been president in 1980. Dukakis was the much better choice in 1988. Gore won the presidency in 2000 and I cried when the supreme court gave it to George Junior. Of course, I was speechless in 2004 when Junior won. I thought I was having a nightmare.

I was a little kid in the 1980s. I was not legally allowed to vote until Dole vs Clinton.

[Dawson Leery]

86. That is an argument to consider.

Let them get a taste of the supply side garbage only to have it quickly rejected.

[Raine]

59. 1980 Carter & Raygun

Raygun made having chimp prez possible.

[joentokyo]

70. When the public "chose" the pipe dream over sacrifice was when I decided to emigrate.

[PufPuf23]

61. 1980 Reagan over Carter

2000 was a stolen election and coup that ended the American experience with democracy.

[sad sally]

93. This is my vote too - 1980

Reagan's goons (Baker & Bush) made sure that Carter would lose by holding up the hostage release until the exact time Reagan was sworn in.

And Carter is the only President since Herbert Hoover that did not preside over a war during their term (he didn't start any).

[Shagbark Hickory]

65. '80! Bastard!

[GigiMommy]

66. Reagan 1980

His Administration laid the groundwork for the right-wing assault on this country.

[joentokyo]

68. This questios is about as silly as believing elections today make a difference. They

are just a dog and pony show to keep the people from looking behind the curtain to discover the oligarchy that owns us all.

[BlueDemKev]

94. Then don't answer....

...the question is just for fun.

[trayfoot]

69. 2000

[frebrd]

74. 1980 n/t

[Taverner]

75. 2000: Bush d(?). Gore

That one altered the course of this country in a way that even REAGAN'S election couldn't top

[Capitalocracy]

77. A McGovern victory in '72 could've changed history.

That's the one I'd go with.

[Taverner]

100. I wonder about that - interesting thought experiment

Hell that and Wallace (Henry) as VP in FDR's last term could have changed everything too. No cold war, no arms race, no Military Industrial Complex, no ICBMs...and we'd be more like a European country.

[Pryderi]

79. 1980. 2000 would never have happened n/t

[Tripod]

81. Bush* v Gore.

:grr:

[femmocrat]

82. 1980. It has been straight downhill since then.

The conservatives now have a stranglehold on this country that began when that total phony took office. There aren't enough derogatory terms to describe how much I detest that person for destroying this country.

[mrmpa]

83. 1980

[TheKentuckian]

85. 80 by a few lightyears.

[jmowreader]

87. I would reverse the 1980 election

The Reagan administration was the beginning of the Downfall of America; without Reagan we wouldn't have had all the wonderful disasters he caused.

[NorthCarolina]

88. 1980

[harun]

89. Other: Lamont over Lieberman, Lamont wins. We'd likely have a PO if that happened.

[Bluenorthwest]

90. 1980 without a doubt

Reagan was poison to the nation.

[Le Taz Hot]

95. Reagan.

It started everything. Without Reagan Bush would have been some washed-up coke-head drunk passed out in a bar somewhere in Texas where he should have been.

[Canuckistanian]

97. 1980

It was the real introduction of religious "wedge issues" that have stifled progress and distracted SO MANY from the real issues.

[phantom power]

99. Hard to choose between 2000 and 1980