Challenge: LBJ-RFK '64

Have this occur with a Dallas POD. You can avoid the "political" issues if not the "personal" (which is ASB) with the correct maneuvers... Bonus points if you can overjoy RFK by getting Hoover to commit suicide when his greatest rival and greatest ally join forces. Double Bonus if you can keep a "decent" relationship between the two legendary grudge-bearers.
 
Make things a hell of a lot more hectic. Maybe Democratic infighting, the Republicans nominate someone other than Goldwater like Rocky (yes, hush, it's possible and I'll fight you tooth and nail over this until the board ends saying it was possible) who could possibly derail Johnson and strike fear in him enough to make him bite the bullet and bring on Kennedy (Johnson was from the politics of the old school, and who get in the muck to win), or Goldwater finds dirt enough on LBJ's politic muck to make Johnson bite the bullet. You basically have to present Johnson with a situation where he's bent over a barrel.

Either way, it will be a cold relationship with probably a great deal of political schism and little working relationship, and God help the one that speaks out to the media against the other.
 
Re infighting: In New Hampshire IOTL Bobby came within 3100 votes of receiving more write-in votes for Vice President than LBJ for President. That's without a publicly endorsed effort. Reverse that margin and LBJ will go off the deep end. If Rocky is nominated, the violent Southern objections become irrelevant.


Re deep freze: Oh, Bobby anticipated that IOTL: "if I speak out, he'll put me in a deep freeze. He doesn't have to speak to me (like Nixon/Agnew) and it would not be a good relationship. On the other hand, internal, clandestine opposition... That's a pretty disloyal operation."

I have no doubt that Bobby would not want to derail his plans to raise his hand and take the Presidential oath on January 20, 1973. It would be at best the political relationship between Reagan and Bush I and as for the personal relationship, well let's leave that to the ample available audio. ;)

RFK was very personally friendly with the press: Hickory Hill was crawling with journalists and even some native (not JFK-inherited) LBJ aides on any given weekend. He was very cautious not to even trash-talk in his Senate office with his aides. But just looking in his eyes in any picture of the two tells the whole story.
 
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