Now, has anyone done any studies as to how the Line would turn out? I'm not a military expert, so looking to those who are for advice. Politically, I know this was rubbished in a few quarters.
A line of fortifications? How exactly does that work?IMO the only way to tackle the Trail is for the ARVN and USAF to cut it by turning it into a massacre zone ala the Somme, except this time with 1960s tech. But yes, LBJ didn't listen regarding Vietnamization, with fatal political consequences to come. Keep in mind that after 1966 LBJ was very suspicious (correctly) of McNamara's loyalties and disregarded much of his advice in fear he was 'going soft'. If he'd known that PDB-level Vietnam documents were ending up in unauthorized hands, grab your earmuffs.
BW: So the plan *works* then?RAND estimates said that completion of the whole system would cost today's equivalent of $13 billion per year. But yeah, detoxing after the war ends will be a pain in the ass, to say nothing of civilian casualties...
Agree, he was of the same strain as George Romney. Speaking of which, would he have chosen George Romney as his Vice President? Or would he have been forced to choose a Democrat by the overwhelmingly Democratic Senate?Moving on to domestic policy, standard Rocky Republicanism IMO.
Moving on to domestic policy, standard Rocky Republicanism IMO.
Moving on to domestic policy, standard Rocky Republicanism IMO.
This is the problem with your challenge: niether party will nominate him. The Democrats do not need a Rockefeller Republican and the Republicans have moved beyond the Rockefeller version of the party. (Unless you see a way for Mcnamara to grab the GOP nomination in 1960)
He might pick Romney as VP, but control over non-fiscal domestic policy will be firmly in the hands of Robert Kennedy if he remains in Cabinet, with McNamara's 100% support.
BW: not that much, because Rocky Republicans are fiscal conservatives and social liberals. GWB is not a social liberal. Hell, one could make the argument that Rocky's economic policies were equivalent to the Kennedy brothers', if not slightly to their right or left. But that's for another thread.
I agree with Ariosto. The closest modern-day parallel would be McCain trying to ram Lieberman through as his VP: very tough but doable. But here's a problem: if LBJ's presidency goes anything like OTL, once 1968 rolls around and if Johnson withdraws, there will be no administration candidate. Thus he just handed Bobby Kennedy the Democratic nomination without much opposition. Cue LBJ exploding.Given their close friendship IOTL, and his endorsement of RFK, McNamara will not contest this at the convention. He'll be dumped as VP, replaced with a Southerner and go to the Treasury.
So Rocky is to the Kennedys' left fiscally, as I've argued before. I think the parties should nominee-swap in that case.![]()
I agree with Ariosto. The closest modern-day parallel would be McCain trying to ram Lieberman through as his VP: very tough but doable. But here's a problem: if LBJ's presidency goes anything like OTL, once 1968 rolls around and if Johnson withdraws, there will be no administration candidate. Thus he just handed Bobby Kennedy the Democratic nomination without much opposition. Cue LBJ exploding.Given their close friendship IOTL, and his endorsement of RFK, McNamara will not contest this at the convention. He'll be dumped as VP, replaced with a Southerner and go to the Treasury.
I said the "closest parallel", namely nominating someone from another party as VPOTUS. Of course the GOP would have been split and things might've turned out worse than OTL, but that was the only time in recent history where a presidential nominee seriously considered someone from another party as their running mate, to the point of floating a test bubble in the media.