chapotraphouse

Probably the US healthcare system would be less nightmarish due to pushing towards Medicare expansion (more coverage, more people) rather than the ACA method, and the current solvency issues for Medicare and Social Security would have been largely avoided.

Protections for the LGBT community would have been a lot stronger, DADT would have been repealed, marriage equality almost certainly would have been passed in the lame duck or in his second term.

Iraq war may not have occurred, Yemen and Afghanistan being the primary targets.

More of a focus on the climate and a push for renewables and hybrid vehicles. Sensible legislation which would not have led to the ballooning of SUV sizes and the nightmare of CAFE

I think 2000 is the border between when all of the neoliberal timebombs had been set, and when we were aware of how bad the situation was: most easily measurable in that no one said “1996 is the most important election of our lifetime” and honestly meant it.

We’d have bought ourselves a little more time on climate change, but all the contradictions would still be heightening in every other way.

Richard Holbrooke probably would have been Secretary of State. Larry Summers would have had another term as Secretary of the Treasury. And, oh god, Joe Lieberman.

We'd have communism

oh and he invented the internet of course

in terms of legislation, but not engineering, technically true

There were huge tensions with China, but no one remembers because it happened right before 9/11. You could have an alternate timeline where Gore didn't focus as much on the Middle East but instead partially pivoted to Asia. I think an earlier pivot to Asia would've happened if Gore was in charge and 9/11 was somehow thwarted.