Thande
Donor
Cool update. Looks like there'll be a lot of shakeups in Asia: Suslov's dying, the PLA seems fed up enough with the Lesser Mao to attempt a military coup sooner or later, a shared enemy has normalised relations between the two Vietnams (maybe there could be a unification on equal terms a couple of decades down the line). India getting involved with the Vietnamese, however peripherally, is interesting; possibly they could create another front of a leftist but anti-Soviet bloc, as with the Italians in Europe.
Also the stuff about the 1980 presidential election is interesting. While Reagan came sufficiently close to victory in '76 that it'd be harder than usual to tar him as 'a loser', his age is enough I think to give people pause. With Rumsfeld (and Williams?) as strong challengers for conservative standard bearer, it could split the right-wing vote enough to let a more moderate Republican like Bush grab the nomination. If the campaign is particularly bitter the Republican right-wingers might then drift over to the Libertarian campaign, so we could have a four-way contest what with Dellums and Nader forming a left-wing ticket as well. And then there's Kennedy: I wonder if he can keep his big mouth shut about the Troubles or not; if not, I could easily see the Healey government helping Wallace sabotage his campaign (especially since it's previously been mentioned that Wallace hit it off well with Healey).
Also the stuff about the 1980 presidential election is interesting. While Reagan came sufficiently close to victory in '76 that it'd be harder than usual to tar him as 'a loser', his age is enough I think to give people pause. With Rumsfeld (and Williams?) as strong challengers for conservative standard bearer, it could split the right-wing vote enough to let a more moderate Republican like Bush grab the nomination. If the campaign is particularly bitter the Republican right-wingers might then drift over to the Libertarian campaign, so we could have a four-way contest what with Dellums and Nader forming a left-wing ticket as well. And then there's Kennedy: I wonder if he can keep his big mouth shut about the Troubles or not; if not, I could easily see the Healey government helping Wallace sabotage his campaign (especially since it's previously been mentioned that Wallace hit it off well with Healey).