AHC: Al Haig in 1988

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As the cartoon illustrates, to the extent that Al Haig's presidential candidacy is remembered at all, it is considered a joke. The 1988 Iowa caucus results were pretty brutal, and it is obvious enough why Haig soon dropped out:

Robert Dole 40,661 37.4%
Pat Robertson 26,761 24.6%
George Bush 20,194 18.6%
Jack Kemp 12,088 11.1%
Pete DuPont 7,999 7.3%
No preference 739 .7%
Alexander Haig 364 .3%

http://caucuses.desmoinesregister.com/caucus-history-past-years-results/

But one can still ask why Haig did so poorly. After all, on paper his qualifications to be president were as strong as anyone's. Might he have become a serious contender if not for his infamous "I am in control" press conference?
 
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“ . . . if something came up, I would check with him [Vice-President Bush] of course.”

Watching it doesn’t seem as bad, as the second and third-hand descriptions that have echoed down through the years!
 
I'm not an expert on Haig by any means, but it seems like a lot of his major missteps occurred while he was Secretary of State, or at least those that were the most publicly visible and wounding; in late 1979 there was a draft effort set up that tried to entice Alexander Haig into the race for 1980, so there definitely was support for his candidacy in the past (though whether it was substantial I don't know). It would definitely help were he to run for a federal office by 1980, either for Senator should he manage to beat Arlen Specter in the primary, or for Congressman (dependent on the district). Whether he would particularly shine in the Senate or manage to win reelection in 1986 I can't really say, or if he would even work well in a legislative role.
 
. . . were he to run for a federal office by 1980, either for Senator . . .
The ironic thing, the difficult thing emotionally for Al is that would be a step backward.

I would argue that Al Haig was acting president for at least 6 months in 1974 maybe longer, and thank goodness he was! For example, I think at one point he told the Chair of the Joint Chiefs, don’t do anything unless you hear from me and that would have carried. Meaning, I’m pretty sure the Chair would have followed that sensible advice.
 
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Driftless

Donor
But one can still ask why Haig did so poorly. After all, on paper his qualifications to be president were as strong as anyone's. Might he have become a serious contender if not for his infamous "I am in control" press conference?

I remember watching this on TV after the assassination attempt. The video & audio clip does not convey very well how visibly shook Secretary Haig was. His voice was noticeably quivering at at several points on the original TV segments. Maybe he just ran in from a distance and was out of breath, but it did him (and the country) no favors, as it did more to upset the citizenry and add confusion. Not characteristics you want to see from a leader in a crisis
 
https://books.google.com/books?id=JFOFuaEMcgoC&pg=PA147&lpg=PA147&dq=haig+constitutionally+stairs&source=bl&ots=brPgefx54n&sig=INqr1Dw0k4q1o6QH3LAkuxPICPs&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiC2vXL5u7ZAhWCd98KHVwsDbMQ6AEwA3oECAAQAQ#v=onepage&q=haig constitutionally stairs&f=false

in his autobiography, James Baker tells how Haig and Allen (I think National Security Advisor Richard Allen) were watching Deputy Press Secretary Larry Speakes who was being overly precise and they thought he was doing a poor job talking to the press,

and so yes, Al Haig bounded up the stairs and appeared behind the microphone red-faced, sweating, and near breathless.
 
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Driftless

Donor
https://books.google.com/books?id=JFOFuaEMcgoC&pg=PA147&lpg=PA147&dq=haig+constitutionally+stairs&source=bl&ots=brPgefx54n&sig=INqr1Dw0k4q1o6QH3LAkuxPICPs&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiC2vXL5u7ZAhWCd98KHVwsDbMQ6AEwA3oECAAQAQ#v=onepage&q=haig constitutionally stairs&f=false

in his autobiography, James Baker tells how Haig and Allen (I think National Security Advisor Richard Allen) were watching Deputy Press Secretary Larry Speakes who was being overly precise and they thought he was doing a poor job talking to the press,

and so yes, Al Haig bounded up the stairs and appeared behind the microphone red-faced, sweating, and near breathless.

Your description makes sense. I would bet General Haig would very much like to have had a "do over" on that appearance. It did real damage to his career.
 
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