(Leaving aside the debate over whether Al Gore actually was elected president in 2000 . . .) What would have gone differently? Considering that the man he chose for his running mate, [url=]Joe Lieberman, has supported Bush’s war policies more loyally than any other Dem – how would a Gore Administration handled the aftermath of 9/11 any differently than the Bush Admin has? Oh, and domestic policy, of course.
They were aware of Ben Laden and tried to take him out. They probably would have gone into Afghanistan. Then would have finished and rebuilt it. They would have hunted down the terrorists . They would have had international backing.
Iraq would have fallen apart by itself and had free elections.
With the bully pulpit the president would have prevented the K Street take over of our government. About 2000 Americans would have not died in war. 20,000 injuries would have not occured. We would have negotiated with Iran and N. Korea. and nuclear war would not be looming.
The middle class would still exist and we would have had the witheral to fix new Orleans.
Lieberman would have occupied the place in the basement where Perots crazy uncle lives.
Why, Utopia, of course. I can’t believe you think you’ll get any other answer. And it’s what you want to hear, right?
Bin Laden would have been so intimidated by Gore’s political mastery that the 9/11 attacks would have never happened. We would all be driving electric cars, powered by vast arrays of solar panels in the west. Mankind would live in peace and harmony.
Oh, and all our meals would consist of little cakes made from our dead, and we would reproduce ourselves through assembly-line cloning. You have to take the bad with the good, you know.
We tried to ‘take him out’ under Bush…we probably would have been equally successful under Gore. This isn’t a reflection on how competent (or incompetent) Gore may have been, but a realistic look at where ObL was hiding.
I’m fairly sure we would have gone into Afghanistan post 9/11 (yes, I think this still would have happened too), but we would have waited longer and probably gone in harder under Gore. I think we would have taken more casualties than we did in Afghanistan under Bush (well, the coalition would have as I think Gore would have waited until he built up a coalition army a la Bush I in the first Gulf War).
We did hunt down terrorists under Bush, so I don’t see how this would have been significantly different than what happened IRL.
I assume you mean we whouldn’t have invaded Iraq when and how we did…agreed. I think Gore would have been completely focused on Afghanistan. Of course, committing a large percentage of our military there would have also increased our casualties there (instead of having the Afghani’s soak them up), so I’m not so sure that this ‘About 2000 Americans would have not died in war. 20,000 injuries would have not occured.’ is necessarily true. Afghanistan COULD have degenerated into another Iraq had we gone in big time…and probably would have, as IT would be the magnet that drew all the local nutballs out to bag their limit of Americans. And frankly fighting in Afghanistan would have been a nightmare…ask the Soviets.
As for Iran and North Korea I think you are dreaming. If Gore committed us to Afghanistan we’d probably still be there and bogged down fighting off repeated insurgent attacks…Iran and N. Korea would have still siezed the chance to do what they are doing. Especially Iran. And maybe Iraq would be making trouble as well (ironic, ehe? :)).
:rolleyes: I’m sure Gore would have simply prevented the hurricane…you seem to think he’s some kind of superhero after all…
I also predict that the economy would be doing almost as well under Gore (about the same under Bush), that Gore would be if not equally unpopular at least fairly low on the popularity scale, and unable to get most of his agenda through a hostile congress (I’m fairly sure he would have pushed for things like Kyoto…to no avail). Also, that Europe would STILL be bitching about the US…only about us being in Afghanistan and dragging them into ‘our’ war. 
Oh, and while he was in office, Gore would have invented the space elevator…
-XT
The Republican Congress would’ve impeached him for failure to prevent the attacks of 9/11. Bush would then have been elected in 2004, and would’ve invaded Iraq in 2005. We’d have a thread in GD right now asking what the implication are of not having founding WMDs in Iraq.
:rolleyes: Don’t honestly tell me you get that from the way I phrased the OP!
Go to your room.
Sorry, just happened to see a South Park episode last night with AG in it.
-XT
Not from the way you phrased it, but from the fact that the OP exists.
Come on, BG. You’ve been around here long enough to know the general lay of the GD land. Are you telling me that you started up a thread that is “Build for me a fantasy world where Gore was President” and would be shocked, shocked! that it was overwhelmed by the partisan equivalent of fanwankery?
And based on the “Republican Nazi” thread you started yesterday, it seems reasonable that you like starting threads in which people of a like mind come in and tell you how awful your opponents are and how right you are in every way.
I’m not naive enough to think that 9/11 wouldn’t have happened with Gore in office rather than Bush. But I don’t think Gore would have used it as an excuse for everything under the sun afterwards. Yes we probably would still have gone into Afghanistan. We might have found Bin Laden, we might not. We might be out of there by now, we might not. But we sure as heck wouldn’t be in Iraq right now.
And yes, the Republican-controlled Congress would pretty much have kept him from getting anything significant done during his term and he probably wouldn’t have gotten re-elected in 2004, losing to President McCain. 
All the nay-sayers are right. Gore, Bush, It wouldn’t have made any difference. We’d have a spiralling debt, warrantless wiretaps, a war of choice with Iraq in defiance of the UN where Gore wouldn’t have listened to the Pentagon’s strategy but decided he knew how many troops and how much equipment was needed, fewer press conference and more vacation than ever, the outing of a CIA agent through a stooge journalist, and an ever righter-leaning supreme court.
And Lieberman would’ve shot a guy in the face.
That’s the most realistic scenario I’ve yet heard. Except that I think we certainly would have gone to Afghanistan, and we would have stood a better chance at getting Bin Laden at Tora Bora as we wouldn’t have been diverting troops to Iraq.
Seriously?
Okay, the 9/11 attacks probably would have still happened. A Gore administration probably would have devoted more resources to anti-terrorism before the attacks than the Bush administration did, but prior to the actual attack there wasn’t a public sense of crisis on the issue.
Gore would have invaded Afghanistan. It’s a given; the Taliban was running the country and providing a sanctuary for al-Qaeda. Anyone who was elected in 2000 would have invaded Afghanistan after 9/11.
Gore probably wouldn’t have invaded Iraq. He had no reason to break with the existing program of sanctions and inspections which (despite ongoing claims otherwise) was generally working in keeping Saddam from threatening other countries. On the plus side, no American casualties in Iraq and America would be in a better position internationally. On the negative side, Saddam would probably still be in power in Iraq and killing Iraqis.
Gore probably would have enacted some of the same “security” policies that Bush has. Don’t forget Gore backed record labels and Clipper chip technology - the man has no problems with the government looking over your shoulder.
Gore probably would have responded better to Katrina. Democrats favor government intervention so he would have rolled out some big recovery programs for New Orleans.
There wouldn’t have been any tax cuts for millionaires. The deficit would be lower.
Roberts and Alito would not be sitting on the Supreme Court.
The Republicans would have held hearings for the last five years, claiming that if Bush had been elected there wouldn’t have been any terrorist attacks on America and we would have captured bin Laden within a week and the conservative belief in small government would never have tolerated Gore’s attacks on our constitutuional rights.
Bingo.
Assuming that the Gore White House didn’t stop 9-11 the next three years would have been a partisan bloodbath.
It exists because I’m genuinely curious about the question itself, not only about what partisans may have to say about it. You can believe that or not.
As compared to what came before?
Little Nemo has it, but left a few things out about environmental protection.
Was he serial? 
Hah! The day I thought would never come has finally arrived. I actually agree with John Mace. His, to me, seems the most plausible/likely of all possibilities offered.
I dont believe Oil War !2would have happened. Environmentally we would be better off.
I an cereal about this.
Apparently there is now a graphical depicition of exactly this question… read more about it over in the Pit