Careers Outside Politics For OTL Presidents?

We often speculate about 'the roads not taken' on the grand scale, but not often it seems to me on the personal scale. So I was wondering, what kind of careers outside politics could OTL Presidents of the united States have pursued?

Ronald Reagan was of course an Actor before going into politics, altough never one of very high regards, or at least not at the level of other stars of his time. If politics doesn't work out for him, I could see him staying an actor, and maybe doing more work on Television.

Maybe Jimmy Carter could stay a Peanut Farmer?;)
 
Teddy becomes an intrepid explorer sponsored by the European great powers to venture into the deepest parts of Darkest Africa.
 
Both RFK and JFK (even though RFK was never President....at least until I get that time machine working. Damn you and your copyright, Robert Zemeckis!) could have been journalists.

Reagan could have continued to be an actor. Obvious.
 
Franklin Roosevelt could easily have stayed an ordinary patrician, he wouldn't have a career perse, but his family background was such that he really did not need one.
The problem with Truman is, to the best of my recollection, he was a bit of failure in everything except politics, so I can't imagine him as much more than a failed businessman. Though admittedly, its been awhile since I read his life story.
Eisenhower could simply continue being President of Colombia University, perhaps with a break to be the commander of NATO.
Roguebeaver's going to have a much better sense of Kennedy than I do, but from what I've read without family pressures I could see him in the Newspaper business or academia. (If those ideas are idiotic, I apologize.)
Lyndon Johnson-Texan media mogul.
Richard Nixon: Someone once wrote a very interesting timeline about him becoming a news anchor, not sure if it was entirely plausible or not, but Nixon certainly did have a good voice at least for radio news, so perhaps he'd go down that path. Or else he stays a lawyer.
Gerald Ford: Football (Of the American variety obviously) star
Jimmy Carter: He could end up remaining a peanut farmer. But his strong moral convictions might have led him to become a preacher.
Ronald Reagan-actor.
George H. W. Bush: Major figure in the oil industry, particularly in Texas.
Bill Clinton: Either a musician or a Doctor.
George W. Bush. Remains owner of the Texas Rangers.
Barack Obama could easily continue his career in academia.
 
Both RFK and JFK (even though RFK was never President....at least until I get that time machine working. Damn you and your copyright, Robert Zemeckis!) could have been journalists.

Reagan could have continued to be an actor. Obvious.

Jack Kennedy strikes me as more of a publisher or editor type rather than an active journalist. Though that probably comes from reading the wrong sorts of biography about him. Like the really angry one with all the typos. (it was called A Question of Character as I recall.) Problem with Kennedy biographies in my experience is that they are usually either complete hatchet jobs or so fawning over the subject matter that they're tough to take at face value.

Not sure about Robert Kennedy, though from the admittedly little I know of his personality, he strikes me as more the aggressive lawyer type. But you'd know better than I would

I agree with you about Reagan, though that's kind of obvious. It'd be interesting to see if there's a specific way to save Reagan's acting career. Or to make him a legitimate star.
 
Gerald Ford was also a male model.

Jack Kennedy strikes me as more of a publisher or editor type rather than an active journalist. Though that probably comes from reading the wrong sorts of biography about him. Like the really angry one with all the typos. (it was called A Question of Character as I recall.) Problem with Kennedy biographies in my experience is that they are usually either complete hatchet jobs or so fawning over the subject matter that they're tough to take at face value.
He could be. There seems a trend in making him the head of the Saturday Evening Post.

Read "An Unfinished Life".

Not sure about Robert Kennedy, though from the admittedly little I know of his personality, he strikes me as more the aggressive lawyer type. But you'd know better than I would
Robert was a journalist for a time. I can't recall the details, though. Get Roguebeaver, he knows RFK better than I do.

I agree with you about Reagan, though that's kind of obvious. It'd be interesting to see if there's a specific way to save Reagan's acting career. Or to make him a legitimate star.
Kings Row!
 
George W. Bush nearly became Commisioner of Baseball. He was widely expected to be selected, but the "Interim" Commissioner Bud Selig held on to it for so long that they finally just dropped the interim title.

Clinton was a really good Saxaphone player. Maybe he could be a musician. I also seem to remember something from his biography where he said he was interested in medicine but thought he wouldn't be good at it. Maybe he pursues it anyway and becomes a mediocre doctor? His step-father owned a car dealership. Maybe a young Bill Clinton would have followed in his footsteps if he wasn't so abusive.

The first George Bush was Captain of the Yale Baseball team. He probably wasn't good enough to go pro, but maybe he tries, bounces around the minor leagues for awhile and then becomes a manager.

In addition to the obvious acting career, Ronald Reagan also could have been a sports commentator. He did Cubs games on the radio before he became an actor.

Jimmy Carter. He was a peanut farmer. He had planned to be a career Navy man, but had to go home and take over the family business when his dad died. Maybe if his dad lived longer he could have gotten further into the military life and not wanted to leave. Maybe works his way up to Admiral and gets to be on the Joint Chiefs?

Gerald Ford could have played in the NFL. The NFL was no big deal at the time, so many of the best college players didn't even bother to go pro because they could make more money in other industries. Most of the players only did it for the love of the game. Ford certainly had the talent. We just need to give him the motivation.

Wikipedia says that Richard Nixon's first choice of job was FBI agent. He became a lawyer instead. Not entirely sure why. I can definitely see Nixon as a successor to J. Edgar Hoover.

LBJ taught high school. He could stick with that.
 
Nixon: his application was rejected, even though the Los Angeles SAC recommended Nixon be approved. Curiously enough, it was a "lack of aggressiveness." :D

Jack Kennedy: what he wrote covering the UN in late '45 was not Pulitzer-worthy, or even page A1-worthy. He likened the UN founding conference to a "football game where Bevin and Byrnes are trying to tackle Molotov."

Robert Kennedy: he covered the Israeli War of Independence in 1948 for the Boston Post. Not Tom Friedman, but quite insightful for a 22-year old Harvard undergrad with no experience of the region. Law is also a possibility, likely criminal law because he "had no business sense."
 
Teddy becomes an intrepid explorer sponsored by the European great powers to venture into the deepest parts of Darkest Africa.
Teddy was actually quite the budding naturalist and biologist. He was noted as having a keen eye for wildlife, sometimes stopping mid-conversation to comment on an unusual bird he just spotted-- when taking a walk with his sister Corinne on the grounds around the White House, he once picked up a single feather and recognized it as a fox sparrow's.
 
George W. Bush: evangelical minister who counsels alcoholics and drug addicts (a ministry for which he is unusually well-qualified).
 
Thomas Jefferson - landscape design and gardining
James Polk - professor of mathmatics or classical languages
Andrew Johnson - successful businesman, tailor
Benjamin Harrison - farmer and lay preacher
Theodore Roosevelt- naturalist
Woodrow Wilson - foreign missionary of university president
Warren Harding - newspaper publisher
Calvin College - author, historian
Herbert Hoover - mining tycoon
 
Forgot: RFK was also an avid outdoorsman, though most associate him with touch football. Hiking, safaris, hunting, scuba diving, skiing, skating, whitewater rafting, mountain climbing, etc.
 
Teddy was actually quite the budding naturalist and biologist. He was noted as having a keen eye for wildlife, sometimes stopping mid-conversation to comment on an unusual bird he just spotted-- when taking a walk with his sister Corinne on the grounds around the White House, he once picked up a single feather and recognized it as a fox sparrow's.
Yep. He was also an avid writer and historian, publishing what became the definitive naval history of the US for a couple decades. Perhaps he does more writing professionally, writing books based on his journeys.
 
Teddy becomes an intrepid explorer sponsored by the European great powers to venture into the deepest parts of Darkest Africa.

I love the idea, but there are problems. Teddy's little expedition on the River of Doubt nearly killed him. Granted, he was getting on in years by that point, and the Amazon is as perilous as they come, but he was never the healthiest of people (although he did a good job of compensating for that).
 
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