2004: Bush vs. Kerry, No 9/11

[rebeltarian]

It's 2004 and George W Bush is running for re-election.  A few changes to history:

1. September 11th never happened.
2. Dick Cheney is stepping down after the term.  In an effort to shore up his credibility with fiscal conservatives and northern moderates, GWB has chosen Pennsylvania governer Tom Ridge to be his new VP/running mate.

John Kerry still wins the nomination for the Democrats and he selects Senator John Edwards to shore up his credibility with the working class/common man/heartland Americans.  They focus their campaign on labor issues, protectionism, the environment and a more internationalist foreign policy of UN/NATO alliances.  Bush has governed just as he said he would in 2000: a moderate/populist on domestic economic issues and an arm's length distance from the UN, putting an end to the Clinton-era nation building.  The economy has been sporadic since the dot.com bust.  Unemployment is hanging around 5-6% and the Clinton surplus remains in the black (no Iraq and Afghanistan war spending here), but the corporate tax cuts combined with increased domestic spending has considerably depleted that surplus.  Some of the rising hot topics are China trade, taxes, abortion, stem-cell research, environmentalism and education.

Discuss with maps! 

[rebeltarian]

Close call but I think John Kerry would pull this one out.  Despite the peaceful world stage, concerns regarding the so-so economy sway enough voters to the populist/protectionist agenda of the Democratic ticket.  They sucessfully paint George Bush as a mistake made 4 years ago from a close election.  The presence of Tom Ridge gives the DNC a run for their money in PA, but they hang on by a hair. 

Kerry/Edwards 289
Bush/Ridge 249