alternatehistory.com

"George H.W. Bush, trailing Democrat Michael Dukakis in the heat of the 1988 presidential campaign, briefly but seriously considered Hollywood renaissance man Clint Eastwood to be his running mate, a former Bush aide says.

"The revelation comes from more than 350 hours of audio interviews with 50 senior officials from the George H.W. Bush administration released today by the University of Virginia’s Miller Center and Bush Presidential Library Foundation. The decade-long oral history project documents the life and times of the 41st presidency.

"'When we were way behind. Honestly, [Eastwood] was suggested in not an altogether unserious – Well, he was a mayor. He was a Republican mayor,' former Bush campaign chairman and Secretary of State James Baker said.

"Eastwood served one term as mayor of the conservative ocean side community Carmel, Calif., from 1986-1988.

"AUDIO: James Baker describes consideration of Clint Eastwood

"'Anyway, it was shot down pretty quick. But we were looking at an 18-point deficit,' Baker said, suggesting the campaign was looking for a boost from its VP choice. Bush, who also considered Sen. Dan Quayle, R-Ind.; Sen. Bob Dole, R-Kan.; Sen. Alan Simpson, R-Wyo.; and Rep. Jack Kemp, R-N.Y., ultimately settled on Quayle."

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2011/10/clint-eastwood-as-vp-george-h-w-bush-considered-it/

***

OK, I'm not saying it was likely, but what if GHW Bush decided he had to do something unconventional to beat Dukakis? (Though that big lead in the polls Baker talks about had actually already pretty much dissipated by the time of the GOP national convention.) There would be some ridicule, of course, but there was plenty of ridicule of Quayle in OTL, and my guess is that the ticket wins for the same reason Bush-Quayle won in OTL--it's the top of the ticket that matters to voters. But would Vice President Eastwood be seen as a future presidential possibility for the GOP?
Top