Hi, how about some Presidential Trivia? In four elections the losing Presidential candidate received more votes. This includes Andrew Jackson in 1824, Samuel Tilden in 1876, Grover Cleveland in 1888 and Al Gore in 2000. They have one thing in common. All were Democrats. (Jackson and Cleveland later won elections.)
Three of these elections were long ago and it’s difficult to assess the possible effect on the country. However, Al Gore’s loss to George W Bush, despite receiving 543,895 more votes, is recent and some assumptions can be made.
I believe the country would be in far better shape today if Gore had become president. Certainly, the budget deficit would not have skyrocketed from a $236 billion surplus under Clinton to the trillion dollar deficit that Bush handed to Obama four months into fiscal year 2009. Why?
First, Gore would not have done the two Bush tax cuts (he campaigned on saving Social Security). The nonpartisan Congressional Research Service estimated these tax cuts increased the national debt by $3.5 trillion over ten years. Second, the Republican Congress would not have supported Gore in passing a Medicare prescription program (Bush’s unfunded program further increased the debt an estimated $500 billion over 10 years). Third, even If the 9/11 attacks had occurred on Gore’s watch, based on his statement, Gore would NOT have invaded Iraq (which added another $2 trillion or so to the debt). These three items alone added $6 trillion to the national debt, which totaled $10.6 trillion when Obama became president in January 2009.
Plus, it is questionable that the economic collapse of 2008 would have occurred as it did, eliminating the need for the Bush-Obama TARP loans and Obama’s emergency stimulus to prevent a worldwide depression. According to a Wall Street Journal article published just before the 2000 election, Gore was for muscular regulation, while Bush stressed voluntary actions by industry. Gore’s approach might have prevented the excesses that led to the economic collapse at the end of the Bush presidency.
Going forward, let’s hope the candidate getting the most votes wins the presidency!