An idea that’s been circling around my head for over a decade and one I’ve curiously never seen discussed here...
President Richard M. Nixon: 1955-?
Vice President John F. Kennedy: 1957-1961?
There have been myriad threads on Eisenhower succumbing to his heart attack in 1955, with Vice President Richard Nixon becoming President, and more than a few on the feasibility of Senator John F. Kennedy becoming Adlai Stevenson’s running mate in 1956 - but these two POD’s are not mutually exclusive and in fact, I wonder if the latter might not be even more likely following the events of the former.
As discussed exhaustively on this site, The Nixon Presidency from September 1955 to Election Day, 1956 would be a bittersweet honeymoon; with the young POTUS facing a handful of historic crises (Suez, Hungary, etc.) while what little sympathy or support garnered from the loss of Ike is weighted against Nixon having to serve untested beneath his shadow - and indeed being haunted by his ghost. The specifics of that year+ have been debated, and I’m not interested in rehashing them here.
What is nearly certain, however, is that Senator William F. Knowland will primary Nixon regardless of how well he handles the office, potentially weakening the candidate. Knowland may also not be the only one, and the young President could potentially have to spend much of 1956 leveraging his incumbency against an onslaught of challengers in a potentially bitter primary. This along with Nixon’s eventual choice of running mate makes his strength going into ‘56 difficult to accurately assume.
I’d also imagine Jack Kennedy might also receive some pressure to run in the ‘56 Democratic Primaries as a candidate in his own right in TTL, with a potentially vulnerable Nixon not quite the daunting candidate that Eisenhower appeared to be OTL, although it’s doubtful he’d clinch the nomination. A primary run if done right could increase his national profile without alienating or instigating his opponents, which makes him even more attractive as the Democratic nominee for Vice President in 1956.
In such a scenario, it’s not impossible that a tight election and faithless electors throw the 1956 election to the Hill, with Congress narrowly re-electing Nixon, but the Democrat-held Senate electing the Democratic Vice Presidential nominee, forcing President Richard Nixon to serve with JFK as his Vice President from 1957-1961.
As most of you are probably aware the two young naval veterans were first sworn in as congressmen in Washington, D.C. on the same day back in 1947, and by many accounts - including their own - were actually relatively good friends until the general election of 1960, and in 1956 arguably were more alike than they were different. Both were reasonably moderate centrist cold-warriors with a history of healthy debate and cooperation. JFK even allegedly remarked that if he didn’t win the nomination he planned to vote for Nixon, and we’re also dealing with the pre-wilderness years Nixon who had yet to develop his Kennedyphobic paranoia.
While at first I imagine President Nixon would be embarrassed by the circumstances and suspicious of his new constitutionally mandated ‘number 2’ (if not also outright irate at the situation) I could also see the two coming to a sort of agreed upon understanding. They’re both savvy politicians who have much to gain by the arrangement’s success.
Eisenhower has already reshaped the office of the Vice President into a more active and involved role, and the Nixon who isolated Agnew is yet to be developed, but the circumstances probably mean something in the middle occurs. Nixon needs Kennedy to be busy enough to make mistakes which could jeopardize the latter’s inevitable 1960 primary run without actually effecting his own nascent legacy, while not actually being busy enough to overshadow the President or tarnish his image. Kennedy, in turn, needs to be able to distance himself from any and all blame for the missteps of the Nixon administration while all at once taking credit for its triumphs.
It’s a precarious balance to strike, and both men are infinitely flawed. This could make for an intriguing read, I think, but I’m debating whether or not there would be interest.
So, here, I’ll leave it to you. What does the Nixon/Kennedy administration look like from 1957-1961 and what butterflies does it hold for those four years and beyond, at home and abroad, cultural and political?
Thanks in advance!
President Richard M. Nixon: 1955-?
Vice President John F. Kennedy: 1957-1961?
There have been myriad threads on Eisenhower succumbing to his heart attack in 1955, with Vice President Richard Nixon becoming President, and more than a few on the feasibility of Senator John F. Kennedy becoming Adlai Stevenson’s running mate in 1956 - but these two POD’s are not mutually exclusive and in fact, I wonder if the latter might not be even more likely following the events of the former.
As discussed exhaustively on this site, The Nixon Presidency from September 1955 to Election Day, 1956 would be a bittersweet honeymoon; with the young POTUS facing a handful of historic crises (Suez, Hungary, etc.) while what little sympathy or support garnered from the loss of Ike is weighted against Nixon having to serve untested beneath his shadow - and indeed being haunted by his ghost. The specifics of that year+ have been debated, and I’m not interested in rehashing them here.
What is nearly certain, however, is that Senator William F. Knowland will primary Nixon regardless of how well he handles the office, potentially weakening the candidate. Knowland may also not be the only one, and the young President could potentially have to spend much of 1956 leveraging his incumbency against an onslaught of challengers in a potentially bitter primary. This along with Nixon’s eventual choice of running mate makes his strength going into ‘56 difficult to accurately assume.
I’d also imagine Jack Kennedy might also receive some pressure to run in the ‘56 Democratic Primaries as a candidate in his own right in TTL, with a potentially vulnerable Nixon not quite the daunting candidate that Eisenhower appeared to be OTL, although it’s doubtful he’d clinch the nomination. A primary run if done right could increase his national profile without alienating or instigating his opponents, which makes him even more attractive as the Democratic nominee for Vice President in 1956.
In such a scenario, it’s not impossible that a tight election and faithless electors throw the 1956 election to the Hill, with Congress narrowly re-electing Nixon, but the Democrat-held Senate electing the Democratic Vice Presidential nominee, forcing President Richard Nixon to serve with JFK as his Vice President from 1957-1961.
As most of you are probably aware the two young naval veterans were first sworn in as congressmen in Washington, D.C. on the same day back in 1947, and by many accounts - including their own - were actually relatively good friends until the general election of 1960, and in 1956 arguably were more alike than they were different. Both were reasonably moderate centrist cold-warriors with a history of healthy debate and cooperation. JFK even allegedly remarked that if he didn’t win the nomination he planned to vote for Nixon, and we’re also dealing with the pre-wilderness years Nixon who had yet to develop his Kennedyphobic paranoia.
While at first I imagine President Nixon would be embarrassed by the circumstances and suspicious of his new constitutionally mandated ‘number 2’ (if not also outright irate at the situation) I could also see the two coming to a sort of agreed upon understanding. They’re both savvy politicians who have much to gain by the arrangement’s success.
Eisenhower has already reshaped the office of the Vice President into a more active and involved role, and the Nixon who isolated Agnew is yet to be developed, but the circumstances probably mean something in the middle occurs. Nixon needs Kennedy to be busy enough to make mistakes which could jeopardize the latter’s inevitable 1960 primary run without actually effecting his own nascent legacy, while not actually being busy enough to overshadow the President or tarnish his image. Kennedy, in turn, needs to be able to distance himself from any and all blame for the missteps of the Nixon administration while all at once taking credit for its triumphs.
It’s a precarious balance to strike, and both men are infinitely flawed. This could make for an intriguing read, I think, but I’m debating whether or not there would be interest.
So, here, I’ll leave it to you. What does the Nixon/Kennedy administration look like from 1957-1961 and what butterflies does it hold for those four years and beyond, at home and abroad, cultural and political?
Thanks in advance!
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