Act I

While on a visit to the Green Zone in Baghdad on September 11, 2009, President John McCain is severely injured when a suicide bomber makes it past security and detonates a bomb within feet of the President and his group.

President McCain is immediately airlifted to Ramstein AFB in Germany, where, on September 14, 2009, he dies from his injuries.

Vice President Sarah Palin is sworn in as President from her hunting cabin in Alaska by a federal district court judge.

After her brief remarks to the nation, an open radio microphone catches her say, “If only the damn Democrats would have supported this war, that terrorist wouldn’t have been so imboldened to kill President McCain.”

Her unguarded remarks infuriated Democrats and even many Republicans, who believe the remarks were insensitive at best and horribly divisive at a time when Americans need to come together to honor their fallen leader.

During subsequent public appearances during President McCain’s state funeral, President Palin in visibly shaken and shaking. There are unconfirmed reports on the Daily Kos and The Huffington Post that she has been given sedatives to help her function.

Act II

On September 22-24, 2009, a devastating Category 5 hurricane, Hurricane Mina, hits the Atlantic Coast of Florida. Most of the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral is destroyed. But the worst of the problems come as Miami suffered horrific damage, as does Jacksonville.

Despite the best efforts of Gov. Charlie Crist, evacuation plans failed because of the crush of traffic. Lawlessness ensued after days of no power, with looting and rioting. When Dr. James Dobson blames Floridians for the Hurricane Mina because they voted for Barack Obama and Joe Biden for President (McCain won in 2008 by capturing Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Colorado), President Palin fails to issue a statement condemning Dobson until September 25, 2009. Even Gov. Crist calls Pres. Palin’s failure to respond “reprehensible.”

On September 29, 2009, U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens dies from a heart attack in his sleep. On September 30, 2009, Pres. Palin announces that she wants to ensure the overturning of Roe v. Wade and selected former Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline to fill Justice Stevens’ vacancy.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid calls the pick “the most unqualified and most political nomination in the history of the Republic” and vows that Kline’s nomination won’t even see a committee hearing.

On October 3, 2009, Russia sends tanks and troops into the Baltic nations of Estonia, Lativia, and Lithuania, citing “concerns” over treatment of ethnic Russians in the former Soviet republics. In her 2008 debate with Biden, she had told the nation, “Should Russian aggression enter our allies in the Baltic, and if I were President, I will not let that stand.” Pres. Palin sends a carrier group and a division of Marines off the Baltic coast in response. Russia recalls its ambassador to the United States. Satellite photos show a Russian convoy of ships off the coast of Cuba.

While pre-occupied with the situation in the Baltic, on October 7, 2009, Iran launches a pre-emptive missile strike against Tel Aviv with chemical weapons. During that same debate with Biden in 2008, Pres. Palin said “an attack on Israel by Iran would be considered an attack on the United States.”

Pres. Palin asks Congress for a declaration of war against Iran, but Congress refuses to vote for a war with Iran while still engaged in Iraq and Afghanistan, and, apparently, the Baltic. Even Sen. Lindsey Graham says that America’s armed forces are spread too thin. Congress does pass the first peace time draft since the Vietnam War. College campuses erupt with protests, with the Universities of Michigan, Kansas, Florida, California, and other schools closed because of the violent protests.

Meanwhile, rumors continue to circulate, now even being reported by Joe Scarborough on MSNBC, that Pres. Palin has had a nervous breakdown. No one is quite sure who is running the country.

Act III

On October 21, 2009, Israel has launched nuclear missiles and dropped nuclear bombs on Iran. Tehran is destroyed but turmoil has broken out in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Syria, with all three countries governments being toppled by fundamentalist Muslim radicals. Oil from the Mideast is at a trickle and gasoline prices in the U.S. have hit $9.50/gallon. On October 29, 2009, the Dow Industrials has its biggest percentage loss in its history, losing nearly half of its value in a single day.

A group of Republican and Democratic leaders of past and present secretly gather in St. Louis. Former Presidents George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter, and the House and Senate Republican and Democratic leaders say enough is enough, that Pres. Palin is over her head. They appoint former Secretaries of State James Baker, Madeleine Albright, and Condeleeza Rice to secretly meet with Pres. Palin with a plan for her to resign.

However, the plan is not to have Pres. Palin resign immediately. They approach her with a plan to have former Secretary of State Colin Powell be appointed then confirmed as Vice President. Then once he is confirmed, Pres. Palin is to resign and Vice President Powell is to be President. He will then appoint former U.S. Senator Tom Daschle as Vice President in a “Fusion” ticket to try and reunify the country and put experienced people in place who can deal with the nation’s many pressing problems.

Pres. Palin at first chaffes at the suggestion that she follow this national unity plan. She says she was elected to do a job. However, Secretary Baker politely but firmly reminds her that she’s not getting the job done and even if she was, our adversaries don’t respect her. NSA reports that China is assembling an invasion force in the Formosa Straits and it looks like Taiwan could be under attack within days.

Palin agrees. On November 4, 2009, she names Secretary Powell as Vice President. On November 9, 2009, citing family concerns, she resigns as President of the United States, only the second President in history to do so. On November 15, 2009, the U.S. Senate confirms Sen. Daschle as Vice President.

***

I obviously do not want anything to happen to John McCain should he be elected. That would be a terrible tragedy for our country. And the above is a work of fiction. Or is it? I have no doubt that Gov. Palin is a good and successful person. But does she have the experience and respect to be President should the need arise? Is she too much of a partisan on abortion for her own good? Can she stand up to Putin and others?

I have my doubts.


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