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1. vyelkin posted:D, whip out Jumbo on live TV and challenge Ho Chi Minh to a literal pissing contest for Saigon. 2. Realistically, B is the only sane option.
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Jan 18, 2016 02:08
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1. C 2. B I hope we get our next update soon, and I really hope we get more of these sort of threads in the future.
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Jan 18, 2016 04:44
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Grouchio posted:I hope we get our next update soon, and I really hope we get more of these sort of threads in the future. I would really enjoy seeing another of these threads too, and not necessarily one from the perspective of a U.S. President. A You are King Louis XVI or You are Alexander Kerensky would be fun.
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Jan 18, 2016 17:30
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you are: -ngo dinh diem -albrecht von wallenstein -vidkun quisling -elegabalus -cleopatra vii -george wallace -douglas macarthur -qin shi huang di -hernan cortes (or moctezuma ii) the list could go on forever
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Jan 18, 2016 21:07
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I would love to run a "You are Elagabalus" much better qualified to do Constantine or Theodosius though
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Jan 18, 2016 21:10
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oystertoadfish posted:you are: I keep selecting "kill myself" but nothing's happening
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Jan 18, 2016 21:17
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You're thinking of Saul.
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Jan 18, 2016 21:25
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QuoProQuid posted:You are Alexander Kerensky would be fun. Raskolnikov38 posted:I keep selecting "kill myself" but nothing's happening
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Jan 18, 2016 22:57
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Playing "Your are Stalin" would be the most fun but it would probably end with Moscow getting nuked after it invades western europe in 1946.
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Jan 18, 2016 23:36
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It would lead to full communism, though.
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Jan 19, 2016 00:05
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Next should be JFK if he survived/avoided the assassination. Allows us another round of Jumbo jokes since there's no way we'll get them all out of our system in this playthrough.
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Jan 19, 2016 02:37
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C. Everett Koop posted:Next should be JFK if he survived/avoided the assassination. Allows us another round of Jumbo jokes since there's no way we'll get them all out of our system in this playthrough. JFK gets impeached after a presidential sex scandal that rocks the nation. A dejected JFK encounters time travelers who allow him to go back in time and shoot himself from the grassy knoll. Before fading from the time stream JFK breathes a sigh of relief, knowing he has cemented his position as one of the greatest presidents in American history and all it took was a bullet e:literally the plot of an episode of Red Dwarf
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Jan 19, 2016 03:17
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You are JFK. You are working the phones trying to get the civil rights act passed. You are essentially failing and Johnson is in the corner laughing at you and scratching his crotch to show his contempt. Suddenly your adrenal glands act up and you die on the spot of Addison's disease. A: Well, poo poo. B: At least that bill's likely to pass now.
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Jan 19, 2016 04:54
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don Jaime posted:You are JFK. You are working the phones trying to get the civil rights act passed. You are essentially failing and Johnson is in the corner laughing at you and scratching his crotch to show his contempt. Suddenly your adrenal glands act up and you die on the spot of Addison's disease. 
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Jan 19, 2016 05:46
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I'm backin this fella's votes, right here. This is it. The way to true prosperity.
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Jan 20, 2016 20:38
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...Is anybody there?
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Jan 26, 2016 00:43
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Kavak posted:No on bombing Yale, yes on FBI raid on Langley. This reminds me of an LBJ story that we may diverge from. After MLK's assassination there were riots going on in Washington DC and most other major cities. Johnson was told by the FBI that a black radical was rousing up a mob to go burn down Georgetown. Having never felt like he got his due respect from the journalists, insiders, and establishment liberals who tend to come from there, he responded: "Thank God! I've been waiting thirty years for this!" 1) How should you modify your strategy in Vietnam? D. Mike Mansfield option. 2) Should Robert Kennedy’s commission have access to classified CIA information? B. Give Kennedy access to classified CIA information but restrict it from being entered into the public record. It can inform his investigation only. December 25, 1963  Christmas at the LBJ Ranch Leaving behind the difficult decisions of Washington, you head to your ranch in the West Texas hill country for the holidays. As the reporters fly into the area to meet you, they’re struck by the vast emptiness of the landscape. Small farmhouses dot the hills like distant islands. It was into this desperate isolation and crushing poverty that you were born. Soon, more than fifty of them charter a bus from the nearest town - Johnson City (founded by your uncle) - and arrive at your home for Christmas. They take pictures of the festivities and Lady Bird gives them a tour of the house. You aren’t wearing the necktie and suits they had grown accustomed to seeing you wear in DC. You stride around in cowboy boots, a khaki shirt and a giant Stetson hat. You grab a few of the reporters and take them hunting with you, though you refrain from killing anything. You have 27 family members at the ranch for Christmas, some of them rough people who have spent their whole lives in the hardness of hill country. You make sure that every single one gets to meet the reports and gets their picture taken. Your daughters, Lucy and Lynda, of course are given special attention. Lynda’s wearing a loose red dress which you bought her. With a grin you grab the fabric from her midsection and bundle it tight, telling the reports that’s proof she isn’t in the family way. You have your four secretaries come and meet the press as well, including Gherri Whittington - the first African-American in that role. All of the reporters can say they’ve never seen you more energized or exuberant as you gladhand with family, friends, and the press. Before they leave you give each one a souvenir ashtray with a map of Texas and the location of the ranch in a big star. December 28, 1963 Ludwig Erhard, chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, arrives to a military band playing the German and American anthems. When the helicopters land at LBJ Ranch, the ranch house is festooned with red, yellow, and black bunting. Adding to the decor is a huge portrait of the chancellor and a sign that says “Willkommen!” You give him the customary tour and discuss various issues of state. Later you travel to Fredericksburg, a community settled by German immigrants. The mayor of the town gives an emotional speech in German, and the stores are all serving traditional German foodstuffs. But it will be the dinner that catches everyone’s attention. Kennedy state dinners were formal, black-tie affairs. Held in an elegant ballroom or beautiful garden, guests would be served fine wines on candlelit tables over ten course meals. Politicians would hobnob with the intellectual elite - writers, artists, journalists. There was a reason they called it Camelot. This state dinner is not like those. You hold it in the nearby town of Stonewall, Texas. In the local high school’s gymnasium, no less. Everyone - students, guests, reporters, President and Chancellor - sit on hay bales and eat ribs with their fingers. There’s a mariachi band and square dancing. The local girls’ choir performs “Deep In the Heart of Texas” in German under the strict direction of an elderly nun. The next day Erhard leaves with a huge grin on his face. He tells the papers that the two of you share the same moral outlook on the world. Newsweek calls the whole thing a huge success, naming it the “Sparerib Summit”. December 31, 1963 A casual day at the ranch, you take some journalists out to see your prized Hereford cattle. Approaching one particularly impressive specimen, you kick him in the hindquarters and say, “This is where the best steaks come from. But that isn’t why I bought him.” You lift up his tail to reveal an enormous set of testicles to the shocked members of the fourth estate. Later on, you get word that Barry Goldwater has sent a telegram to the press that says he’ll be making a formal announcement regarding his candidacy for the Republican nomination in January. It is almost certain that he’s going to be running. Goldwater represents the most extreme end of conservative Republican ideology. He is opposed to the current proposed civil rights legislation, advocates for more militant anti-communism, and wants to withdraw from the United Nations. He is supported by a fiery group of grassroots radical supporters, mostly based in the West, Midwest, and South. His main opponent is your friend, Nelson Rockefeller. Rockefeller is a moderate Republican, willing to compromise on most issues and tending to take a careful but progressive approach. His support comes largely from the Northeast. You have already begun to direct a small portion of your considerable political patronage towards Rocky behind the scenes. You have access to Texas oilmen and construction millionaires. It’s within your power to give Nelson a lot more and drive the Republican party towards a more moderate consensus. On the other hand, many think Goldwater’s extremism makes him unelectable. 1. Should you covertly try to exert more influence on the Republican nomination? A. Nelson Rockefeller is my friend, and will moderate the party and make them easier to work with. Increase the support I’m giving him. B. Goldwater is an unelectable loon and will be easier to beat. Sorry Rocky, you’ll have to make do. January 2, 1964 Your focus for the last week at the LBJ ranch will be the upcoming State of the Union address on January 8. Obviously you will discuss your achievements - the movement of the budget, tax bill, and civil rights through the legislature. Vietnam will be mentioned briefly, but the degrading situation there obviously won't be a focus. In reducing the budget, you have found $2 billion that are freed up and can be used for a program of your choosing. Everything you’ve done up until this point was started by your predecessor, even if he never would have had your success at pushing it all through. This is your opportunity to imagine a new program that is entirely your own. 2. What will be your new, major governmental initiative going into 1964? A. War on Poverty. Poverty has increasingly become an issue that Americans are paying attention to, and a broad program that aims to provide jobs and empower impoverished communities might be a compelling challenge. B. War on Disease. Harry Truman failed to pass national health insurance legislation when he was President. You will push for a program that ensure every American has access to some sort of healthcare. C. War on Racism. Civil rights legislation isn’t enough. Many black Americans live in much greater poverty than their white neighbors, and this is a direct result of racism. This would be targeted anti-poverty and affirmative action programs directly aimed at helping black Americans. D. War on [INSERT GOON ISSUE HERE]. Considering I largely handed Vietnam policy over to ya’ll I guess domestic policy can’t be that much worse. January 3, 1964 While you and your advisors work on your State of the Union address, you pull Kennedy loyalist Ted Sorensen aside. You try to appear canderous as you muse about US Government policy. “Before me Ted, you better believe John was running a goddamn Murder Inc in the Caribbean. Hell, more than just the Caribbean. Trujillo, Diem, attempts on Castro. Sometimes I wonder if that whole business in Dallas was divine retribution, you know?” Ted seems taken aback, so you quickly shift to an amusing dirty Texan story. You know that this quote of yours will get passed on to Robert. Let him mull over that while he’s reading those CIA files, you think. LBJ really did say this to Ted Sorensen, specifically trying to get it back to RFK who whined about it later. It happened a little later in real history but seemed appropriate with Robert digging into that stuff.
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Jan 26, 2016 08:21
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1: A We will stomp Barry into the loving dirt, but keeping the Republican party on a sane footing is better for America and the world as a whole. 2: War on Everything All three options should be pursued, or at least try to push for national health care alongside the historical War on Poverty.
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Jan 26, 2016 08:32
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B. We should do no favors for the Republican Party. A with some C. Tackling the kind of poverty you grew up among should be the primary priority of the LBJ presidency, but the brutal poverty many black people face, especially in the South, should be tied directly to that push.
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Jan 26, 2016 08:40
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1. B. I'd like to maintain some kind of alliance with Rockefeller, but for Goldwater to get the nomination. 2. A with B rolled into it. Just include healthcare costs as a basic aspect of the War on Poverty. We can get to racism next.
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Jan 26, 2016 10:01
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B, A Obviously gently caress Rockefeller and gently caress him even harder by focusing on poor folks so if he does run he gets owned by being the latter day oligarch.
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Jan 26, 2016 10:04
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1. B. The best way to moderate the Republican party is to soundly defeat their extremist elements. Let Goldwater pull the party to the right, then make a laughingstock of him in the general election. 2. A. The war is on poverty, but we’ll fight it wherever it is found, whether that’s black kids going hungry or men and women suffering from illnesses they can’t afford to treat. Platystemon has issued a correction as of 12:31 on Jan 26, 2016 |
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Jan 26, 2016 11:39
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A. Even if Goldwater is an easier opponent to beat, he will make the national party so much harder to work with. If we want to passive comprehensive reforms, especially for civil rights, and ensure they remain in effect after we leave office, Rockefeller is the only sensible option. A. Remember that we have still have to win an election. As much as I want to focus on everything, trying to do too much will alienate our allies in Congress and make us look ineffectual in public. Take it one step at a time. It is best to focus on those issues with the widest reach, poverty, before we shift the debate over to health care. To make sure we carry the South, I would recommend we hold off on our most comprehensive civil rights package until 1965.
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Jan 26, 2016 13:26
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This is a fantastic thread that finally pushed me to read the Caro biographies, which own.  OP is a great American hero.
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Jan 26, 2016 13:35
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A B
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Jan 26, 2016 13:42
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1. A. Goldwater may be an unelectable hardliner but if the Republicans lurch to the right it will make things much harder for us in the long term. 2. Sheng-ji Yang posted:A with some C. Tackling the kind of poverty you grew up among should be the primary priority of the LBJ presidency, but the brutal poverty many black people face, especially in the South, should be tied directly to that push.
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Jan 26, 2016 13:57
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rakovsky maybe posted:
quote:2. What will be your new, major governmental initiative going into 1964? Health care and racism are a part of poverty, I can target those more specifically later. Grouchio posted:...Is anybody there? I'm trying to put together a similar thread to go between updates here, but Jesus, this is a lot harder than I realized, especially without a source as good as Caro. We really need to thank rakovsky, this thing is a big chore to produce.
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Jan 26, 2016 14:31
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1. B 2. A
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Jan 26, 2016 16:29
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A If Goldwater wins, we can beat him, but it'll encourage people like that nut in California to take over the party. B If we can get some kind of Medical Care (need to shorten that up) for the elderly, that will be a great step forward.
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Jan 26, 2016 17:02
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1. B, we've already given him a small amount, let's not overdo it. 2. A
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Jan 26, 2016 17:04
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1. A. Goldwater is a clown and we'd spank him like a dog, but the last thing we need is his troupe running the party. 2. D - Jesus Option. Combine all 3 into a massive effort against all the ills plaguing American society. It's 1964, not 1914, dammit.
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Jan 26, 2016 17:34
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1. B 2. D - War on Government Excess - return the $2 billion surplus to the American taxpayer in the form of rebate checks. The free market will solve poverty, healthcare, and racism in far more efficient ways than the government ever could.
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Jan 26, 2016 18:09
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1. A -- Didn't we make a huge speech about reuniting the party after Kennedy? Letting Goldwater and the Birchers take the national stage will cripple that progress. 2. B - Healthcare can staunch poverty and racism. If you're healthy, you can work, and if you can work, you can change your station.
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Jan 26, 2016 18:47
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Combed Thunderclap posted:A: Extremists always do more damage than they're worth when you hand them a soapbox. At least try to make it hard for them to get their megaphone. Changing my vote to this memy has issued a correction as of 04:29 on Jan 27, 2016 |
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Jan 26, 2016 19:10
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Golden Bee posted:1. A -- Didn't we make a huge speech about reuniting the party after Kennedy? Letting Goldwater and the Birchers take the national stage will cripple that progress. With a long enough pair of bootstraps, anyone can be CEO. I'll vote for the Golden Bee
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Jan 26, 2016 19:26
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1. B -- Easier to defeat, plus Goldwater isn't that far away from the rest of the Republicans if you look at his voting record. I think supporting a rich northeasterner from a powerful family right after a massively popular president a lot like him just died might actually be counterproductive. 2. A Corek has issued a correction as of 20:17 on Jan 26, 2016 |
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Jan 26, 2016 20:13
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1. A – Keeping the Republicans sane is important, and if we can't get much done in the time between now and the election, it'll be a lot harder to win our first proper presidential election, lunatic or no lunatic. 2. A with a bit of C – The most important part is to improve the life of all poor Americans, with just enough anti-racism measures to ensure that the rising tide can truly lift all boats.
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Jan 26, 2016 20:40
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Sinestro posted:1. A – Keeping the Republicans sane is important, and if we can't get much done in the time between now and the election, it'll be a lot harder to win our first proper presidential election, lunatic or no lunatic.
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Jan 26, 2016 20:59
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A: Extremists always do more damage than they're worth when you hand them a soapbox. At least try to make it hard for them to get their megaphone. A with modifications from B: We're already planning on creating Medicare and Medicaid as part of the War on Poverty, why not just let people buy into those public health insurance options if they so choose and set up a couple of basic regulations (preemptive conditions can't DQ you from purchasing health insurance, etc.) on top of that? For those of you arguing for a straight up B or C option: the American poverty rate is around 28% right now and basic poo poo like food stamps and job training programs DON'T EXIST.
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Jan 26, 2016 22:12
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B C
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Jan 26, 2016 23:18
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