AHC: More Vietnam vet POTUS than WW2 POTUS

Your challenge should you chose to accept it, is to have more Vietnam vets serve as president of the United States than WW2 vets. No POD's before Jan 1 1968

You can drag your idea out to 2020 if needed

Note for the purposes of this challenge we will consider anyone who was in the armed forces during the time of the conflict to be a "vet" they don't actually have to have seen combat, although bonus points will be issued if the Vietnam fellows have
 
Well, let's see the Presidents who actively served in the second world war were Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon and Bush. (I'm discounting Reagan because AFAIK he didn't actually go overseas, and the little I know about Carter's military record indicates he began serving in 1947.) That means we need to find a way for five Presidents to have served in the Vietnam war, or possibly six depending on how Reagan's viewed. So let's see how possible this is.

POD: Al Gore's son is not hit by a car in 1989, Gore enter the race in 1992 winning both the nomination and the election. Unlike President Clinton, Gore was technically a Vietnam Vet. Let's say he picks a Vietnam Veteran as his Vice President, say Bob Kerry. (Only prominent Vietnam vet who I can think of who might be in a position for Gore to pick in TTL 1992. Might not be the best choice but this is a challenge after all.) Something happens to President Gore, and Vice President Kerry assumes the Presidency around 1997 or so. President Kerry is in turn defeated by Senator John McCain in 2000. That get's you three Presidents who served in Vietnam. The key is to assure that both President's McCain successor, and his successor is a Vietnam vet, and I'm not sure how to do that.
 
I would have liked to use a POD in 1976, with Carter not entering the primaries. However, they then become a confused mess since none of the other candidates actually concentrated on winning all of them, rather a select few akin to their strengths.

Therefore, I suggest that we have Donald Rumsfeld made Vice President under Ronald Reagan, as he almost was, according to other posters on the forum. He likely will in the end be swept up by Iran-Contra, being more involved, and thus lose his chance at succeeding Reagan for the Presidency. In 1988, Al Gore is the only notable "Southern Candidate" besides Dick Gephardt; Jesse Jackson, after a poorer performance in 1984, decides to forgo a second run for the nomination. Michael Dukakis, while running for the nomination, decides not to hire John Sasso as his campaign manager, and thus does, while not poorly, mediocre. Gore manages to sweep the South and West, and come out just ahead in the delegate count with Michael Dukakis. Gore becomes the Democratic nominee and then proceeds to defeat Senator Bob Dole in the General Election.

As 1991 rolls around, things have progressed largely as they have in OTL. The economy is in a slump, and Gore's approval ratings are dropping. Norman Schwarzkopf is recruited by the Republican Party to run for their nomination in the face of a weak field of candidates [including former Vice President Rumsfeld]. He goes on to defeat Gore in the General Election.

In 1996, Norman likely retires.

I may finish this later. :p
 
Well, let's see the Presidents who actively served in the second world war were Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon and Bush. (I'm discounting Reagan because AFAIK he didn't actually go overseas, and the little I know about Carter's military record indicates he began serving in 1947.)



Ford as well, giving you six.
 

NothingNow

Banned
I would have liked to use a POD in 1976, with Carter not entering the primaries. However, they then become a confused mess since none of the other candidates actually concentrated on winning all of them, rather a select few akin to their strengths.

Therefore, I suggest that we have Donald Rumsfeld made Vice President under Ronald Reagan, as he almost was, according to other posters on the forum. He likely will in the end be swept up by Iran-Contra, being more involved, and thus lose his chance at succeeding Reagan for the Presidency. In 1988, Al Gore is the only notable "Southern Candidate" besides Dick Gephardt; Jesse Jackson, after a poorer performance in 1984, decides to forgo a second run for the nomination. Michael Dukakis, while running for the nomination, decides not to hire John Sasso as his campaign manager, and thus does, while not poorly, mediocre. Gore manages to sweep the South and West, and come out just ahead in the delegate count with Michael Dukakis. Gore becomes the Democratic nominee and then proceeds to defeat Senator Bob Dole in the General Election.

As 1991 rolls around, things have progressed largely as they have in OTL. The economy is in a slump, and Gore's approval ratings are dropping. Norman Schwarzkopf is recruited by the Republican Party to run for their nomination in the face of a weak field of candidates [including former Vice President Rumsfeld]. He goes on to defeat Gore in the General Election.

In 1996, Norman likely retires.

I may finish this later. :p
Sweet. I dare you to work James Carville in there as well.
 
I would have liked to use a POD in 1976, with Carter not entering the primaries. However, they then become a confused mess since none of the other candidates actually concentrated on winning all of them, rather a select few akin to their strengths.

Therefore, I suggest that we have Donald Rumsfeld made Vice President under Ronald Reagan, as he almost was, according to other posters on the forum. He likely will in the end be swept up by Iran-Contra, being more involved, and thus lose his chance at succeeding Reagan for the Presidency. In 1988, Al Gore is the only notable "Southern Candidate" besides Dick Gephardt; Jesse Jackson, after a poorer performance in 1984, decides to forgo a second run for the nomination. Michael Dukakis, while running for the nomination, decides not to hire John Sasso as his campaign manager, and thus does, while not poorly, mediocre. Gore manages to sweep the South and West, and come out just ahead in the delegate count with Michael Dukakis. Gore becomes the Democratic nominee and then proceeds to defeat Senator Bob Dole in the General Election.

As 1991 rolls around, things have progressed largely as they have in OTL. The economy is in a slump, and Gore's approval ratings are dropping. Norman Schwarzkopf is recruited by the Republican Party to run for their nomination in the face of a weak field of candidates [including former Vice President Rumsfeld]. He goes on to defeat Gore in the General Election.

In 1996, Norman likely retires. Like Colin Powell, he never really was meant for nor enjoyed the privileges of the Executive Office. The United States was in a position of power, and the Soviet Union had collapsed; Terrorism, while apparent, had become only a minor nuisance after the World Trade Center bombing in 1993. His Vice President, George Voinivich became the front-runner for the Republican nomination.

Due to the popularity of President Schwarzkopf, the Democratic field of candidates was, for lack of a better word, dearth of anyone notable. Senator Tom Harkin and Senator Bob Kerrey were the main contenders after front-runner Bill Clinton's campaign collapsed among accusations of infidelity, and their haphazard attempts to soften the blow, as it were. Kerrey after some time would secure the nomination, despite the pressure from the Progressive Caucus lead by Senator Paul Wellstone.

When Kerrey's victory had been secured, Ross Perot jumped into the race campaigning against NAFTA, a proposed Free Trade Agreement between the United States, Canada, and Mexico. What had originally been considered a comfortable victory for the Vice President had become a neck and neck race. The remainder of the camapign remained in this state, with Perot hovering just under thirty in the polls. After the second Tuesday in November, it had become clear Kerrey was to be the next President of the United States, with Perot's "Reform Party" having formed a new power bloc.

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Just since I don't have the time to remain very detailed; Bob Kerrey remains President from 1997 to 2005, leading the initial advances in the War on Terror. His successor, Senator John McCain, does enter Iraq, but with a much larger force and a clearer plan on Restructuring of the country and withdrawal. He would lose in 2008 due to the Economic Crash [I am assuming it happens either in 2007 or 2008], but to who I am uncertain. Unfortunately, it is very likely to NOT be a Vietnam Vet, as their group is now growing to be rather old. Therefore we have:

Al Gore; Norman Schwarzkopf; Bob Kerrey; John McCain (4)

V.S.

Dwight Eisenhower; John Kennedy; Lyndon Johnson; Richard Nixon; Gerald Ford (5)


So we come down to replacing Gerald Ford, since I really do not want to start killing people off, or remove Nixon. However, for Vice Presidents, we have:

Robert Finch: Nixon's first choice, but served in the Marines during WWII, so no.
John Connally: Nixon's favorite, but served in various roles during WWII, so no.
John Tower: Conservative Nixon Supporter, but served in the Pacific during WWII
George H. W. Bush: Appeared a Goldwaterlite at the time, but a WWII veteran
Rogers Morton: Nixon's Floor Manager at the Convention, but a WWII veteran

So, unfortunately, without upsetting my own continuum, there really is no choice for Vice President for Nixon that is both a Conservative and not a WWII Veteran.
 
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His successor, Senator John McCain, does enter Iraq, but with a much larger force and a clearer plan on Restructuring of the country and withdrawal. He would lose in 2008 due to the Economic Crash [I am assuming it happens either in 2007 or 2008], but to who I am uncertain. Unfortunately, it is very likely to NOT be a Vietnam Vet, as their group is now growing to be rather old.
Jim Webb and John Kerry are both a lot younger than McCain was in 2008. And since they're both decorated combat veterans, you get the bonus points. Although getting them nominated would be a problematic.

Edit: Hillary is butterflied away, and perhaps Obama is too. If the economy is strong during the primaries, McCain will look unbeatable, like Bush did in 1992. So that scares away a lot of other young challengers; Kerry isn't up for re-election in the Senate and has nothing to lose. McCain has already passed an equivalent to our post-9/11 GI Bill, so Webb's signature issue is prison reform, along with other domestic issues. Kerry chooses him to balance out the ticket, as a Southern, domestically focused guy who's relatively new to Washington. Webb is also a safe Senator who's not up for re-election, and he knows Kerry. Most people think McCain will cruise to re-election, but when the economy crashes, the Democrats are able to capitalize and pull out a win.

Then I suppose Kerry can die or resign. It's cop-out, but Ford wasn't elected either, so it seems fair.
 
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Another way of matching the OP is to have fewer WWII Vet Presidents -- given the PoD can be in 1968, I'd say having Humphrey win, or LBJ winning a second full term, is a fine PoD.

If no other WWII vets -- like Nixon -- win thereafter, you can easily get three Vietnam Vets in the WH, with Al Gore and John McCain being your low hanging fruit.
 
How about something which thwarts Tet '68 and creates a few national heros? I don't know what or who but I think Tet was the big political cluster of Vietnam, and if it had gone down differently perhaps we'd have a raft of Vietnam war vets who are national leaders.
 
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