What Would America Be Like If......

It was on this day a decade ago that Democratic Presidential nominee Al Gore conceded the 2000 election to George W. Bush after weeks of legal battles over recounts of ballots in several states, particularly Florida.

Here is his concession speech:




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyKlcQ_HiD4

Despite having won the popular vote by about a half million, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against Gore and essentially gave the electoral margin needed for victory to Bush.

In a world of “what ifs”, I can’t help but wonder what our country would be like had Gore taken the oath of office. Some likely historical turning points are below:

1) The terrorist attacks of 9/11 would surely still have happened.

2) It’s unlikely that Gore would have invaded Iraq. The war that was built on the lie of the existence of Weapons of Mass Destruction would probably not have prompted a President Gore to strike unilaterally. As a result:

3) Thousands of American men and women killed in Iraq and Afghanistan would still be alive today and our country would have saved hundreds of billions of dollars.

4) Saddam Hussein would likely still be in power in Iraq

5) The Taliban would probably still be strong, but it IS possible that Gore would have devoted considerable U.S. military resources toward tactical strikes at specific terrorist targets, perhaps far more effective. Who knows? Maybe Osama Bin Laden would have been captured.

6) There would be no President Obama. His ascension to the White House was fueled by extreme dissatisfaction of the Republican administration of Bush and an appetite for change that Obama personified. Perhaps a candidate in 2008, but probably not the nominee. More likely that after 16 years of Clinton-Gore in the White House, ANY Republican would beat any Democrat.

7) There would have been no Bush Tax Cuts

8) While it appears there would have been a recession regardless, it may have been less severe without the huge wartime deficits and ineffective tax cuts that further exacerbated the national debt.

9) With Gore at the helm, it’s highly likely that U.S. investment and/or tax credits to develop alternate energy sources and environmentally sensitive business opportunities would be significantly ahead of where we are now.


What else?

Maybe a lot—and perhaps not all of it good, but some of it outstanding---characters like Sarah Palin would be toiling away in obscurity in Alaska.

It’s useless to imagine scenarios that didn’t happen. All we have is the present—and what we can construct for the future. The 2012 Presidential election is said to start immediately after the midterms—and it appears that politicians are already forming “exploratory committees” and making trips to New Hampshire and Iowa.

Stay tuned….there’s never a dull moment!

If you’d like my blog in your box, just let me know: tim.moore@citcomm.com