Imagine having the same president for 50 years — and for at least 42 of those years no longer agreeing with him.
What if the U.S. had been attacked by foreign terrorists in the summer of 2000? Let’s say the attack was slightly worse; instead of part of the Pentagon, the whole thing had been destroyed. Plus the Towers. Maybe even the White House.
What if we had invaded Afghanistan in July and the 2000 election had been postponed or a third term granted. And then the opposition party had tried to regain domestic control by “heightening the contradictions” only to see their plan backfire when allies deviate from the playbook in the Middle East. So the war worsens and the U.S. is now entangled in a very tricky, multiparty power shift — a world war — as well as a paranoid security state at home.
Then the 2004 elections come around and maybe another term for a war-time president doesn’t sound so bad. The civilian commander in chief has now been in power for 12 years and is safely ensconced for another four. That’s double the term of any modern administration. (Imagine if dogs lived to 30 or if winters lasted from November to June.)
The coalitions that make up the reigning party are breaking apart due to the policy shifts of a war administration and so are the coalitions of the opposing party due to their failures at regaining control. A new alignment of previously competing blocs takes place and an unprecedented coalition is created around the commander in chief.
The war is going well for this bloc. They’re physically and politically safe, their allies in the private sector are doing well with the war effort. They also have support in key parts of the civilian populations (television news, radio networks) as well as within the domestic forces — the cops, the FBI, etc.
Incredible things are happening abroad as players around the world are responding to a bloody and expensive global realignment as well as the unprecedented realignment inside the U.S.. Other democracies also harden and begin to reaffirm the reigning U.S. worldview.
Now you’re 24 years into a single presidency. (Imagine if dogs lived to be 50 years old and winters lasted an entire year.) The soldiers entering the conscription army were born a few years after the war began. They’ve never known a nation not at war nor a different president.
Now you’re just half-way through the regime of Fidel Castro.
Truly a nightmare, no?