AHC: President Curtis LeMay

Your challenge, would you choose to accept it, is to make General Curtis LeMay President of the United States with a POD no earlier than April 12, 1945. He must still become a General of the USAF, and he must not take power through a military coup - not even in the aftermath of a nuclear exchange, though he is not required to be elected President or Vice President. For example, it is acceptable in this challenge, for him as Secretary of Defense of a certain President to be succeeded as President after everyone above the succession line has died. Double-bonus if he is first elected President. Half-bonus if a nuclear way takes place during his presidency. Triple-bonus if the United States ultimately lose the Cold War.
 
The moment the word "nuke" comes up, he loses all electability on a national level.

He gave serious consideration to running for the Senate from California in '68 before accepting Wallace's offer, but considering nukes were a pet issue of Alan Cranston's, and the nature of California's electorate which could swing one way or the other, his beliefs may kill his electability there as well.
 
Impossible to get him elected. You would, almost 100% end up with a hot cold war following his election and everyone knew it.

Also it'd be pretty simple to keep quoting his "I done warcrimes" bit that makes him sound like a bit of a monster (he was no different to the others conducting the Japanese firebombing raids but they never came out and said that, then continued to give it full support).

You'd have to have everyone above him in the line of succession die together so as not to give chance to appoint others. Probably the only way this is gonna happen is nuclear attack on Washington while he's absent.

The only sensible option for him is SecDef (currently 6th in line - unsure of if it was different back in the 50's / 60's). The senate probably won't want to ratify this.

Unless he completely changes his character and convinces the American people that he now doesn't want to solve every minor trade dispute with atomic weapons it's unlikely to happen.
 
That said, if there's gonna be a nuclear war anyway (or if one just started and took out peoples 0 through 5), there's no one I'd want more as my Commander in Chief :)
 
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