Draft Nixon in 1964?In the end, Nixon was now the Governor Elect of California and Harriman was left holding the bag. What the Hell was Harriman supposed to make of that?
Draft Nixon in 1964?In the end, Nixon was now the Governor Elect of California and Harriman was left holding the bag. What the Hell was Harriman supposed to make of that?
And into this buzz saw had stepped Harriman himself. In order to get the support of the Southern wing of the Democratic Party he had needed to make certain promises about what he would and would not do while in office. That bit of horse trading had cost him dearly in the long run. It had all come to a head when the Voting Rights Act had reached his desk, the South was largely unanimous in their opposition and Harriman had vetoed the damned thing only to watch as Richard Nixon, a Junior Senator who he had not thought much of had led the successful effort to override that veto. It was an effort that had elevated Nixon even as it had diminished Harriman. Now as the President, he was having to deal with a furious South who didn’t seem to understand that he was a President, not a King presiding over an autocracy. And several of their own people had voted for the override making Harriman’s task that much more difficult. Nixon had skated off to sunnier climes.
In the end, Nixon was now the Governor Elect of California and Harriman was left holding the bag. What the Hell was Harriman supposed to make of that?
Draft Nixon in 1964?
Nixon is one of those odd figures who could have gone several different ways. A bit less of an inferiority complex does wonders.Wierd seeing a relatively liberal Nixon.
IOTL during the 1960 Presidential campaign Kennedy was described as someone who was comfortable in his own skin while Nixon was described as someone who was uncomfortable in his own skin, what we are seeing ITTL is a Nixon who is comfortable in his own skin.
The Nixon we are seeing is someone who's older brother did not die in his teens, his father losing the family citrus farm only to have oil discovered on it a few months later, his father grocery store going under ITTL
ITTL his father does not physically beat him while his mother over compensated by being overprotective.
Nixon had full ride scholarships to Harvard University and Harvard Law that he could not take and that was one of the reasons that he had resentment and paranoia to the "Eastern Establishment", ITTL he does go to Harvard and Harvard Law.
IOTL Nixon did not have a lot of money until he went in to private practice when he moved to New York City after losing the 1962 California Gubernatorial election.
ITTL he has an income from the family business that allows him to run for office without worrying about his finances.
Can (or would he want to) Harriman actually push a 180° degrees turn in external politics after his big speech condemning the European nations' politics and legacies?Harriman's first priority is going to repair the image of the United States to the world so look to more humanitarian assistance and more free trade agreements instead of trying to gain military alliances, also I can see a push to thaw out German-American relations as it is not doing either country any good to be at odds with each .
It is not so much of a 180 but more of an emphasis on the use of soft power like foreign aid and trade deals instead of military aid.Can (or would he want to) Harriman actually push a 180° degrees turn in external politics after his big speech condemning the European nations' politics and legacies?
But the USA bet on the "wrong horse" in the Chinese-Korean War. And if you squint some, they were a large part of why China felt able to do it in the first place.It is not so much of a 180 but more of an emphasis on the use of soft power like foreign aid and trade deals instead of military aid.
Good thinking. About the USA Foreign Policy, I think that the external action will rise in importance for the USA as an "easy" way to redirect interest from internal problems. And to generate an "enemy" that the population could unite against. Because as you say, the long game was not the strong suit for them until now. And with mounting internal pressure, I think the easy way out may be a poisoned path. Not that the President doesn't know it, but he is severly limited in what he can do.That is a very good point, what it is going to take is time and patience to carry it out and that has not been a strong point in American Foreign Policy.
At this point right now the United States is basically on probation in the eyes of the world and the best way to repair its reputation is to be generous, cooperative, and helpful by being honest brokers working with other countries because it is in their own best interest to do so.
I probably accentuated this wrongly. Can president Harriman change US external policy to one of reaching out to the European powers he very publically demonized a few months ago?It is not so much of a 180 but more of an emphasis on the use of soft power like foreign aid and trade deals instead of military aid.
I probably accentuated this wrongly. Can president Harriman change US external policy to one of reaching out to the European powers he very publically demonized a few months ago?
It seems like he was trying to build a legacy and secure his place in US history - his reputation would be tied to the current policy.
I'm not saying that a future president wouldn't be able to change things (possibly using Harriman as a scapegoat), just that it might be too late for him to change horses midstream.
It has to become more of a positive vision and alternative then what Harriman first put out, and then that is going to be the hard part.Can president Harriman change US external policy to one of reaching out to the European powers he very publically demonized a few months ago?
But how much can the current or future USAmerican President pander to the Europeans and others to get back into the international good graces? As I see it, the Segregationists may see it to pandering towards the Blacks and other unwanted ones. Like Asians and such. Would the USA survive this in this time without further harm to itself?
Oh I agree with you, but would Harriman or other Presidents?Simple. You break the South.
This is a timeline where the Federal Government hasn't ordered desegregation, hasn't had a president send the 101st Aribourne to help a girl go to school. It's a timeline where, on the surface, the nebulous forces that control the conservative South are stronger. The reality is the opposite, and all it will take is one US President with the, if you'll excuse my language, sheer balls to force those people to an actual stand up knock down fight to prove so.
It will hurt, but no decision the US takes at this point in the story isn't going to hurt. The screw is going to have to turn a few more rotations before the US can actually start to get its act together and serve as an actual Major Nation.