I thought of several interesting in-universe PODs for this TL, which could have led to many different directions for the world:
1. Birch Bayh becoming acting President in 1973.
TTL, during the 1973 election, James Eastland, James Allen, and other Republicans swallow their pride, and vote for Birch Bayh. How would 1973 have gone if Bayh had been the acting President, and how would the Constitutional Crisis have been resolved without Agnew creating an economic and international crisis?
2. McKeithen not dying in a plane crash.
Nixon through in the towel, and allowed the election of McKeithen, who then had the misfortune to die in a plane crash? What kind of President would McKeithen have been?
3. Reagan becoming President in 1976.
How does the Teflon President handle the even worse economy, the more chaotic international situation, the two party system slowly breaking down underneath him, the growing partisanship, and the painful legacy of Nixon-Agnew?
4. TTL Wallace perishing in 1978, and Katzenbach winning the Presidency.
Wallace nearly kicked the bucket in 1978, partly due to the strains of his assassination. What if the very liberal Nicholas Katzenbach had become President? How would he have handled the challenges of the late 1970s, despite having no executive level experience in his life? Would he unite the Democratic Party around him in 1980?
5. Reagan winning the Presidency in 1980
I've already discussed my take on this before, but I want to know someone else's opinion on how Reagan deals with the now fractured political system
6. McCloskey winning the Presidency in 1984.
Some people ITTL might see this as the last chance to avoid Rumsfeldia, but how would McCloskey govern as President? Would he be a Rockefeller Republican, or would he face extreme resistance from Trent Lott's GOP that would resent him as a turncoat.
7. Alexander Haig's coup succeeding against Donald Rumsfeld.
Let's say Haig manages to topple Rummy in 1986, and Jack Edwards manages to be elected President? How does Edwards go about cleaning the mess left behind by Rummy? Could he convince Republican lawmakers to be genuinely conciliatory, or would he be faced with an impossible situation like Jeremiah Denton did?
Each of these would be very juicy stories to tell. ITTL, I imagine people wondering whether any of these paths could have prevented the apocalyptic civil war.