Our next president will be the 46th, and very well could bring us to the present day - depending on if our writers think there's a need for a final bit of dashed hope or feel America is ready for its bad end. It's easy nowadays to see someone running as a pseudo-populist and forming a cult of personality (though I have to imagine the internet is a bit less developed in this timeline). A little harder to justify a cyberpunk corporate neo-feudalist right after Lay, that sort of bad end would probably need a reveal that our regained democracy was still rigged or a disastrous "tried to do good" president. Honestly, could see it being Sanders just to, like Washington the Second, snatch it all away.
I almost thought of Ron Paul running an anti-establishment campaign that turns out to be deep in bed with America's enemies and sells us all out while the planet cooks, but I'm assuming he and a lot of other southerners are dead or sort of off the table (maybe unfair given Lay's ties, but there's no chance Ted Cruz wins the country in this state). A dominionist who fakes economic populism could take off - there's likely a religious revival being driven by the hard times and fear of the apocalypse... Falwell?
Either way, I've very much enjoyed this. I also feel like the very talented writers or others like them, if willing, could raise everyone's spirits with an optimistic project. America sort of needs some optimism right now. Honestly, I do too.
