Timeline
- 1968: Robert Kennedy is not assassinated. He goes on to win the Democratic nomination for the presidency and win the election in November against Richard Nixon. Nixon later retires from politics for good.
- 1969 - 1973: Robert Kennedy takes office in January 1969. The government orders the withdrawal of troops from Vietnam - the last are withdrawn mid-1970; the extra funds are diverted among federal programs; most notably NASA which is able to continue their Apollo Applications Program with full funding. This gives Apollo additional funding to complete Apollo 20 as well as beginning construction of the Space Shuttle fleet and the Manned Orbital Laboratory, later re-named Skylab. More is done on issues such as racial equality and social improvement in American society. He is well-liked and is easily re-elected in 1972.
- 1973 - 1977: In early 1973, Robert Kennedy signs the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty or SALT 1, after extensive negotiations with the Soviets. It places a much greater cap on the number of missiles and bombers both countries can possess than it did in OTL. In September 1974 Apollo 20 makes the last landing on the moon for the Apollo Program on the lunar South Pole, staying for two weeks. The Space Shuttle is developed more quickly, with the Enterprise built by 1975 and the Columbia to be ready by mid-1977. Skylab is launched in 1973 in three stages and is much larger and more advanced than OTL. The First Lunar In 1976, Republican candidate Ronald Reagan wins the presidential election as an economic reformer and anti-communist.
- 1977 - 1985: "Reaganomics" are adopted by the United States fiscally. President Reagan makes a very controversial decision and recognizes Red China, opening up talks with the Chinese for the first time in decades, paying a visit to China in 1978. The space shuttle Columbia is completed in early 1976 and launches the following year, taking Skylab into a higher and more stable orbit. The Iran hostage crisis begins in 1979; during campaigning for the 1980 presidential election, Democratic candidate Ted Kennedy (who has a spotless driving record) attacks Reagan's inability to handle this as a major point in his campaign, but the hostages are released in October 1980 - in time for Reagan to manage a victory over Kennedy and be reelected for a second term. At the end of his second term Reagan's vice-president Bob Dole is elected President.
- 1985 - 1989: At first, President Dole runs the country much as Reagan did. In 1986 the Iran-Contra scandal occurs; Dole is unable to escape attacks from all sides and is impeached in 1987. Although he is not removed from office his name is mud in politics afterwards: in 1988 Ted Kennedy makes a political comeback and wins the Presidency in landslide.
- 1989 - 1993: The end of the Cold War. President Kennedy makes plans for the human colonization of the moon, a program called Selene (titan goddess of the moon). The Gulf War happens much as it did OTL. In 1992 many of Kennedy's supporters are drawn to independent candidate Ross Perot, but Kennedy is still re-elected with a respectable majority and is able to just scrape getting the popular vote.
- 1993 - 1997: The Selene program begins. Subterranean construction of a "lunar town" begins in 1994 in the crater Clavius. The country's national debt is substantially reduced from the Reagan-Dole years but not eliminated. In 1996, Kennedy's vice-president Bill Clinton is elected President.
- 1997 - 1999: The Monica Lewinsky scandal reaches the press - in this timeline, Clinton met Lewinsky while he was Vice-President. Clinton manages to avoid impeachment, but he is nonetheless tarred by the scandal.
- 2000: Clinton decides to run for a second term despite public opinion shifting back towards the Republicans. Senator John McCain, who has substantial cross-floor appeal, wins the nomination to be the Republican candidate - in order to keep the Republican base satisfied, conservative Jeb Bush (son of former vice-president George Bush) is selected as McCain's running mate. McCain wins the 2000 election fair and square.
- 2001 - 2002: Robert Kennedy dies in early 2001 at age 75 from natural causes; the USA mourns the passing of a modern-day legend and liberal icon. Later that year, following the September 11th terrorist attacks in 2001, the USA invades Afghanistan and brings down the Taliban government in that nation: the first movement in what is termed the "War on Terrorism". Troops from the USA and its allies are sent in to lock down the country's borders and hunt down Al-Qaeda within. Terrorist suspects are arrested, charged and remanded in maximum-security American prisons; while there are movements within the Republican party for "extreme measures" to be taken, President McCain vetos any changes to civil rights or the criminal justice system.
- 2002 - 2003: Having received intelligence that terrorist organisations were being funded by Middle Eastern governments, the USA decides not to invade them - resolving to have its troops remain in Afghanistan - but instead have all its allies (including those in Europe) place an embargo on these nations. Other nations are traded with for oil (such as those in South America) and alternative fuel sources are also utilised much more, reducing the demand. This "turning off the tap" effectively drains the terrorist organisations of their resources and results in several coups and revolutions in the Middle Eastern region; this includes the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Syria and Iraq.
- 2003 - 2004: Saudi Arabia becomes the Islamic Republic of Central Arabia - not too different except women have suffrage and the government is less rich. Syria absorbs most of the Sunni Iraq territory, while the Shi'ites seize power in the smaller now-Islamic Republic of Iraq. Meanwhile, the Kurdish areas in Iraq and Syria declare their independence as the Republic of Kurdistan - for protection, Kurdistan quickly allies with Israel. Meanwhile, a weakened Al-Qaeda is systematically hunted down in Afghanistan and finally Osama bin Laden is captured in August 2004. The Americans re-elect McCain and Bush in the 2004 election.
- 2005: The "War on Terrorism" continues, but in the same sense as the "War on Drugs" as it is not perceived as an actual war. The UN sends peacekeeping troops to the borders of the new Middle Eastern nations in order to prevent conflicts between nations such as Syria vs. Iraq, Iraq vs. Central Arabia, and Kurdistan vs. everyone else; American troops participate. A new program is begun by NASA in addition to the ongoing construction at Clavius Base and the base at Columbia Plateau on Mars. A Europa landing is scheduled for 2009, with the foundations for a permanent base to be made there too. In the 2006 midterm elections, the Democrats gain majority in the House of Representatives but not the Senate.
- 2008: Democrats nominate Senator Chris Dodd of Connecticut. At their respective conventions Republicans nominate Vice President Bush and congressman John Kaisch, while Democrats nominate Dodd and Governor Bill Richardson. Leading up to election day Dodd has a 5% lead in the polls. On election day unexpectedly high evangelical turnout allows Bush to pull an upset winning with 288 electoral votes and 49.2% of the popular vote to Dodd's 250 electoral votes.
Cultural Effects
- Bruce Springsteen doesn't write the song "Born in the USA", due to Vietnam veterans receiving better treatment on their return.
- The suffix "-gate" is not added to every scandal by the press, due to there being no Watergate scandal.
- Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford are not household names. Richard Nixon is only remembered for losing the presidential election twice, each time to a Kennedy brother.
- The Selene space program in 1990 triggers a renewed interest in science fiction. Movies made at this period include "Alien III" (directed by Renny Harlin) and a movie versions of "2061" and " 3001" (the final novels in Arthur C Clarke's "Space Odyssey" series). This boost, while ebbing at the time, is what prompts the Sci-Fi Channel to buy the rights to the TV show "Babylon 5" from PTEN - Sci-Fi goes on to screen several telemovies as well as a spinoff series, "Crusade", from 1999 until 2003.
- The wash of new sci-fi has adverse effects for "Star Trek" - the fifth movie, "The Final Frontier," was never made, the Enterprise-D was not destroyed until "Star Trek: First Contact," the series "Voyager" is cancelled in 1999 after four seasons. "Enterprise" does slightly better, however, lasting five seasons before being cancelled in 2006.
- The television show "Boston Legal" doesn't have the character Alan Shore becoming such a champion of liberal politics, due to there being less need for a statement to be made on such matters.
- The television show "The West Wing" is not quite as popular (due to it having less of an escapist appeal) but remains mostly unchanged. The television show "Commander-in-Chief" never makes it past the pilot stage.
- The movie "V For Vendetta" is considered much less controversial.
- Emilio Estevez doesn't make the movie "Bobby," but rather Oliver Stone makes a movie of the same name following RFKs Presidency.
- Emo music is nowhere near as popular, and never makes it into mainstream.
List of US Presidents
# | Name | Took Office | Left Office | Party | Vice President(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | George Washington | 1789 | 1797 | No party | John Adams |
2 | John Adams | 1797 | 1801 | Federalist | Thomas Jefferson |
3 | Thomas Jefferson | 1801 | 1809 | Democrat-Republican | George Clinton1 |
4 | James Madison | 1809 | 1817 | Democrat-Republican | Elbridge Gerry1 |
5 | James Monroe | 1817 | 1825 | Democrat-Republican | Daniel D. Tompkins |
6 | John Quincy Adams | 1825 | 1829 | Democrat-Republican | John C. Calhoun |
7 | Andrew Jackson | 1829 | 1837 | Democrat | John C. Calhoun2 and Martin Van Buren |
8 | Martin Van Buren | 1837 | 1841 | Democrat | Richard Mentor Johnson |
9 | William Henry Harrison3 | 1841 | 1841 | Whig | John Tyler |
10 | John Tyler | 1841 | 1845 | Whig4 | none |
11 | James Knox Polk | 1845 | 1849 | Democrat | George M. Dallas |
12 | Zachary Taylor3 | 18499 | 1850 | Whig | Millard Fillmore |
13 | Millard Fillmore | 1850 | 1853 | Whig | none |
14 | Franklin Pierce | 1853 | 1857 | Democrat | William R. King5 |
15 | James Buchanan | 1857 | 1861 | Democrat | John C. Breckinridge |
16 | Abraham Lincoln6 | 1861 | 1865 | Republican | Hannibal Hamlin and Andrew Johnson |
17 | Andrew Johnson | 1865 | 1869 | Democrat7 | none |
18 | Ulysses Simpson Grant | 1869 | 1877 | Republican | Schuyler Colfax and Henry Wilson5 |
19 | Rutherford Birchard Hayes | 1877 | 1881 | Republican | William A. Wheeler |
20 | James Abram Garfield6 | 1881 | 1881 | Republican | Chester A. Arthur |
21 | Chester Alan Arthur | 1881 | 1885 | Republican | none |
22 | Stephen Grover Cleveland | 1885 | 1889 | Democrat | Thomas A. Hendricks5 |
23 | Benjamin Harrison | 1889 | 1893 | Republican | Levi P. Morton |
24 | Stephen Grover Cleveland | 1893 | 1897 | Democrat | Adlai E. Stevenson |
25 | William McKinley6 | 1897 | 1901 | Republican | Garret A. Hobart5 then Theodore Roosevelt |
26 | Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. | 1901 | 1909 | Republican | None then Charles W. Fairbanks |
27 | William Howard Taft | 1909 | 1913 | Republican | James S. Sherman5 |
28 | Thomas Woodrow Wilson | 1913 | 1921 | Democrat | Thomas R. Marshall |
29 | Warren Gamaliel Harding3 | 1921 | 1923 | Republican | Calvin Coolidge |
30 | John Calvin Coolidge, Jr. | 1923 | 1929 | Republican | None then Charles G. Dawes |
31 | Herbert Clark Hoover | 1929 | 1933 | Republican | Charles Curtis |
32 | Franklin Delano Roosevelt3 | 1933 | 1945 | Democrat | John Nance Garner and Henry A. Wallace and Harry S. Truman |
33 | Harry S. Truman | 1945 | 1953 | Democrat | None then Alben W. Barkley |
34 | Dwight David Eisenhower | 1953 | 1961 | Republican | Richard M. Nixon |
35 | John Fitzgerald Kennedy6 | 1961 | 1963 | Democrat | Lyndon B. Johnson |
36 | Lyndon Baines Johnson | 1963 | 1969 | Democrat | None then Hubert H. Humphrey |
37 | Robert Francis Kennedy | 1969 | 1977 | Democrat | Eugene McCarthy |
38 | Ronald Wilson Reagan | 1977 | 1985 | Republican | Bob Dole |
39 | Robert Joseph Dole | 1985 | 1989 | Republican | George H.W. Bush |
40 | Edward Moore Kennedy | 1989 | 1997 | Democrat | Bill Clinton |
41 | Bill Clinton | 1997 | 2001 | Democrat | Al Gore |
42 | John McCain | 2001 | 2009 | Republican | JEB Bush |
43 | JEB Bush | 2009 | present | Republican | John Kaisch |
1 Died while Vice President.
2 Resigned as Vice President.
3 Died of natural causes.
4 Democrat on Whig ticket.
5 Died while Vice President, not replaced.
6 Assassinated.
7 Democrat who ran on Union ticket with Republican Lincoln.