[Gestalt] Canon Proposal: US Election 2008

[GestaltBennie]

This is intended as an official expansion of the Gestalt timeline, focusing on the 2008 US election. This is a draft open to discussion by players and GMs interested in the setting; comments will be taken into account before it is finalized.

 

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On November 4, 2008, Barack Hussein Obama defeated Mitt Romney and his running mate, John McCain to become 44th president of the United States.

 

Major issues included the ineffective campaign against the Tyranny League, a looming war with Iran (precipitated by the USMC Vanguard's raid on the Iranian nuclear program in June), and a slight downturn in the economy. Accusations that Obama was an Oratory gestalt led to him taking a public examination for gestalt powers at several poinrs during the campaign, though his detractors refused to believe the results.

 

Obama's election was considered to mark an improving trend in gestalt relations (though observers have noted a warming trend in the last year, especially on the part of President Bush). One of Obama's first actions as President-Elect was to promise to fast track the immigration of several foreign gestalts into Columbia. This action was in spite of rampant rumors (in far right circles) that Obama and Columbia would work together to bring in an army of foreign gestalts to impose a gestalt totalitarian order on America. Liberator officially welcomed the decision of the American people but Columbia refrained from comment, except for Starbird and Carnival, who were both ardent Obama supporters.

 

Barack also promised not to disband ActionAmerica, though Flying Fortress's recent departure from the group was said to be at the request of the president-elect, following a controversial battle in Cincinatti where Railgun was critically injured (most presume that Fortress was trying to settle an old score from his supervillain days).

 

The election campaign was marred by a number of incidents, including a well-publicized report that a Gestalt Protector of Democrats had gone into an apartment fire in Atlanta and telepathically determined who was planning to vote Democrat and who was planning to report Republican, and only rescued people with correct political leanings.

 

The ATF superteam assisted in stopping an assassination attempt against Obama, which cultimated in shots being fired at a rally in Philadelphia by a renegade Dawn Brothers operative. The attempt was foiled, but several bystanders were badly hurt. The attempt was complicated by a well-meaning gestalt illusionist who made everyone at the rally look like Obama in an effort to foil the assassin, which resulted in the injuries to the bystanders and the escape of one of the two assassins, Tim Derek-Jones, a Grey Army operative, who remains at large.

 

In California, Proposition 8 passed, overturning the state's ruling on gay marriage. A proposition to bar privately sponsored superhero teams -- clearly directed at the Hollywood Knights, was widely defeated when the measure was shown to have been initiated by Weaponsmith. The passage of Proposition 8 has motivated several gay organizations to urge the world's most famous gay superhero, Surfer Joe of the Hollywood Knights, to refrain "from heroing in a state which opposes gay rights". Joe's answer was indeterminate (and some say, deeply confusing).

[Angelalex242]

Re: [Gestalt] Canon Proposal: US Election 2008

 

Somehow, I thought you were planning to stat Obama. Oh well. He's got a killer PRE score, whatever else you may say about him.

[Badger]

Re: [Gestalt] Canon Proposal: US Election 2008

 

Somehow' date=' I thought you were planning to stat Obama. Oh well. He's got a killer PRE score, whatever else you may say about him.[/quote']

 

Agreed. But I still am pretty sure he is an "Oratory gestalt" or something.

 

 

Anyhow, I cant help much though. I tend to try to stay away from using current (or soon to be) Presidents in games. Can get people angry pretty easy and all.

[Enforcer84]

Re: [Gestalt] Canon Proposal: US Election 2008

 

I concur with the Badger. As a matter of fact, I think Cassandra's world with it's two different Political parties is a pretty marvelous idea. I myself have used a viable third party, which I am constantly renaming because everytime I think i've got a good one it turns out to be an existing, albiet looney party.

 

That said, it's a nice piece of writing, Scott, and I approve.

[Angelalex242]

Re: [Gestalt] Canon Proposal: US Election 2008

 

I dunno. I think it'd make an interesting project to stat all 44 presidents of the united states.

 

Especially if you build them on 350 points, just like heroes.

 

All presidents, for example, have high PRE scores (They wouldn't get elected otherwise)...but other stats vary widely.

 

Some presidents (Theodore Roosevelt) might have a really big INT score. The sheer amount of stuff Teddy knew was amazing.

Others (George W. Bush) might have a huge EGO score and mental def. Cause, ya know, he was always hellbent on staying the course, and nobody, come hell or high water, could make him change his direction.

Some presidents (Generally, anyone who was a General) would have better physical stats then others due to military training. (George Washington, Ulysses S Grant, Eisenhower, and so on.

 

Making powers for them really gets fun...