User blog comment:Fegaxeyl/No US superpower - but how?/@comment-257949-20110801092830

@Jazon - Removing FDR would have a huge impact; I know he was pretty crucial on restoring the US economy. Having an incompetent president would probably keep the USA in post-Depression squalor, which would certainly make it much harder for its economy to resurge during and after WWII. As for a communist or fascist president those are interesting ideas but would probably unite and accelerate the nation (after all, Hitler and Lenin both did wonders for their national economies, that can't be denied). However, what would you say to the rise of a less united USA: one with more power to individual states and less overall collaboration? That would fracture the nation and, with more bickering between states, prevent the US from acting quickly and decisively on the world stage. Is that plausible?

@Revisionist - The idea of no WWII is interesting and would certainly keep the US isolationist. However, I want the Soviet Union to be the hyperpower for this timeline, and wasn't WWII the reason why the world started to take the Soviet Union seriously? Of course, it could slowly advance into China... it would also be able to lead a swift campaign into a fallen Germany. Furthermore the Soviets may have had allies in western Europe; without WWII, and therefore without the US' presence and its attempts to limit communism, we may have many more leftist parties elected, so your idea would allow for increased Soviet (or certainly communist) power that way.

@LG - What you mentioned had crossed my mind, but I had no idea that there were actual plans for when the troops came home. A recession would certainly limit US power and would also mean no Marshall Plan or Truman Doctrine, leading to more global communism. After that setback, as you said, the US would be hard-pressed to catch up and may revert once more to isolationism to some degree, as it would have lost economic partners in Western Europe.

Thanks, all three of you, for the input so far! Any further ideas you guys (or anyone else) have are, naturally, welcome.