2 Men Gunned Down

2 Men Gunned Down




Why are you rebooting this?

Because there are things that I should change from the last time I did this.

And what's that?

You'll see.

Well, why didn't you at least finish the first one?

Well, I felt that it would be better if I just made a new one.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
November 21 1963
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Residence of John and Idanell Brill "Nellie" Connally
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Governor John Conally felt horrible. He didn't know why either. Was it the calamari he ate last night? He didn't know, what he did know, was that he could barely walk back to his bedroom and he visited his toilet bowl three times tonight. With that given knowledge he knew he had only one course of action to take regarding his scheduled public appearance the following day, he had to tell The President that he wouldn't be able to make it.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
November 22 1963
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dallas Love Field Airport
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

President Kennedy still felt a little dizzy from his plane ride to Dallas, but he had business to attend to. He saw his Vice President step off his plane and walk onto the tarmac, so Kennedy walked over to him.

"Lyndon" The President said, surprising Johnson.

"I'd like to ask you if you and Lady Bird would like to sit in the motorcade with me and Jackie."

"Sure, that sounds like a good idea, but why? I thought Governor Connally and his wife were going to sit with you." The Vice President responded.

"They were, but John got the stomach virus and poor Nellie probably got it too." Kennedy replied.

"Well, that's a shame." Johnson utters as he walks off the tarmac.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Texas School Book Depository in Dealey Plaza
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lee Harvey Oswald peered out of the small window in the Texas School Book Depository, any moment now, The President and Governor Connally would appear from around the corner. Oswald waited in anxious anticipation, seconds felt like hours. Then he saw it, the motorcade. But instead of containing Kennedy and Connally, the motorcade had both President Kennedy and Vice President Johnson. Oswald almost squealed like a schoolgirl, but restrained himself, even though his scream probably would have been drowned out by those of the idiots standing below him.

"Well, time to take out two birds with one stone." He says as he pulls the trigger of his Italian Carcano Rifle. His first shot hits Vice President Johnson in the neck, making it flick to the side in a satisfying crack. Johnson then collapsed, presumably lifeless, to the limo floor. For some reason, while Oswald was reloading, President Kennedy seemingly forgot his good judgment and leaned over Johnson's seat to see if he was alright.

"Idiot." He says, as he pulls his rifle's trigger again. This shot hit Kennedy directly on his frontal lobe, and judging by what was spilling out of his head, JFK was not going to be getting back up in a long time.

"Job well done, me." Oswald says as The President's motorcade speeds out of Dealey Plaza with Secret Service Agent Clint Hill riding the rear.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
I am thinking that President McCormack does not run in 1964. He would become 73 that year. I see Hubert Humphrey winning the Democratic nomination and beating Goldwater by a wide margin. The Humphrey Administration ( 1965 - 1973) is remembered for progress on civil rights and the Great Society or whatever his PR people would have called it. There is no Vietnam War. I also think President McCormack can get the Civil Rights Act passed.
 
I am thinking that President McCormack does not run in 1964. He would become 73 that year. I see Hubert Humphrey winning the Democratic nomination and beating Goldwater by a wide margin. The Humphrey Administration ( 1965 - 1973) is remembered for progress on civil rights and the Great Society or whatever his PR people would have called it. There is no Vietnam War. I also think President McCormack can get the Civil Rights Act passed.

You... you... you... read my mind.

But, yeah having McCormack run in 64' was a mistake on my part.
 
Chapter 1: Unexpected Leadership

No one is so brave that he is not disturbed by the unexpected
- Julius Caesar

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

John McCormack

1963-1965

Vice President: None

McCormack addressing the American people in 1964

"And as two great men are buried before us. We must consider their final wishes and treat them with great consideration."
- President John McCormack November 30, 1963
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Life changes on a dime. It does for all of us, and it did John McCormack on November 22, 1963. When he went from the Speaker of the House to President of the United States in moments.

The first days of the presidency of John McCormack were overshadowed by mourning and grief. But those feelings were soon replaced by anger and fear towards the people responsible for this act. The FBI soon came to the conclusion that the dark deed was done by an unemployed man from Dallas named Lee Harvey Oswald, and from what the FBI could perceive, Oswald was fleeing to Mexico. A manhunt soon ensued, one that shook the nation as people lived in fear of the murderous Oswald. Fortunately for the American people, that fear soon ended on December 14, when Oswald was arrested by border patrol whilst attempting to flee to Mexico with his family.


Oswald shortly after his arrest

President McCormack accused Oswald of treason and he was later tried for murder and eventually executed on January 3, 1965.

After the manhunt was set and done, McCormack had some work to do. He wanted to pass some legislation that was planned by Kennedy and Johnson. This included passing the Civil Rights Act and the Social Security Act. Passing these bills and similar legislation took all of President McCormack's political capital, but they were passed with the right amount of arm bending. Thus, on August 19, 1964 and on September 7, 1964, respectively, these two very important bills were passed.

Sadly, the McCormack administration was not always filled with progress. Disaster struck on August 2, 1964, when the USS Maddox was supposedly attacked by multiple smaller North Vietnamese ships while preforming a signals intelligence patrol as part of DESOTO operations. This incident would hence forth be known as the USS Maddox Incident by historians, and was enough to cause President McCormack to declare war on North Vietnam on August 4.


Soldiers in Vietnam in late 1964

Meanwhile, McCormack announced in January, 1964, that he will not be running for a term of his own. This put the Democrats in an awkward but expected position because now they had to pick their own new nominee. They held extensive, nearly six month long primaries that were ended up with Minnesota Senator Hubert Humphrey gaining the nomination over men like Governor George Wallace and Governor Terry Sanford. At the convention Humphrey chose Texas Governor, John Connally as his running mate.

On the Republican side, the presumed nominee, Barry Goldwater, won the nomination and was told by the party to choose Michigan Governor and former automobile industry mogul, George Romney as his running mate. Goldwater, begrudgingly chose Romney, not for any personal reason but because he would have much rather chose New York house representative, William Miller as his running mate for his anti-Kennedy comments.

The election would soon happen and predictions were made.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next part will be the election of 1964.
 
Last edited:

Puzzle

Donor
President McCormack accused Oswald of treason and he was later tried for just that and eventually executed on January 3, 1965.

Would it be treason at all? I thought Oswald would only get murder, he wasn't aiding or abetting an enemy of the US.
 
Would it be treason at all? I thought Oswald would only get murder, he wasn't aiding or abetting an enemy of the US.

No, it isn't treason but I'd assume that McCormack would accuse him of that because he said something along those lines off the cusp in OTL. But you're right it is unlikely he would be tried for that even with presidential approval l, now that I think about it.
 
Chapter 2: A Vote Is Like A Rifle

The ballot is stronger than the bullet
- Abraham Lincoln

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Election of 1964

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the first month of campaigning for the 1964 election. The field was wide open, anything could have happened. Both Humphrey and Goldwater could not find gaping holes in each other's character and political experience, at least they couldn't yet. This may be because Humphrey was saving his strength for the next two and final months of campaigning, there he would do some deadly blows.

As stated earlier, Senator Humphrey had a very effective campaign in the final two months of the campaigning process. He dealt many blows the Goldwater campaign with claims that tarnished his political views and very pro war agenda regarding Vietnam. This final point was aggressively shown in a series of ads run by the Humphrey campaign, featuring the dramatized aftermath of a nuclear war.

Eventually, election day came. Many experts and analysts predicted a Humphrey win or a Humphrey landslide, they were not disappointed. Humphrey won by a large margin of 430 to 108 electoral votes. Now, Humphrey's next challenge would be to fix America's problems over the next four years.
attachment.php


Hubert Humphrey/John Connally - 430 EVs
Barry Goldwater/George Romney - 108 EVs
 
Last edited:
Top