Bill Clinton's third term

[Tron1993]

Gore 2004, Giuliani 2008?

Failed Running mates very rarely end up running for President (let alone winning) unless they have been VP.  The last one to do so was FDR

[OSR stands with Israel]

Breaking News: Assault Weapons ban expires after Congress refuses to extend it:



President Clinton's Reaction:



Clinton: Its very disappointing that Congress refused to extend the assault weapon ban despite the fact that it has worked to make our country safer. I hope Congress does the right thing though and sends me a strict background check law to ensure that assault weapons dont go in the wrong person's hand .

[OSR stands with Israel]

Keys for Both Candidates entering the First Debate




Brokaw : While the election has gotten closer and closer over the past couple months , former Vice President Gore still hasnt led in the polls. What are some things he can do to turn things around


Russert: The first debate will be about foreign policy , and foreign policy is an area which is considered a weak point for Governor Bush. If Former Vice President Gore can win this debate easily, it could mean that questions start to get raised on whether Governor Bush is ready to be commander in chief or not especially in a time like this. On the other hand if Governor Bush can demonstrate that he can properly answer questions about foreign policy than , than I would say he would remain the favorite and maybe become the clear favorite  depending on how well he does.


Brokaw: There are 2 more debates though


Russert: Yes But those ones will be more leaning towards domestic policy, an area where Governor Bush is already strong at , so there is much less he can gain or lose from those debates compared to the foreign policy one.




Brokaw : Ok lets look at the new poll

Bush/Giuliani 229 50.2%
Gore/Rockefeller 187 46.5%
Tossup 122

[OSR stands with Israel]

First Debate Summary




Russert: Now lets look at the key highlights in this debate, which we believe that Gore won though not overwhelmingly.  

Highlights:


Important Moment 1 :

Lehrer: Governor Bush , you have repeatedly said on the campaign trail that the current strategy on the war on terror isnt working despite the fact that the Taliban and Al-Qaeda both have been defeated.  Why then do you think the current strategy isnt working


Bush: That's because the war isnt just limited to Afghanistan. That is only one front of the war , and claiming victory now would be like claiming that we won World War 2 when the European Front was won despite the fact the Pacific Front hadnt been won yet. No World War 2 was a fight against fascism as a whole not just against Germany, so we needed to defeat both Germany and Japan not just one of them. Today are war is against Radical Islamic Terrorists and the governments who sponsor them, and currently, the Syrian Government still funds them and yet we still have failed to disarm Syria . If I am elected President I will tell Assad that he needs to destroy all his WMD, never create another one again , and end all support to terrorist groups or we will remove you from power.


Gore : Well the Japanese were just a few months away from surrendering , when Germany surrendered Governor , so are you telling us that we are just a few months away from winning this current war.


Bush: Well the reason for that is we made sure to deal with all our enemies at once during WW2 , instead of pretending just beating one means the war will end .


Gore : Well that what we have done we took out the Afghan government and replaced it with a democracy, disarmed Iraq , and destroyed the Syrian government WMD it already has, and will continue to destroy any new ones. This means they are close to agreeing to our terms , as we have destroyed it's WMD and much of its offensive military capabilities, as well as imposing new economic sanctions meaning that soon it will decide to capitulate without a war.


Important Moment Number Two:


Lehrer : Vice President Gore, you have attacked President Bush's plan of increasing military spending by 20% over the next 4 years as unreasonable, and claiming it wouldnt make our defenses better. Why So


Gore: Well one thing is The Governor tax plan would cut revenues by so much that it wouldn't be possible to pay for that much of an increase in defense spending without it causing our defict to skyrocket. 2nd with military spending at the level they have in the past decade , we were able to remove Milosevic from power without a single casualty, destroy both the Taliban and Al-Qaeda , disarm Iraq , and in the process of disarming Syria. Those things have made our country safer , and the things that made our country less safe before 2001 have been changed. Today there is stricter airport security , there is a cabinet-level department who streamlines communications between homeland security departments so our country can remain safe, and goverments who harbored terrorists have either been overthrown , disarmed , or in process of being disarmed.


Bush : The Vice President keeps making assumptions that the Syrians will capitulate , even though they havent . Currently our military does not have the capablities to successfully topple the Syrian Goverment and occupy Syria to ensure it transitions to democracy while doing the same in Afghanistan. While War is not something we want, the best way to avoid one is to show our enemies that if you continue to threaten peace we will not stand for it. The fact is economic sanctions took over 10 years to work in Iraq and we dont have that time to wait for them to work with Syria . We must disarm them within the end of 2005 as if we do we will have stopped a terrorsit group before it could rise.


Gore: You still havent discussed how increasing military spending by 20% will improve our defense, because even now the military has the money for your plans as well as mine so there is no need to pay for it.


Bush: They said the same about our last defense buildup in the 1980s , and guess what it worked then . Also about the idea that we cant pay for this due to our tax cut is ridicolous . The fact is the tax cut will be payed off by economic growth , and cuts to wasteful spending.

Gore : With which cuts in spending


Lehrer: You will have time to discuss the tax cuts at a later debate, so lets not discuss this

[bImportant Moment Three: [/b]


Lehrer: Moving on to North Korea , as you may know the North Korean Goverment has claimed they have restarted their nuclear program , and intend to have won soon. If your president what will you do to stop  the North Koreans from getting nuclear weapons and if they do what would you do. Governor Bush you first


Bush: Well the first thing we must do is get the Chinese , Russians , South Koreans, and Japanese at a meeting to come up with a plan to stop the North Koreans from getting nuclear weapons, and plan for a situation in where they do get one.

Gore: I do agree with a lot of Governor Bush just said there, but the only way we will get all those countries to cooperate with is the UN which we must keep it strong. Governor Bush, on the other hand, wants to waken it which will make it harder for those countries to come together.


Bush: All I said is I wouldnt put the UN over our intrests in

Poll after Debate:

Bush/Giuliani 211 48%
Gore/Rockefeller 216 48%
Tossup 111

[OSR stands with Israel]

Vice Presidential Debate Summary:




Russert: Now lets look at some Key Moments from this debate which most of our analysts gave the slight edge to Mayor Giuliani


Highlights :


Key Moment 1:

Ifill : As you may know the only real constitutional power of a Vice President is to break ties in the Senate, but some Vice Presidents have taken a more active role in an administration while others have just been limited to breaking ties depending on what the President wants them to do . Both Mr. Gore and Mr. Bush have said they would provide both of you an active role if they are elected so how do you believe your record from your terms in office will prepare you for that type of role. Senator Rockefeller, you can answer first

Rockefeller: Seeing that I have served in both an executive and a legislative position in my political career I believe I would be prepared for any role a President Gore would give me. Since I have been governor I know how the executive branch operates so if I am asked to oversee the implementation of policies a president Gore would implement I can do that. On the other hand, if I am asked to work with the Senate to make sure our agenda gets implemented I also can do that.


Ifill : Mayor Giuliani


Giuliani: Gwen, I was mayor of the most populated city in the United States for 8 years , and a city which has more people than 39/50 states in the United States including West Virginia . Also being the financial city of our nation, and a city that is one of the most globalized cities in the world , I was given a pretty large responsibility during my tenure to make sure our city improves. When I first took office,  New York City was considered to be a dying city due to it's extremely high crime rate . During my tenure as mayor violent crime rate dropped by half and its murder rates nearly 2/3 which made the streets of our city safe again , and helped our economy grow .

Another time of crises I faced as Mayor was on 9/11 when our city was attacked in the worst terrorist attack in our country's history and our first priority was to heal the wounds of the people in our city and began the process of rebuilding. This required me to work with all the different departments in our city and state to make sure we could send out all the help we needed to the people who needed it , while at the same time making sure our city doenst stay vulnerable . Both these crises required me to work with the heads of many different departments and that is exactly what a President must do on a daily basis and he must know how to deal with crises , because at any time our nation could experience a recession, natural disaster , or another war and he must be prepared to deal with them.


Rockefeller: See I also can do that as I was governor


Giuliani : Yes but you were a governor of a small state, and a state that didn't improve its economic standing in the last 30 years so I don't know whether you can call your tenure a success. Also the state of West Virginia is signifantly different than the country as a whole as it doesnt have the diverse types of industry the country does as a whole, and isnt a state which is attracting new workers from other states. New York City on the other hand has all sorts of industries : whether its financial , technological , retail , construction , and many more.


Rockefeller: Mayor Giuliani, Governor Bush has also dealt with all those industries just like you have and also has executive experience just like you. What that ticket need is someone who knows the in and ends out of the legislature if you want your agenda passed . The fact is you dont add much to the ticket in terms of what you would bring to table .

Giuliani : George HW Bush also didnt have that much legislative experience and despite that people liked the job he did as Vice President so much they elected him President. The fact is the President cant deal with the entire executive branch by himself, and if he has someone who he can delegate parts of the tasks too it would make the President job of implementing his agenda much easier.


Ifill : Moving on


Important Moment Two :

Ifill : If either of you are elected how would you and the next President deal make sure you can work with both sides ,  to avoid gridlock.


Giuliani : Well both Governor Bush and I both have lots of experiance in working with both sides. Governor Bush dealt with a Texas state legislature where one or both houses were Democratic for 8/10 years he was Governor. Despite that he passed education reform which has drastically improved Texas's education system , he reformed the state's justice system which has resulted in crime for both adults and juvenilles drastically dropping , and cut taxes for Texans which has improved their economy. For me I was elected to a city which at the time I was elected had not elected a Republican Mayor in 28 years so I had to work with Democrats if I was going to get anything done.

Rockefeller: Well during the 1990s Vice President Gore was part of the executive branch which made deals with the Republicans to pass a anti crime bill , reform welfare,  and balance the budget . In the 1980s when Vice President Gore was a senator he worked with President Reagan to reform our nation's Tax Code in 1986 .He also voted in favor of much of the treaties in the late 1980s, despite the fact that it was a Republican president who negotiated them , and those treaties helped bring to end the Cold War. I as Senator have worked with both sides of the isle my whole career and recently worked with both sides to pass medicare and education reform .

Giuliani : For Welfare Reform , and the Balanced Budget Act how much did Vice President Gore have to do with the negiotions with the Republicans to get those passed.

Rockefeller: Well he didnt do the negiotions , the President did but he did convince many of us Democrats to vote for those compromises even when we were on the fence.

Giuliani : That really doesnt count though because of course the Vice President will tell Senators to vote for the President's compromises as he is part of that President's admistration .

Rockefeller: Whether you count those are not Vice President Gore has a record of Bipartisianship , and his record going back to the 1980s shows it .

Polls after Debate

Bush/Giuliani 211   48.4%
Gore/Rockefeller 205 47.6%
Tossup 122

[OSR stands with Israel]

President Clinton Slams Giuliani Statement on West Virginia :





Clinton: Last Night Mayor Giuliani showed his true colors when he said being governor of West Virginia does not qualify someone for being president because the state is small , doesnt have the types of industry some other states may have , and is not doing economically well. Just because a state does not have the rich workers the Republican Party covets does not mean that state should be ashamed of it self. The Coal Miners of West Virginia Powered this nation for decades and decades and just because they arent doing economically well  currently doesnt mean they should be ignored. In fact they are the ones we should be trying to help and Senator Jay Rockefeller has being doing that his whole life


This statement on West Virginia though really is a microcosm of how that party thinks especially Governor Bush. They believe if you are poor , a coal miner , or live in the inner city that you are lazy person who only wants welfare. This is the same party what calls our party elitist , no they are elitist .




Tim Russert: Well President Clinton may have turned that debate loss into a debate win

[OSR stands with Israel]

Rudy Giuliani Responds to the President:





Giuliani : The President yesterday claimed that at the debate I attacked the people of West Virginia. That is 100% false Mr.President I did not attack the people of West Virginia, and the evidence you used to claim I did was of you completely taking me out of context. The question in the debate was about why we were qualified for the Vice Presidency, and Senator Rockefeller was trying to claim his tenure as governor was just as qualifying as being mayor of New York City . I just responded by explaining why being Mayor of New York City makes you more qualified because it has a larger population that West Virginia, a more diverse economy due to having many different types of industries, and it being a globalized city. I then commented about how West Virginia economic standing has fallen in Senator Rockefeller tenure so he shouldnt claim that he has helped the state economically because he hasnt .  I never said the Coal Miners in West Virginia werent important , as they are important and everything the President said about me on coal miners is false.

[Sir Mohamed]

Great updates! It looks like another nailbiter Gore versus Bush. Keep it going!

[OSR stands with Israel]

Great updates! It looks like another nailbiter Gore versus Bush. Keep it going!

The map will certainly be different though compared to the 2000-2016 OTL Maps. Without the War in Iraq, the 2000 election controversy, Bush being a very polarizing President in OTL, tha


This means there are a lot more battleground states just like OTL 2000 but the fact that Giuliani and Rockefeller are Bush and Gore's running mates instead of Cheney and Lieberman means that Bush will do much better in Socially Liberal Affluent Areas , while Gore will do much better among Socially Conservative Democrats

[OSR stands with Israel]

2nd Debate Summary :




Russert: Now lets look at some of the key moments of this debate, in which most of our analysts believe was a Tie.


Important Moment One:



Audience Member: After 12 years of President Clinton, most voters including I believe its time for new and fresh leadership, as those policies have outlived their usefulness  , but it seems like neither of you fit the bill as one of you was President Clinton's Vice President for 8 years and believes we should stay the course. The other is the son of a former President who was Vice President for 8 years than President for 4 more and want to take us back to those policies even though the country moved on from them when they too viewed that those policies outlived its usefullness back in 1992. So how would either of you represent new and fresh leadership when both of you represent policies which may have worked in either the 1980s or 1990s but are not really useful in this decade.


Bush: Well the fact is I have not called for a total return of every single 1980s policy as the situation's arent the same , as we arent in a middle of a cold war, or face an economy with double-digit inflation. That doesnt mean though we cant use the principles of that decade which worked and apply them to this decade. Some of those principles are too keep the government small , have a strong defense so our enemies dont threaten us , and too keep taxes low so businesses can create new jobs , and consumers have more money to spend . This means that while we wont implement the same type of tax cuts as we did in the 1980s but we will implement some kind as they are proven to work .

Now the reason I will bring a fresh change is that if I become the next President, I will work with both parties more often than we do now , I will reduce the power of numerous bureaucracies to make the federal government more efficient , while at the same type returning power to the states and to the people, and I will deal with enemies of the US more decisively than we do now so it doesnt reach a crises stage.


Gore: The fact is this administration has created more jobs in the past 12 years, than in any other 12 year period in this country's history. Unemployment was lower at the floor of this recession than it was when President Clinton and I took over in 1993 , and  Al-Quaeda has been destroyed. While there has been a reccession over the past 4 years its not as bad as it was during the last few recessions.



On the other hand some areas where I do bring in Fresh leadership is I will focus more on solving the problem of Global Warming than the current administration, and I will fight to limit big money's influence in politics.


Bush: Well the fact is we are in a recession and the reason for it is the President rode out the 1990s at the height of the tech bubble and when the bubble popped we have had a recession and the President has done nothing to solve it . Lastly Vice President Gore claims that he wants to fight money in politics , but he never explains from whom and whether he would apply it to unions as well.

Gore: The thing is Unions represent the middle class, while corporate boards represent the top 1% so corporate pacs have lots more influence in politics than Unions.

Bush: Not True many Union Bosses are very rich as well, and many unions force the workers to be part of them so altogether they have just as much power as the Corporate Board has. Also many times unions use the fees given to them by the rank and file to support politicians inspite the fact the rank and file do not support them. So the fact is the Democrats just support campaign finance reform because they want their side to have an advantage just like it did it before the 1970s.

Gore: Well the fact is both Senator John McCain and Senator Russ Feingold have been trying to get campaign finance reform passed for years and I would be willing to sign a bill that limits big unions   limits corporations influence in our elections but you would not Governor, so stop misleading the people on this issue.
Important Moment 2:

Audience Member: Governor Bush, if you were elected what would you do to fix our broken immigration system .

Bush: Our immigration system has been broken for many years and unfortunately the current administration hasn't done anything to fix it . If elected I would do something about that within my first year because this issue is very important and we cant afford for this problem to get worse. My plan to fix the system would do these things:

- The First thingI would do is ask Congress to spend 15 billion dollars to secure the most vulnerable parts of our border whether its by building a fence in those areas, or adding more security personnel.

- Once that has been completed we still would have to deal with the millions of illegal immigrants in our country and the fact is we cant deport all of them because that would be immoral and impractical. So instead I would allow any illegal immigrants who have been in the country for 3 years, who havent commited a crime in that period to recive a pathaway to becoming permeant residents but I would not allow them to become citizens unless they were brought here by their parents when they were minors.

- Lastly we have to deal with the fact that many people who are on H1B visas and want to get a Green Card cant , and many have to go back to their home countries despite living here for many years. The fact is they are the people who deserve to get Green Cards and evenutually more than any other immigrants as they came here legally, are highly educated, and have good paying jobs so they can support their own families.

Gore: My solution would be simple , I would increase the monetary penealties on corporations caught hiring illegal immigrants as if we remove the incentive for people to cross the border illegally, we will have less illegal immigrants coming into our country not less. The fact is the Clinton adminstration  did try to deal with this issue but were blocked by a Republican Congress because the Republicans have totally gone in bed with Multi National Corporations who benefit from this broken immigration system. The fact is they always give one solution and one solution only, which is to spend money on a useless wall which wont actully reduce illegal immigration but allows them to act like they are solving the problem even when they are actively trying not too.


Bush: Once again Vice President Gore just like President Clinton refuses to take any responsibility for their own failiures and instead blame the Republicans who havent been in power for 12 years . The reason your proposal was blocked is because that proposal is ridiculous as there is no way a company can find out whether someone is an illegal immigrant or not. Are you asking that companies should racially profile employees who look like immigrants so we can find they are illegal or not or are you once again trying to deflect your problems on to someone else. The fact is its the job of the federal government to enforce immigration laws, not companies.


Gore: Yes there is , and that is by asking any prospective employee to either bring their American Passport, Green Card or Work Visa to their job interview.

Bush: Many businesses dont have the resources to do that , as then you would also need them to have the ability to check if that prospective employee documents are all 100% correct and small businesses don't have the ability to do that. The fact is its the job of the federal government to secure the borders not businesses  and its time to elect someone who actually will work hard to fix this problem instead of blaming the other the party and Businesses for all your administration's failures whether its immigration , the budget deficit, slow economic growth , or a tax code which doesn't grow the economy.



Important Moment 3:

Audience Member: A few months ago my son enlisted in the military, and with tensions heating up with the Syrian Government, the chances for war keep getting higher and higher. If either of you is elected this November what would you do to potentially avoid war, or if we do go to war make sure the war is won quickly and decisively with as few casualties as possible.


Gore: I want to thank your son for his service to our country, and also thank you for raising such a brave and selfless child. In my opinion, the best way to ensure your son has a long and prosperous future ahead is to make sure we do our best to avoid going to war with Syria because if we do go to War, while we may win it with few casualties, to the families of those soldiers the pain will not be any less. Currently, thats what the current administration is doing, and what I plan on continuing as I believe it is working. We have destroyed most of their WMD's, destroyed their ability to make new ones , and imposed strict economic sanctions on Syria. What this will do is destroy their ability to launch an offensive military operation , and bring them down economically which will hinder their ability to fund anti Israel terror groups, and maybe even bring Assad down. On the other hand if we have to go to war, we would use a similar strategy we used in  Gulf War and the Invasion of Afghanistan as those strategies worked.


Bush: I also want to thank your son for your service, and I want to let you know he is a true hero. In my opinion the best way to avoid war is through the principle of peace through strength which means we tell the Syrian Government that we wont play any more of your games and if you refuse too cooperate with the US we will make sure you face consequences. This strategy worked in the 1980s and actually greatly reduced the amount of times we had to go to war , as our enemies didnt dare not threaten world peace. If a situation comes where we have to go to war , I would leave the strategy to the generals because they know better than anyother politician in the country how to win wars wars .


Gore: Governor Bush's solution is founded on the idea of giving ultimatums and the fact is it wont work cause if you do give one , they are not likely to listen and that might result in a war breaking out.


Bush: the fact is we cant wait another 5-10 years to deal with Syria or the problem will get much worse

[OSR stands with Israel]

Polls after Debate:  



Russert: There has been a major shift in the polls since the VP debate and its only accellarated this debate. The proof of that is in the battle ground map we are about too show you.

Bush/Giuliani 233 48.9%
Gore/Rockefeller 202 48.1%
Tossup 103

[OSR stands with Israel]

3rd Debate Summary:




Russert: Now lets at the key moments of this debate which we believe was won by Governor Bush.


Important Moment One:

Schieffer : Polls from most polling and news organizations recently showed that most Americans believe the economy is not so good or poor. If either of you are elected President what would you do to fix it? Governor Bush you first


Bush: Well the first thing we must do is understand why the economy is in such bad shape. The reasons for that is the current administration over the past 12 years has increased income taxes, and spent the late 1990s riding the dot.com boom out instead of actually implementing policies that grow the economy long term. Those actions have led to our current economic situation, and if I am elected President my plan to fix our economy is to cut taxes for individuals, businesses, and investors which will give the average American more money to spend, give businesses more money to create jobs , increase supply , and grow their business and lastly, it will give investors more incentives to invest in our economy . All these things will result in our economy growing at a healthy rate again.


Gore: Well the reason we are in this recession is because of the dot.com bubble popping and the fact is it is a cyclical recession. My plan to fix the economy is to invest more in infrastructure to make rural and inner cities more economically viable . This will result in our economic base being expanded , and that will mean our economy will grow. In fact President Clinton proposed this and the Republicans in Congress has yet to vote on it. What they want is a return to 1980s style economics which the American people rejected in 1992 after it was proven not to work for 12 years.


Bush : I didnt want to use one of my favorite president's debate line but there you go again. Instead of taking responsibilities for your own failures you blame the Republicans or Reaganomics for all your problems. The idea that Reaganomics failed is just not true. If you remember when President Reagan took office in 1981 the economy was in its worst shape since the great depression, with double-digit unemployment, double-digit inflation, and double-digit interest rates. In Response to that Reagan cut taxes, deregulate Business and by the end of his Presidency unemployment was cut in half , and inflation was cut by nearly 2/3rds.


Gore: Well but the economy fell back into recession after he left , so that proves


Bush: It fell into recession in 1991 , and by late 1992 the economy beginning to grow again and by late 1993 the economy took off. The economy actually started taking off before Clinton took over and before his policies started to fully get implemented in mid 1994. Then when the GOP took over congress in 1994 they got President Clinton to agree to cut capital gains taxes, deregulate business , and cut spending in the mid 1990s all which are following the principles of Reaganomics and guess what the economy boomed once again . Then for some reason beginning in 1999 even when it was clear a bubble was forming Cinton didnt do anything to make sure the affects of it popping would be lessened , then these past 4 years abonded Reaganomics which led to the greatest 20 year boom in our history.

Gore: Reagan left office in 1989 , and the boom in late 1990s really began in 1994 so how can you credit Reagan for it

Bush: I am not crediting Reagan for it , I am crediting Reaganomics which is the policy of believing in lowering taxes which Clinton did when he cut the capital gains taxes , cut spending which Clinton did with the Welfare Reform act and Balance Budget Act and supporting reducing the number of Regulations which he also did and that resulted in a huge economic boom . What I am critizing is the fact that the President has abandoned those policies over the past 6 years after the GOP majorities in congress got reduced or in the two years when the Democrats retook control and thats why we are in the mess we are in now.


Important Moment Two :

Schieffer : The Budget Deficit this year is expected to hit a record 300 billion dollars and even surpass it. What are some of the reasons why the Budget Defict is so big and what would you do to reduce it. Vice President Gore you first

Gore: There are two reasons for the budget defict and the first reason is because of the early 2000s recession and slow economic growth which has resulted in revenues being stagnant , and second is because of the War on Terror. Once our economy starts growing at a healthy pace again which I believe my economic plan will, and we have won the War on Terror we should have reduced the defict by then. On the other hand Governor Bush's believes we should give giant tax breaks to the rich just like we did from 1980-1992 and in those 12 years the budget defict and the debt quadrupled so while the Governor may want to argue or not if those policies worked for the economy you cant argue they failed for the debt.


Bush : I do agree with the Vice President on the reasons for this deficit but we greatly differ on the solution. First, he claims the tax cuts increase the deficit and he sites the 1980s but the numbers he uses are very misleading. He conveniently leaves out the fact that most of the increase in the deficit happened from 1981-1983. The reason for that though was that when Reagan took office we were faced with an economy which was in the worst shape since the great depression, and our military had gotten weakened the prior decade to such a point that the Soviet Union and the Communists were expanding year by year. So to deal with those issues Reagan signed the largest ever tax cut into law , and greatly increased the size of our military and by Reagan's 2nd term the economy was growing at a faster pace than ever, the budget defict had dropped from around 210 billion to 150 billion , and the Soviet Union had been defeated. Also if you look at the GDP numbers from the time you will see that the % of tax revenue didnt change much but the spending increased a lot . The Spending then had to do with rebuilding our military to help us defeat the Soviet Union so I would say it was justified , while today it is not.

Gore: The fact is the Defict Increased under presidents Nixon , Reagan, and Bush Senior. Those are just facts , you may not like facts but that is true. The fact is that your plan will increase the defict over the next 4 years while mine will decrease it , and unlike Reagan's first term we cant afford a larger defict.


Bush: Well I have also pledged to cut waste from the government, and end pork barrel spending to reduce the defict . Also our tax plan just like the 1986 Reagan tax cut will close loopholes and that act by the way you voted for so currently all your doing is flip-flopping. Lastly, I want to ask the American people this: if the cost of a restaurant you want to go to currently costs $10 would you be more or less likely to go to it if they reduce the price to $ 8 . Another question is what would be better for that restaurant to have less customers at 10 dollars or more customers for $ 8 dollars. Same is true for lower taxes as you get a larger tax base.

Gore: Well what about if you lower that price to $4 dollars would you make more money or less

Bush: Well that would be a 60% cut and my tax cut is 20%


Important Momenet 3:

Schiffer : Gas Prices have hit record highs this past year , surpassing $ 2 dollars a gallon for the first time ever. On that same issue many people believe the reason we are so involved in the middle east is due to the need for oil , if elected what would you do to put America on a path to energy independence.

Bush: The first step is we need to increase domestic oil production, so we can produce our own oil instead of being overly reliant on middle eastern oil. The next step is to work with our ally up north , Canada so both our countries can become energy independent and at the same time cheapean oil prices.

Gore: Well the fact is that fracking and oil pipelines are very harmful to the environment and we should avoid them as much as possible. On the other hand , my strategy will be to invest in Alternative Energy: Solar Energy, Wind Energy, investing in Electric Car battery technology so our world can transition away from Fossil Fuels to reduce the impacts of climate change, and make our nation energy independent at the same time. Now the fact is we cant do this alone and we must work with our allies , and the world for this future to be realized and that is why we must make sure to keep our relations with them strong . For communities who's economy is reliant on coal , or other traditional energy sources we will no abandon them , and instead we will invest in infrastructure in those states so the community's economy doenst get hit when we transition away.

Bush: Well the fact is currently , Alternative Energy is very expensive for the average joe to afford and the fact is all your solutions would do is either make us more reliant on middle eastern oil , or see a dramatic increase in oil prices. The fact is your plan is too unrealistic to accomplish in the next 4-8 years and the American people cant afford to wait that long.

Gore: Well , I never said we wouldnt do anything to not reduce energy prices in the short term . The best way to reduce oil prices in the short term is to make sure the War on Terror is won as quickly as possible and to avoid more wars in the Middle East.

Bush: The fact is the War on Terror wont end until all the terror groups have been destoryed and the countries who fund them stop funding them and the fact is we dont know the exact time period on how long that will take, so we need a diferent solution on how to lower oil prices and I am the only candidate who offers that .



More debate highlights to come later


Polling After Debate:

Bush/Giuliani 245 49.9%
Gore/Rockefeller 194 47.8%

[OSR stands with Israel]

NBC NEWS- Decision 2004(Hour One):



7:00
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsC9vcB7MeM


From NBC News , Decision 2004 , here is Tom Brokaw and Tim Russert

Brokaw: Welcome to this decision 2000 NBC news special, its 7:00 in the east and NBC news is ready to make these projections.

In the State of Vermont, we are projecting that Vice President Gore will win the state and it's 3 electoral votes . In the State of Georgia we can project that Governor Bush will win the state and its 15 electoral votes , and in Indiana we can project that Governor Bush will win its 11 electoral votes . In Kentucky ,Florida, Virginia, South Carolina , and New Hampshire we are saying its too close or too early to call.

Bush 26
Gore 3


Russert: Ok now lets head to Brian Williams for the exit Poll



Exit Poll:


Wrong Track/Right Track :

Wrong Track : 56% ; Bush 72% Gore 25%
Right Track : 41% ; Gore : 78% Bush 21%
Not Sure : 3% ; Bush : 49% Gore 49%

Importance of Issue :

Economic Policy/Domestic Policy : 45% ; Bush 55% Gore 44%
Foreign Policy: 44% ; Gore 57% Bush 40%
Social Issues/Moral Values : 11% ; Bush 74% Gore 25%


Brian Williams : This exit poll is favorable to Governor Bush , but it is still a poll and is within the margin of error . As the night goes on we will be able to tell you the demographic data as well.

Russert: Right now the exit polls look very similar to the ones in 2000 but its just that they are reversed, and that election went down to the wire . So while Bush may be the favorite , hes just a slight one .

7:30

Brokaw: The Polls have closed in 3 more states ,and we can project that West Virginia a solidly Democratic State and the home state for their Vice Presidential Nominee will stay in the Democratic Column , and its neighboring state Virginia a solidly Republican state will stay Republican. Ohio on the other hand NBC news can project is too close to call.

Bush 39
Gore 8

Russert: Not a Surprise as those states have been solidly Democratic or Republican for quite some time now.

Brokaw: Their was some talk of West Virginia possibly being won by the Repubicans at the RNC if Gore was their opponent due to Gore being a staunch enviormentlist , but when Gore chose Jay Rockefeller as his running mate , he was able to keep the state Democratic.


Russert: Talks about it even being within 5-6 points in the state  vanished when Mayor Giuliani made that gaffe at the debate on how Rockefeller gubernatorial term in West Virginia does not qualify him for the job due to the nature of the state.

[dw93]

This is excellent. I can see Bush winning 2004 and becoming a Republican Jimmy Carter, having a foreign policy debacle hit and having the economy unravel in 2008. Could Feingold be the Democratic Reagan???

[Sir Mohamed]

So, there goes my prediction: W wins with the polling map plus AR, KY, TN and narrowly PA.

[OSR stands with Israel]

NBC NEWS- Decision 2004(Hour Two):



8:00
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsC9vcB7MeM

Brokaw: It's 8 pm in the east and NBC news can make projection in these states

Governor Bush has won the the State of Florida and its 27 Electoral Votes North Carolina and its 15 electoral votes ,South Carolina and its 8 electoral votes ,  Alabama and its 9 electoral votes ,Mississippi and its 6 electoral votes  and Oklahoma and its 7 electoral votes . Vice President Gore has won the State of Connecticut and its 7 Electoral Votes , Deleware and its 3 electoral Votes , The District of Columbia and its 3 electoral votes , Illionis and its 21 electoral votes , Maryland and its 10 electoral votes ,  Massachutes and its 12 electoral votes , and also picked up the electoral vote from Maine's 1st District. The States of Maine , Michigan, Missiouri ,New Jersey , Pennsylvania , Texas and Kansas remain either too early or too close to call.

Bush 111
Gore 65


Brokaw: To let everyone who are probably asking that Texas and Kansas were called at this point 4 years ago , so why arent they called now. The reason for that is NBC News have decided that they wont project a state until the polls have closed everywhere in the state. In Kansas and Texas the parts of the state that use the Mountain West Time Zone haven't closed so we wont call it until they do.


Russert: So far the race is going just like we expected. If you are a supporter of Gore you dont need to panic because while he may not be doing as well at this stage as President Clinton did 4 years ago , remember Vice President Gore unlike Clinton did not even contest North Carolina and Georgia which if you remember weren't won by Clinton anyway. Instead, Gore has focused on trying to win critical Upper South and Midwest states.


Brokaw: NBC News is ready to project a couple pickups in the Senate. In the State of Illinois the First Lady Hillary Clinton has defeated Ambassador Alan Keyes in a landslide meaning the Democrats will pick up that state's Senate seat. In the State of Georgia Representative Johny Ksakson has won that seat by a comfortable margin meaning the Republicans will pick up that seat.


So Currently the Net Pick for both parties remains at 0


Russert: So the Clintons political career will not end when they leave the White House, the roles will just be reversed now as it will be Bill who will be on the sidelines while Hillary will be in the limelight .



8:30:

Brokaw: NBC news can now project that the State of Arkansas will be too close to call .

Brokaw: NBC news is also ready to make another projection in a key Senate Race , as we can now project that the Republicans will pickup the Senate Seat in South Carolina as Representative Jim Demint has won .

The makes the overall net gain so far at Republicans +1.

[OSR stands with Israel]

NBC NEWS- Decision 2004(Hour Three):



9:00
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsC9vcB7MeM


Brokaw: Its now 9 in the east and NBC news is ready to make projections

Governor Bush will win Texas and its 34 electoral votes, Kansas and its 6 electoral votes, Nebraska and all 5 of its electoral votes , North and South Dakota which both have 3 electoral votes, Wyoming and its 3 electoral votes , New Hampshire and its 4 electoral votes and win Maine's 2nd district. Vice President Gore will win the state  of New York and its 31 electoral votes and Rhode Island and its 4 electoral votes . Arizona , Colorodo , Louisiana , Minnesota ,  New Mexico ,and Wisconsin are all either too early or too close to call. Now here's the map

Bush 170
Gore 100

Brokaw: NBC News just has some Breaking News: It is now willing to make the projection that the Republicans will not only retain control of the House of Representatives but do so with a larger majority . They are currently expected to get anywhere from 236 seats- 248 seats which could mean
if this projection is true they will have their largest house majority since 1946 and maybe since 1928.


Russert: Well right now the map is getting better and better for Governor Bush , and the path to 270 is easier for him that it is for Vice President Gore. Currently if you give him the remaining outstanding Inner Western States and Alaska that will give him 214 electoral votes . Then he needs to Hold Ohio, and Louisiana and that will give him 243 electoral votes which makes him only 27 short of the Presidency. This means he can win just by winning Pennsylvania + any outstanding southern state to win the presidency.


Brokaw: Thats right and that makes the crucial Midwest even more important.


9:40:

Brokaw: NBC News is now willing to project that the States of Arizona and Louisiana   will be won by Governor Bush and the state of Missouri will be won by Vice President Gore.

Bush 189
Gore 111

Brokaw : We can also project that Representative David Vitter will have crossed the 50% mark when the night is over meaning that he will be the next Senator for Louisinia .


Net Gain Senate: + 2 GOP

Russert: The GOP gains in the south over the past 10 years may mean they have become the natural governing party of Washington . The reason for this is they controll both houses of congress, most of the nation's gubsernatorial contests , and start out with a huge advantage in Presidential  races.

[OSR stands with Israel]

NBC NEWS- Decision 2004(Hour Four)



10:00
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsC9vcB7MeM


Brokaw: Its 10:00 in the east and we are willing to project that Governor Bush has won the State of Utah and its 6 electoral votes , and the state of Colorado with 9 electoral votes . The states of Iowa, Montana , Nevada are all too close or too early to call.

Bush 203
Gore 111


Russert: Well Bush has gone past 200 electoral votes and if he holds the states he is leading in currently, he will be the 43rd President of the United States.

Brokaw: Seeing from the exit poll earlier on the issue question 11% of the voters who viewed social and moral values issues as the main issue in this election voted 74% to 25%. If you do the math those are the voters which may have given this election to Governor Bush. What I dont get is why that margin is so big as neither Governor Bush or Vice President Gore have come out in favor of gay marriage so it really shouldnt affect it.

Russert: Well for these reasons, Bush actually came out and said he opposed it while Gore took a more moderate stance . 2nd when these people come out to vote for the ballot measures that ban gay marriage , they just dont get the ballot for that particular measure but the entire ballot, and since they are socially conservative on other issues as well , such as Abortion that makes them more likely to vote for Mr. Bush. Last is that people say view social issues as a major issue after their party has been out of power for some time, so they are more likely to overwhelmingly favor the party out of power . It happened to the GOP in 1992 and its happening to the Dems now.

Brokaw: We have a projection in a Key Senate Race and that is Tom Dashale , the leader of the Democratic Party in the Senate has been reelected as Senator of South Dakota


10:20:

Brokaw: NBC News is now ready to make some major projections, and that is Governor Bush has won the very important states of Ohio and Maine. While those states weren't a surprise they certainly will make Bush's path to 270 much easier, and Vice President Gore's much more difficult.

Bush 225
Gore 211


Russert: Now All Governor Bush needs to do is win Nevada , Idaho, Alaska , New Mexico and that will give him 245 electoral votes. This means he is just 25 short and Pennsylvania plus any state from that map will do it.


10:49

Brokaw: The Gore camp can take a sigh of relief as the states of Michigan, Kentucky and Arkansas have been won by Vice President Gore , even though Montana has been won by Bush.

Bush 228
Gore 142

[OSR stands with Israel]

NBC NEWS- Decision 2004(Hour Five)



11:00

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsC9vcB7MeM


Brokaw: Its now 11:00 in the east and NBC News can make these projections. The States of California and Hawaii will be won by Vice President Gore while the state of Idaho will be won by Governor Bush. The states of Oregon and Washington are too close to call.

Bush 232
Gore 201

Russert: 4 years ago at this point , the electoral vote count stood at Clinton 225 McCain 204 . This time its nearly the complete opposite. The fact is the Democrats will need to look hard at themselves and ask themselves if they are still able to win elections by being swept in the Mountain West, and the South. The problem for Democrats is with the exception of Senator Landrieu they have nobody who can keep the Southern and Border states won by Clinton and Gore with the exception of West Virginia . So for them to win elections in the future  they will either need to get a candidate who can win states like Florida,  Georgia , Montana, and Colorado or they will need a candidate who can sweep all the Midwestern swing states.


Doris Kearns Goodwin : Well one problem the Democrats may have if Gore loses is they may have an inner party civil war similar to the one in 1968. Back then the factions of the wings fighting were the Humphrey faction who were the establishment back then, the southern democrat faction , and the more very liberal faction of the party. In my opinion it would be wiser for the Democrats to go in the direction the Republicans took in 1968 which was to bridge the gap between the Rockefeller wing and the Goldwater wing , and that eventually created a pathway for Ronald Reagan too take the White House in 1980 and realign the country.

Also if Governor Bush is elected , he will become the first Republican President since Eisenhower to have a Republican House and Republican Senate , and effectively the first Republican President since Hoover too have both because when Eisenhower was President the GOP was a very divided party between the Taft and Dewey wings , while the GOP in the 1920s were more or less united.


Brokaw: Hold Up we have some more key Senate races to predict

Mayor Mel Martinez has been elected Senator of Florida .


Net Pick Up: +3


In the House NBC news is revising its projection to the Republicans will win anywhere between 238-246 seats meaning they will have their largest majority in the House since 1946.



11:38:

Brokaw: NBC news is ready to make two more projections. NBC News Can Project that the State of Iowa and its 7 electoral votes will be won by Vice President Al Gore while we can project that the State of Nevada and its 5 electoral votes will be won by Governor Bush.

Bush 237
Gore 208



Russert: Well Im not surprised but the Gore camp should be worried because of these two facts.

Bush is still holding his slight edge in New Jersey over Vice President Gore, and in my opinion its likely he will win the state now. If he wins New Jersey, wins Alaska , and holds New Mexico like he is expected to that will put the Governor at 260 electoral votes .


On the other hand, the only state out of the ones outstanding that looks like it will go to Vice President Gore in Washington and that will put him at 219 electoral votes. This means that out of all these pure tossups states remaining the Vice President can only afford to lose Oregon if he wants to get to 270. But you know what they are still pure tossups for a reason and anything can happen.



11:45:


Brokaw: Now with us is Businessman and host of the hit show the Apprentice Donald Trump.

Trump : Great to be here

Brokaw: What do you think about the results so far

Trump : So far they look terrible, as the person who is clearly more qualified for the job is losing while the person who would be a disaster is winning

Brokaw : arent you friends with Giuliani

Trump: I am but he isnt the one running for President George Bush is . If Giuliani was running he would easily win an make a great president. The fact is George W Bush is no where near as smart as Gore . When Gore gives answers he can give answers in details and shows his knowledge while all Bush gives are nothing but political talking points. When Gore talks about Syria he gives you an actual answer , when Bush talks about Syria all he does is act like a fake tough guy and says i will give an ultimatium to Assad and if he doenst follow through we will invade. His fake toughness will get us into a war we dont need and waste money when we can spend it at home. Lastly he supports these so called free trade deals what do nothing but outsource jobs. Bush will be a disaster , let me tell you that


Russert: If Gore loses who do you blame

Trump : I blame Feingold and Landrieu because both of them clearly lost to Gore in the Primaries and yet they stayed in for selfish reasons which allowed Bush to get a huge lead that he never  lost.

Brokaw: Would you run in 08

Trump : I would more like to run in 2012 after two successful terms of President Gore.

[OSR stands with Israel]

NBC NEWS- Decision 2004(Hour Six):



12:00

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsC9vcB7MeM

Brokaw: The final polls have closed and NBC News can project that the state of Alaska will be won be Governor Bush. NBC News can also project that Nex Mexico has been won by Governor Bush and Washington will be won by Vice President Gore

Bush 245
Gore 219


Brokaw : We can also project another Key Senate race , and that is Businessman Pete Coors has won the Senate Seat in Colorado over Ken Salazar.


Senate Net Gain : GOP + 3


In the House we are now saying the GOP will have between 240 and 245 seats .


Russert: Democrats believed they could win the Senate Race in Colorado but failed to do so. The fact is in my opinion this night is looking a lot like what 1992 would have looked like without Perot which was a 2.5-3.5 point Clinton victory after 3 terms of Republican control. This time its just that the parties have switched places.


Brokaw: That is True , and the fact is we will have the DNC chair here, so it will be interesting to hear his thoughts on the election.




12:35 :


Brokaw: We have a  state to call and it is a big one New Jersey, and NBC news can project that Governor Bush will win the state and its 15 very important electoral votes. This is a state which was believed to be trending Democratic, but it seems like Bush selecting Giuliani has his VP may have delivered the state to him.

Bush 260
Gore 219


Russert: That is indeed a state that Rudy Giuliani is very popular in, and undoubtedly was the reason Governor Bush won the State. Something people forget to talk about is that Vice President Gore has ran a pretty populist campaign this fall, and while that helped him win votes in the border states it lost him votes in states like New Jersey.


Brokaw: Now lets head to both headquarters, first Vice President Gore's headquarters which is being covered by Kelly O'Donnell. Kelly whats the atmosphere there currently.

O'Donnell: Its very sad and people now and everyone here is stunned. Earler tonight we had a similar atmosphere , but in the last couple hours people began to believe again and were very enthusiatic but these latest projection especially New Jersey has brought them full circle.

Brokaw: Thanks Now to David Gregory , who is at Bush headquarters. David how is the mood here

Gregory: People are very excited and you could have hearn a huge applause when Bush won New Jersey. Now most people here are really confident that Bush will win

[OSR stands with Israel]

NBC NEWS- Decision 2004(Coverage after the Polls have closed):



1:03:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsC9vcB7MeM


Brokaw: its been just over an hour since America finished choosing who they believe should be elected President. We dont know the result yet, but we do know who has won the state of Minnesota and that is Vice President Gore

Bush 260
Gore 229



DNC Chair :


Russert: what do you think of the election results so far

DNC Chair : Its been disappointing but at the same time we did have 3 terms in the White House and the fact is we are doing much better than the GOP did in 1992. We also ran a great campaign so I am proud of Gore for coming this close.


Russert: Well as you know in 1992 GOP didnt have any candidates to take the mantale in the future . Do you guys have any

DNC Chair: Yes we have Senator Feingold, Senator Landrieu , Governor Dean, Vice President Kerrey and many more.

Russert: Thanks for coming on

DNC Always:


1:31:

Goodwin: I disagree that this election is like 1992 , in my opinion this is like 1948 if Dewey didnt run such a terrible and complacent campaign.

Brokaw: NBC News has a major projection to make and that is we can declare that George Bush will be the next President of the United States. The reason for that is he has won the state of Wisconsin

And that gives Bush 270 electoral votes.


Bush 270
Gore 229


Breaking News: George W Bush Elected President

[Former Senator Haslam2020]

NBC NEWS- Decision 2004(Coverage after the Polls have closed)



1:03:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsC9vcB7MeM


Brokaw: its been just over an hour since America finished choosing who they believe should be elected President. We dont know the result yet, but we do know who has won the state of Minnesota and that is Vice President Gore

Bush 260
Gore 229



DNC Chair


Russert: what do you think of the election results so far

DNC Chair : Its been disappointing but at the same time we did have 3 terms in the White House and the fact is we are doing much better than the GOP did in 1992. We also ran a great campaign so I am proud of Gore for coming this close.


Russert: Well as you know in 1992 GOP didnt have any candidates to take the mantale in the future . Do you guys have any

DNC Chair: Yes we have Senator Feingold, Senator Landrieu , Governor Dean, Vice President Kerrey and many more.

Russert: Thanks for coming on

DNC Always:


1:31:

Goodwin: I disagree that this election is like 1992 , in my opinion this is like 1948 if Dewey didnt run such a terrible and complacent campaign.

Brokaw: NBC News has a major projection to make and that is we can declare that George Bush will be the next President of the United States. The reason for that is he has won the state of Wisconsin

And that gives Bush 270 electoral votes.


Bush 270
Gore 229


Breaking News: George W Bush Elected President

Danggg, what’s the PV look like man? I have a feeling Gore wins Oregon and TN, but loses PA

[America Needs R'hllor]

Aw. Well, #Obama2k8 it is.

[OSR stands with Israel]

phucc

Democrats have already had 3 terms in the White House, so getting a 4th would be very hard. I would say Gore did better than most people running for a 4th term for their party would have done.

[OSR stands with Israel]

NBC NEWS- Decision 2004(Coverage after the Polls have closed)



1:03:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsC9vcB7MeM


Brokaw: its been just over an hour since America finished choosing who they believe should be elected President. We dont know the result yet, but we do know who has won the state of Minnesota and that is Vice President Gore

Bush 260
Gore 229



DNC Chair


Russert: what do you think of the election results so far

DNC Chair : Its been disappointing but at the same time we did have 3 terms in the White House and the fact is we are doing much better than the GOP did in 1992. We also ran a great campaign so I am proud of Gore for coming this close.


Russert: Well as you know in 1992 GOP didnt have any candidates to take the mantale in the future . Do you guys have any

DNC Chair: Yes we have Senator Feingold, Senator Landrieu , Governor Dean, Vice President Kerrey and many more.

Russert: Thanks for coming on

DNC Always:


1:31:

Goodwin: I disagree that this election is like 1992 , in my opinion this is like 1948 if Dewey didnt run such a terrible and complacent campaign.

Brokaw: NBC News has a major projection to make and that is we can declare that George Bush will be the next President of the United States. The reason for that is he has won the state of Wisconsin

And that gives Bush 270 electoral votes.


Bush 270
Gore 229


Breaking News: George W Bush Elected President

Danggg, what’s the PV look like man? I have a feeling Gore wins Oregon and TN, but loses PA

50.5-48 for Bush.


I will post the final map soon(After I post Gore's Concession Speech, and Bush's Victory Speech).



The reason this map looks weird is :


1. That in OTL many of the Solid Dem and Solid GOP states didnt become like that until the end of Bush's first term.

2. Giuliani being on the ticket flipped NJ and ME, and Rockefeller kept WV in the Dem column (And Giuliani debate gaffe cost Bush KY). Also Gore didnt distance himself from Clinton like he did in OTL , thus AR stayed Dem.