How could Barry M. Goldwater be elected President?
Perhaps a better campaign in 1964 where he somehow manages to gain the support and endorsement of the the mainstream GOP and its leaders, beyond just the conservative wing. After securing the nomination, he could take the effort to heal the wounds in his party, pushing for a united Republican Party before facing the Democrats, and begin to offer reconciliation with the moderate and liberal factions, perhaps picking a compromise VP candidate who would be agreeable to both conservatives and liberal-moderates (Jim Rhodes? Prescott Bush?) and promising cabinet positions to his liberal and moderate former rivals.
He could focus then on toning down his image from "radical extremist" to "mainstream conservative". His many verbal gaffs like the one about "lobbing a nuclear bomb into the Kremlin men's room" and "sawing off the Eastern seaboard" could be dealt with/covered up with good PR (I don't know how exactly though?) or at least kept from the ears of the Democratic campaign, or Barry could just learn to be less blunt and more restrained and diplomatic in making public statements. There could be fiercer attacks against the Johnson Administration (although the President was popular at that time) particularly in the South, where he could carry more states than he did IOTL.
All of these suggestions for a better, more effective campaign makes me think about this possibility, although he intensely disliked the man maybe he could make good use of Nixon as a campaign adviser and learn a few of old Dick's tricks?
Or if OTL's 1964 was just really not a good time for Barry Goldwater, what are the other possibilities? A Kennedy vs. Goldwater scenario? How would that play out?
A scenario where someone else is nominated and defeated in '64 (Rockefeller? Nixon? Cabot Lodge?) This could make way for Barry in '68 but his aggressive stance on Vietnam wouldn't do any good for him at a time when people were yearning for an end to the war.
He is picked as VP and takes Gerald Ford's place in 1974? An idea which I got from this thread. What would his chances be in 1976?
Perhaps a better campaign in 1964 where he somehow manages to gain the support and endorsement of the the mainstream GOP and its leaders, beyond just the conservative wing. After securing the nomination, he could take the effort to heal the wounds in his party, pushing for a united Republican Party before facing the Democrats, and begin to offer reconciliation with the moderate and liberal factions, perhaps picking a compromise VP candidate who would be agreeable to both conservatives and liberal-moderates (Jim Rhodes? Prescott Bush?) and promising cabinet positions to his liberal and moderate former rivals.
He could focus then on toning down his image from "radical extremist" to "mainstream conservative". His many verbal gaffs like the one about "lobbing a nuclear bomb into the Kremlin men's room" and "sawing off the Eastern seaboard" could be dealt with/covered up with good PR (I don't know how exactly though?) or at least kept from the ears of the Democratic campaign, or Barry could just learn to be less blunt and more restrained and diplomatic in making public statements. There could be fiercer attacks against the Johnson Administration (although the President was popular at that time) particularly in the South, where he could carry more states than he did IOTL.
All of these suggestions for a better, more effective campaign makes me think about this possibility, although he intensely disliked the man maybe he could make good use of Nixon as a campaign adviser and learn a few of old Dick's tricks?
Or if OTL's 1964 was just really not a good time for Barry Goldwater, what are the other possibilities? A Kennedy vs. Goldwater scenario? How would that play out?
A scenario where someone else is nominated and defeated in '64 (Rockefeller? Nixon? Cabot Lodge?) This could make way for Barry in '68 but his aggressive stance on Vietnam wouldn't do any good for him at a time when people were yearning for an end to the war.
He is picked as VP and takes Gerald Ford's place in 1974? An idea which I got from this thread. What would his chances be in 1976?