AHC/WI: Nixon Presidency in the 80's

ersatz-york · Jun 11, 2016

I was wondering what a Nixon presidency in the 80s would look like, and the circumstances that would conspire to create such a scenario.

Your challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to craft a scenario with a POD of no earlier than 1960 wherein Richard Nixon is POTUS during the 1980s.

Preferably, he should serve two terms. I also ask that you describe the course of his administration and its effects.

For those concerned about Nixon's age, it is worth noting that Nixon was actually two years younger than Reagan, and that as far as I know, he never had the aging problems that Reagan did.

Lastly, Nixon must be elected no earlier than the 1976 election, so no, you can't have him be elected in 1972 and be in the Oval Office for the first 20 days of 1980.

Indicus · Jun 11, 2016

Nixon gets injured in early 1967 and as a result skips a run for the Whitehouse. George Romney, who doesn't make his brainwashing gaffe, wins the Republican nomination, and beats Lyndon B. Johnson, who feels Romney is more vulnerable than Nixon. Romney wins two terms. In 1976, Nixon is tired of waiting, and runs for the presidency. He wins reelection. Boom. Nixon in the 80s.

Nazi Space Spy · Jun 11, 2016

Reagan beating him in Miami in '68 is a good POD. If Reagan can win (I was writing a timeline on that subject for a long time and might return to it), Nixon would likely have given up on his presidential ambitions and accept an appointment as Secretary of State. Depending on how a hypothetical earlier Reagan presidency goes, Nixon could make a comeback in 1980. He'd actually be younger than Reagan.

The problem is, will his health allow it?

ersatz-york · Jun 11, 2016

Nazi Space Spy said:
Reagan beating him in Miami in '68 is a good POD. If Reagan can win (I was writing a timeline on that subject for a long time and might return to it), Nixon would likely have given up on his presidential ambitions and accept an appointment as Secretary of State. Depending on how a hypothetical earlier Reagan presidency goes, Nixon could make a comeback in 1980. He'd actually be younger than Reagan.

The problem is, will his health allow it?

What was his health like OTL?

Nazi Space Spy · Jun 11, 2016

RightTosser said:
What was his health like OTL?

He had a stroke not long after leaving office, and suffered a second and fatal one in 1994. He also had phlebitis and other ailments in his presidency, which may or may not have been aggravated by Watergate and ensuing stress.

Indicus · Jun 11, 2016

Nazi Space Spy said:
Reagan beating him in Miami in '68 is a good POD. If Reagan can win (I was writing a timeline on that subject for a long time and might return to it), Nixon would likely have given up on his presidential ambitions and accept an appointment as Secretary of State. Depending on how a hypothetical earlier Reagan presidency goes, Nixon could make a comeback in 1980. He'd actually be younger than Reagan.

The problem is, will his health allow it?

Well, to get Reagan elected, I think you need to both get LBJ in and Wallace out, and even then it'll be close. That's the only way, IMO.

shiftygiant · Jun 11, 2016

Nazi Space Spy said:
Reagan beating him in Miami in '68 is a good POD. If Reagan can win (I was writing a timeline on that subject for a long time and might return to it), Nixon would likely have given up on his presidential ambitions and accept an appointment as Secretary of State. Depending on how a hypothetical earlier Reagan presidency goes, Nixon could make a comeback in 1980. He'd actually be younger than Reagan.

The problem is, will his health allow it?

You can have Reagan loose (which he would more than likely, given how he'd be seen as inexperienced and nothing more than a knock-off Goldwater) and Nixon hold of '72; have a pulmonary embolism (note: Link contains a site listing his health) hit him during the period, and you could have him hold off until '76. Have him just plain not run in '72, you can more plausibly delay the development of the embolism until 1976.

Paul V McNutt · Jun 11, 2016

Rockefeller gets in earlier and does better. There is a brokered convention. Nixon is Secretary of State. He does not win the nomination in 1976. The Republican loses that year. There was a bad economy. Nixon wins the nomination and election in 1980.

Paul V McNutt · Jun 11, 2016

Because America is at peace in the 80s, there is no Watergate.