John Alexander Rasmussen

NS Nation Name:GF&V
Character Name: John Alexander Rasmussen
Character Gender: Male
Character Age: 67 (Born January 4th 1949)
Character Role: Senator From Missouri
Appearance:

(Image)

Character State of Origin: Born, raised, and lives in Kansas City, Missouri.
Character Affiliation: Democrat (aligned with the Blue Dog/conservative faction within the Party)
Main Strengths: Abundance of experience, moderate, popular at home, military experience, good name recognition, appeal to white voters
Main Weaknesses: Moderate, Blue Dog, old, not very charismatic, long record,
Short Bio: Born in 1949, on the Rasmussen family farm, John's ancestors were immigrants from Scandinavia, that arrived in Missouri in the 1800s. John lived a farm boy lifestyle as a child, and received only a high school education, at the time of his youth. John's father was also an army reservist, and was deployed to Korea in 1951. Here, his father was shot and injured, leading him to be returned home. After this event, the young John decided he wanted to be a military officer, and worked hard to achieve his dream.

Going into the military, John became a promising pupil, and began to shoot up through the ranks. In 1970, at the age of 21 and with the rank of Captain, John was deployed to Vietnam. He spent several months in the jungles of South East Asia, but was captured in 1971 when his patrol was ambushed by the Viet Cong. John was a POW until 1974, and was tortured throughout his inprisonment, leaving him with lasting scars, both mental and physical.

After being released and sent back to the United States, John began to develop an interest in politics. His experience during the Vietnam War had changed his opinion about the War and he soon identified with the Democratic Party. He did not feel qualified, however, to run for office given his limited education, and he immediately began to work on getting a degree. His war hero status allowed him to enter several university's and her graduated in 1978. He joined the Law program at the University of Boston, and in 1980 made his first dip into politics, running, and being elected Attorney General of Missouri. As Attorney-General, John had a tough on crime stance, while also courting the vote of gun owners. He would remain a gun owner his whole life.

In 1988, John was nominated to be the Democratic opponent of Governor John Ashcroft of Missouri. John campaigned hard, and the election was close, but Ashcroft bested John by 4 points. He retired as Attorney General in 1989. In 1992, John was tapped by newly elected President Bill Clinton to be the new Solicitor General of the United States, a post which John readily accepted. He retired in 1994 however to run for an open Senate seat in Missouri. By now, his wide name recognition allowed him to best his Republican opponent, and take his seat in the Senate. John has served on a number of committees, such as the Judicial, and Armed Services committees and has fostered excellent relations across the aisle with several GOP senators. He ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination in 2004.
Other Info: Ideologically think Evan Bayh kinds of Democrat. Moderate, middle of the road. Typical 90s Clinton-esque third wayer.
Job History: Attorney General of Missouri 1980-1989
Solicitor General of thr United States 1992-1994.
Senator from Missouri 1995-present