Dick Randolph (PJW)

Richard "Dick" Randolph (April 10, 1936 - February 11, 1990) was the 40th President of the United States and the first president from the Libertarian Party.

The government abuse of power during the '70s under Frank Carlucci and then during the '80s under Jim Jones, along with the military coups of Alexander Haig and Norman Schwarzkopf, had turned public opinion against strong, central governments. Dick Randolph, a Representative from Alaska, campaigned on limiting the powers of the federal government and reducing the size of the military. Given the disarray of the Democrats and Republics, Randolph had an advantage third parties usually don't possess. In a contested vote by weary citizens, Randolph won the 1984 election.

Most of Randolph's term was spent reducing American military involvement overseas. Rebuilding American infrastructure and internal power was the key to Randolph's platform, especially with the other continents in chaos from nuclear war. Many departments, such as the Interior and Agriculture, had their roles reduced or even slashed entirely. For the relatively stability the country possessed, along with the return of many individual freedoms to citizens, Randolph was re-elected in 1988.

While speaking at the Virginia Tech campus in 1990, Randolph was assassinated by Army cadet Nidal Hasan, the first president assassinated during their term in office since William McKinley nearly a century ago. Randolph's Vice President, Roger MacBride, used Randolph's death to fuel his even more extreme Libertarian policies.