DBWI: Senator LBJ survives heart attack in 1955.

As we all know Senate Majority Leader Lyndon B. Johnson(Texas) died of a fatal heart attack on the morning of July 3rd 1955, a senator of much promise who was cut short in his prime. Had he survived the heart attack he most likely would not be in any shape to seek the Democratic presidential nomination in 56 and most likely would have obeyed his doctors orders to quit smoking, thus adding a good # of years to his life. So obvioulsly 1960 would have been the year seeked the presidency, so would he have been able to wrest the nomination away from Kennedy? Or would Kennedy offered him the VP slot? And would he have accepted it?
 
Well, perhaps if Johnson had been around to be Kennedy's VP, JFK might have been president 8 years earlier instead of losing to Nixon in '60. Symington was the best choice, of course, for a balance of both experience and regional makeup, but Johnson definitely would have given Kennedy Texas and maybe even another state or two in the South (don't know about Illinois, though, although it was so close.)

Would Johnson have accepted the VP nod? I don't know. Kennedy was young and Johnson might have worried that sitting on the sidelines until '68 wasn't the best idea. And then there's the issue of Bobby and Teddy Kennedy waiting in the wings for their attempted dynasty of the 70s and 80s. Could Johnson have prevented all that by being VP and taking over from Jack in '68? Or would he have gone down to the Kennedy machine?

Interesting to think about the Democrats winning in '60. Would Castro perhaps have lasted longer? And how would the youngest president in history have handled the Berlin Wall crisis and the wars in Vietnam and Indonesia?

One last interesting thought: I wonder who the Republicans would have run in '64? Would Rockefeller be the obvious choice after Nixon went down?
 
A very good question

One last interesting thought: I wonder who the Republicans would have run in '64? Would Rockefeller be the obvious choice after Nixon went down?[/QUOTE]

Perhaps Scranton would have been the GOP nominee?

As for Johnson, I wonder how he would have governed had he been president. He was certainly a new dealer, but where would he stand on civil rights? We certainly know that Nixon won the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1965 after winning reelection, a bill that even some border state Democrats supported.
 
Be serious folks! Given all that's come out over the past 3 years since the Johnson family finally released his personal papers, I'd say he was lucky not to have been convicted of voter fraud and extortion.
 
Well, as far as all the stuff in Johnson's personal papers, given that information didn't come out until recently, I don't think it could have stopped him from becoming VP or president Look at what's come out recently about JFK and Ted Kennedy-only Bobby had his infidelity and drug use derail his presidential hopes (and yet the people of New York kept returning him as a Senator until his death in 2003).

I can't see Johnson passing the Civil Rights Act, as a Southerner he would have seen what a disaster that would have been for the Democratic party - who knows, maybe the Republicans could have broken the Democrats' Southern domination, something even the two President Kennedys - both northeast liberals - couldn't do. Regardless of what we think of Nixon - from his sending of troops to Indonesia to support Suharto's rebellion to his attempted assassination of Ho Chi Minh - his passing of the Civil Rights Act was an act of political courage, even if it cost the Republicans the White House for 16 years. (I would also bring up his refusal to pass any of the Congressional Democrats' anti-poverty programs, but that would be more of a partisan issue than his problems with foreign policy.)

I hadn't thought of Scranton for '64, I guess given how he lost when he was on the ticket with Romney in '68, I forgot about him.
 
FFS. Plenty of talented, promising senators have died in their prime, LBJ just happened to be a side-character in that stupid movie...

This is blind speculation, he could have done some stuff yeah, but theres plenty of talented Senators who go no where too.
 
OOC Post:

I’ve enjoyed responding to this post, so I came up with a short timeline based on what I’ve posted before and then expanding it (mostly focuses on American politics and history, sorry to exclude much of the rest of the world). This is just a quick one for fun, as I stop around the late 80s:

1960 Election:

Nixon/Lodge defeats Kennedy/Symington in the US Presidential election.
Electoral Vote Count: 278 to 250 (with still 9 unpledged and faithless electors) (I had Texas, Illinois & South Carolina go to the Republicans and gave Mississippi back to the Democrats.)

1961:

Nixon backs the Bay of Pigs invasion with air support and Castro is overthrown. This move is condemned by much of South & Central America, as well as the Soviet bloc.

The Cold War gets colder – No Test Ban Treaty and above ground weapons testing continues until the mid 70s.

The Berlin Wall Crisis takes place much as it did in OTL, and luckily a full-scale superpower war is averted.

The economy (1960s & 70s):

I have the economy doing not quite as well in the early 60s as Nixon does not cut taxes as deeply as Kennedy did. At the same time, though, given that Nixon does not escalate the Vietnam conflict as much as Johnson did, and he does not launch the War on Poverty, we do not see the economic conditions that lead to downturns in the early 70s. Instead, the economy stays at a decent level of growth until the late 70s/early 80s, when the largest downturn since the Depression takes place.

Vietnam:

Nixon does not overthrow and kill Diem in ’63. As a result, Diem remains in place as dictator of South Vietnam. With massive amounts of American aid, he retains power, killing tens of thousands of his own citizens in the process, persecuting Buddhists and keeping an iron grip on the country. The NLF insurrection never goes away, but never manages to overthrow Diem.

Nixon’s support of Diem is seen in a poor light by the left and liberals in the US, but without a great number of American troops dying over there (total American deaths in Vietnam number in the hundreds during the 60s), there is no great wellspring of American opinion against the war. The edge of the culture war that began in the late 60s is somewhere blunted, although it does still take place.

Eventually, Diem’s regime is overthrown after his death in 1981. His family flees Vietnam, their status in the world’s eyes much like that of the Marcos. The military that overthrows him attempts to have elections. The elections are inconclusive, with no clear winners, and South Vietnam breaks out into civil war in 1982. North Vietnam invades and re-unifies the country. The loss of South Vietnam, combined with the harsh economic climate of the early 80s, ends the presidency of Ted Kennedy after one term.

1964 American election:

Nixon/Lodge easily defeats Humphrey/Gore, with the Democrats winning only the South, Minnesota and a couple of other states. (JFK chose not to run, instead waiting until 1968)

1965:

Nixon signs into law the Civil Rights Act over a storm of protest from the South.

Indonesia:


General Suharto attempts to overthrow the government of Sukarno. He does not, however, have the full support of the military, and despite the deaths of one hundred thousand Indonesians he is only able to take control of parts of the country. He is ousted from Java within a year and continues his fights from bases on Sumatra and Kalimantan.

Nixon decides to full back Suharto, especially given the close relations between China and Sukarno. A large amount of aid and eventually small numbers of American forces are sent to support the would-be dictator. However, the war is not successful for Nixon as Suharto cannot gain control of the country and begins to lose what support he has. In late 1967, the number of American deaths in Indonesia passes one thousand and many begin to feel that the way was a mistake.

After Jack Kennedy’s election in 1968, American troops are slowly withdrawn from Indonesia, the last leaving in 1970. Suharto is captured and executed in ’71 and the last of his forces surrender soon after. Indonesia breaks off relations with the US and does not resume them again until after Sukarno’s death 1978.

1968 election:

The Democrats easily win this election, as Kennedy/Brown (Pat Brown, who did not lose to Ronald Reagan in ’67 ITTL) defeats Romney/Scranton.

It has been an unusual move for the Republicans to pick candidates from Pennsylvania & Michigan, but the party hoped to win key northern states while writing off the south. They did win their candidates two home states, as well as Ohio, but lost California, New York, Massachusetts, and the entire South.

1972 election:

This becomes the most lopsided election in American history. After a contentious battle in the primaries, Nelson Rockefeller manages to win the Republican nomination. This, however, alienates the conservative wing of the party, who had been backing their perennial favourite, Barry Goldwater. As a result, the conservatives don’t really back the Republicans in the election. At the same time, the continuing good economic times, as well as Kennedy’s management of foreign policy, leaves the American people little appetite for change. Rockefeller manages to win only DC, as he even loses in his home state of New York.

American relations with China:

There is no “Nixon in China” moment, and the American intervention in Indonesia leads to worsening relations with China. At the same time, a détente does occur with the Soviet Union, as Kennedy cultivates a better relationship with the Soviet Bloc. Communist China is not officially recognized by the US until 1987 by President Kemp.

1976 election:

It is widely assumed the Senator Robert Kennedy will follow his brother into the White House. And he does declare himself as a candidate. However, a number of revelations come out in January ’76 revealing problems in his marriage – this leads to the discovery of his drug use and repeated infidelity. He withdraws from the race and there is speculation he may even quit the Senate. However, he keeps his seat and is returned to the Senate until his death in 2003.

Ted Kennedy does not to enter the race and the Democratic nomination goes down to a contest between Senator Scoop Jackson and Senator Birch Bayh, a contest between the more conservative and more liberal wings of the party. Jackson wins and he goes on to win the general election.

Jackson’s term in office:

Jackson, despite being from the same party as Kennedy, pulls away from Kennedy’s foreign policy, expanding the defence budget and scaling back Kennedy’s attempts to improve relations with the Soviet Union. Some believe that this leads to a new era of Cold War confrontation, as seen in the El Salvadoran crisis of ’79, while others support his stance as one of moral fortitude. On the domestic front, there are few highlights from Jackson’s administration, as the economy continues to grow, albeit more slowly, and the rapid rise of oil prices over the decade due to the three Arab-Israeli wars leads to increases in both inflation and unemployment.

1980 election:

Jackson suffers a heart attack in November of 1979, and decides that, for health reasons, he will not run for re-election.

Ted Kennedy decides that the time is right for him to run, and he easily wins the Democratic nomination.

Many feel that the Republicans will win the election due to the slowing economy and the fact that the Democrats have held the Presidency for over a decade. However, Kennedy’s vigorous campaign helps to pull out a narrow victory. It is a pyrrhic victory, though, as Kennedy is president right at the wrong time.

Kennedy’s administration:

Kennedy scales back defence spending and attempts to implement a number of social programs, including a national childcare program. However, the almost-constant unrest in the Middle East, highlighted by three civil wars in Iran, Egypt & Lebanon, pushes the price of oil continuously up. The US falls into recession in late 1981 and it does not being to recover until 1984.

At the same time, Kennedy’s loss of South Vietnam in 1982, and his inaction during the Soviet invasion of Poland in the same year, leads to the perception of a president weak at both home and abroad. It is the end of the Kennedy dynasty and his defeat in 1984 is almost certain.

1984 election:

Kennedy survives an internal challenge in the primaries to win the Democratic nomination. Congressman Jack Kemp is the surprise nominee for the Republicans, as he manages to unite both the libertarian side of the Republican Party, as well as the traditional moderate side. He balances the ticket by selecting Senator Orrin Hatch, mostly to placate Social Conservatives within the party.

Kemp wins the election easily, even making inroads into the South. During Kemp’s term in office, he implements a number of pro-business initiatives, slashing taxes and cutting social programs. The economy booms well into the 90s.

As far as foreign policy goes, Kemp is cold to the Soviet Union, especially after their actions in Eastern Europe, but he turns American policy on its head by recognizing China in 1987.

Kemp easily wins re-election in ’88.
 
One last interesting thought: I wonder who the Republicans would have run in '64? Would Rockefeller be the obvious choice after Nixon went down?

Perhaps Scranton would have been the GOP nominee?

As for Johnson, I wonder how he would have governed had he been president. He was certainly a new dealer, but where would he stand on civil rights? We certainly know that Nixon won the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1965 after winning reelection, a bill that even some border state Democrats supported.[/quote]
 
Perhaps Scranton would have been the GOP nominee?

As for Johnson, I wonder how he would have governed had he been president. He was certainly a new dealer, but where would he stand on civil rights? We certainly know that Nixon won the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1965 after winning reelection, a bill that even some border state Democrats supported.
[/quote]
Conventional wisdom would suggest that either Governor Nelson Rockefeller of New York or Bill Scranton of Pennsylvannia would be the GOP nominee in 1964 but IMO I think if either Kennedy or Johnson were president at that time the GOP would go to the hard right and choose Senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona as their nominee and perhaps Ohio governor Jim Rhoades as VP (as we all know Rhoads did go for the nomination in 68 but didn't get it). Most likely either JFK or LBJ would would handidly against Goldwater in 64, possibly by a landslide.
I think if LBJ were president he probably would have gotten the Civil Rights Act passed as early as autumn of 63, due to his knowledge and experience of the Senate and his persuasive powers and clout. Nixon first proposed the Civil Rights bill to Congress in May 1963 and it took him 2 years to finally get it passed and signed into law (July 3, 1965)
 
FFS. Plenty of talented, promising senators have died in their prime, LBJ just happened to be a side-character in that stupid movie...

This is blind speculation, he could have done some stuff yeah, but theres plenty of talented Senators who go no where too.


Sure it's blind speculation but I am of the inclnation that LBJ, had he lived, would have been one of the greatest senators of the 20th century ranking up there with Bob LaFollette of Wisconsin and Bob Taft of Ohio. He was that gifted, he was that talented. He probably served as Senate Majority Leader until at least the begining of 1965, whether he would have run for reelection in 66 or steped down in favor of John Connally (providing he wasn't junior senator at that point), or even perhaps stayed on as senator until his death sometime during the 1970's is, of course, unknowable but it still is interesting to wonder. At any rate he still would have accomplish great things in the Senate had he live, that I'm pretty sure of.
 
OOC Post:

I’ve enjoyed responding to this post, so I came up with a short timeline based on what I’ve posted before and then expanding it (mostly focuses on American politics and history, sorry to exclude much of the rest of the world). This is just a quick one for fun, as I stop around the late 80s:

1960 Election:

Nixon/Lodge defeats Kennedy/Symington in the US Presidential election.
Electoral Vote Count: 278 to 250 (with still 9 unpledged and faithless electors) (I had Texas, Illinois & South Carolina go to the Republicans and gave Mississippi back to the Democrats.)

1961:

Nixon backs the Bay of Pigs invasion with air support and Castro is overthrown. This move is condemned by much of South & Central America, as well as the Soviet bloc.

The Cold War gets colder – No Test Ban Treaty and above ground weapons testing continues until the mid 70s.

The Berlin Wall Crisis takes place much as it did in OTL, and luckily a full-scale superpower war is averted.

The economy (1960s & 70s):

I have the economy doing not quite as well in the early 60s as Nixon does not cut taxes as deeply as Kennedy did. At the same time, though, given that Nixon does not escalate the Vietnam conflict as much as Johnson did, and he does not launch the War on Poverty, we do not see the economic conditions that lead to downturns in the early 70s. Instead, the economy stays at a decent level of growth until the late 70s/early 80s, when the largest downturn since the Depression takes place.

Vietnam:

Nixon does not overthrow and kill Diem in ’63. As a result, Diem remains in place as dictator of South Vietnam. With massive amounts of American aid, he retains power, killing tens of thousands of his own citizens in the process, persecuting Buddhists and keeping an iron grip on the country. The NLF insurrection never goes away, but never manages to overthrow Diem.

Nixon’s support of Diem is seen in a poor light by the left and liberals in the US, but without a great number of American troops dying over there (total American deaths in Vietnam number in the hundreds during the 60s), there is no great wellspring of American opinion against the war. The edge of the culture war that began in the late 60s is somewhere blunted, although it does still take place.

Eventually, Diem’s regime is overthrown after his death in 1981. His family flees Vietnam, their status in the world’s eyes much like that of the Marcos. The military that overthrows him attempts to have elections. The elections are inconclusive, with no clear winners, and South Vietnam breaks out into civil war in 1982. North Vietnam invades and re-unifies the country. The loss of South Vietnam, combined with the harsh economic climate of the early 80s, ends the presidency of Ted Kennedy after one term.

1964 American election:

Nixon/Lodge easily defeats Humphrey/Gore, with the Democrats winning only the South, Minnesota and a couple of other states. (JFK chose not to run, instead waiting until 1968)

1965:

Nixon signs into law the Civil Rights Act over a storm of protest from the South.

Indonesia:

General Suharto attempts to overthrow the government of Sukarno. He does not, however, have the full support of the military, and despite the deaths of one hundred thousand Indonesians he is only able to take control of parts of the country. He is ousted from Java within a year and continues his fights from bases on Sumatra and Kalimantan.

Nixon decides to full back Suharto, especially given the close relations between China and Sukarno. A large amount of aid and eventually small numbers of American forces are sent to support the would-be dictator. However, the war is not successful for Nixon as Suharto cannot gain control of the country and begins to lose what support he has. In late 1967, the number of American deaths in Indonesia passes one thousand and many begin to feel that the way was a mistake.

After Jack Kennedy’s election in 1968, American troops are slowly withdrawn from Indonesia, the last leaving in 1970. Suharto is captured and executed in ’71 and the last of his forces surrender soon after. Indonesia breaks off relations with the US and does not resume them again until after Sukarno’s death 1978.

1968 election:

The Democrats easily win this election, as Kennedy/Brown (Pat Brown, who did not lose to Ronald Reagan in ’67 ITTL) defeats Romney/Scranton.

It has been an unusual move for the Republicans to pick candidates from Pennsylvania & Michigan, but the party hoped to win key northern states while writing off the south. They did win their candidates two home states, as well as Ohio, but lost California, New York, Massachusetts, and the entire South.

1972 election:

This becomes the most lopsided election in American history. After a contentious battle in the primaries, Nelson Rockefeller manages to win the Republican nomination. This, however, alienates the conservative wing of the party, who had been backing their perennial favourite, Barry Goldwater. As a result, the conservatives don’t really back the Republicans in the election. At the same time, the continuing good economic times, as well as Kennedy’s management of foreign policy, leaves the American people little appetite for change. Rockefeller manages to win only DC, as he even loses in his home state of New York.

American relations with China:

There is no “Nixon in China” moment, and the American intervention in Indonesia leads to worsening relations with China. At the same time, a détente does occur with the Soviet Union, as Kennedy cultivates a better relationship with the Soviet Bloc. Communist China is not officially recognized by the US until 1987 by President Kemp.

1976 election:

It is widely assumed the Senator Robert Kennedy will follow his brother into the White House. And he does declare himself as a candidate. However, a number of revelations come out in January ’76 revealing problems in his marriage – this leads to the discovery of his drug use and repeated infidelity. He withdraws from the race and there is speculation he may even quit the Senate. However, he keeps his seat and is returned to the Senate until his death in 2003.

Ted Kennedy does not to enter the race and the Democratic nomination goes down to a contest between Senator Scoop Jackson and Senator Birch Bayh, a contest between the more conservative and more liberal wings of the party. Jackson wins and he goes on to win the general election.

Jackson’s term in office:

Jackson, despite being from the same party as Kennedy, pulls away from Kennedy’s foreign policy, expanding the defence budget and scaling back Kennedy’s attempts to improve relations with the Soviet Union. Some believe that this leads to a new era of Cold War confrontation, as seen in the El Salvadoran crisis of ’79, while others support his stance as one of moral fortitude. On the domestic front, there are few highlights from Jackson’s administration, as the economy continues to grow, albeit more slowly, and the rapid rise of oil prices over the decade due to the three Arab-Israeli wars leads to increases in both inflation and unemployment.

1980 election:

Jackson suffers a heart attack in November of 1979, and decides that, for health reasons, he will not run for re-election.

Ted Kennedy decides that the time is right for him to run, and he easily wins the Democratic nomination.

Many feel that the Republicans will win the election due to the slowing economy and the fact that the Democrats have held the Presidency for over a decade. However, Kennedy’s vigorous campaign helps to pull out a narrow victory. It is a pyrrhic victory, though, as Kennedy is president right at the wrong time.

Kennedy’s administration:

Kennedy scales back defence spending and attempts to implement a number of social programs, including a national childcare program. However, the almost-constant unrest in the Middle East, highlighted by three civil wars in Iran, Egypt & Lebanon, pushes the price of oil continuously up. The US falls into recession in late 1981 and it does not being to recover until 1984.

At the same time, Kennedy’s loss of South Vietnam in 1982, and his inaction during the Soviet invasion of Poland in the same year, leads to the perception of a president weak at both home and abroad. It is the end of the Kennedy dynasty and his defeat in 1984 is almost certain.

1984 election:

Kennedy survives an internal challenge in the primaries to win the Democratic nomination. Congressman Jack Kemp is the surprise nominee for the Republicans, as he manages to unite both the libertarian side of the Republican Party, as well as the traditional moderate side. He balances the ticket by selecting Senator Orrin Hatch, mostly to placate Social Conservatives within the party.

Kemp wins the election easily, even making inroads into the South. During Kemp’s term in office, he implements a number of pro-business initiatives, slashing taxes and cutting social programs. The economy booms well into the 90s.

As far as foreign policy goes, Kemp is cold to the Soviet Union, especially after their actions in Eastern Europe, but he turns American policy on its head by recognizing China in 1987.

Kemp easily wins re-election in ’88.


A fantastic scenario! My only nit is concerning JFK. By 1968 his Addison's Disease would likely have advanced to the point where a run for the presidency would be very difficult.
 
OOC Post:

I’ve enjoyed responding to this post, so I came up with a short timeline based on what I’ve posted before and then expanding it (mostly focuses on American politics and history, sorry to exclude much of the rest of the world). This is just a quick one for fun, as I stop around the late 80s:

1960 Election:

Nixon/Lodge defeats Kennedy/Symington in the US Presidential election.
Electoral Vote Count: 278 to 250 (with still 9 unpledged and faithless electors) (I had Texas, Illinois & South Carolina go to the Republicans and gave Mississippi back to the Democrats.)

1961:

Nixon backs the Bay of Pigs invasion with air support and Castro is overthrown. This move is condemned by much of South & Central America, as well as the Soviet bloc.

The Cold War gets colder – No Test Ban Treaty and above ground weapons testing continues until the mid 70s.

The Berlin Wall Crisis takes place much as it did in OTL, and luckily a full-scale superpower war is averted.

The economy (1960s & 70s):

I have the economy doing not quite as well in the early 60s as Nixon does not cut taxes as deeply as Kennedy did. At the same time, though, given that Nixon does not escalate the Vietnam conflict as much as Johnson did, and he does not launch the War on Poverty, we do not see the economic conditions that lead to downturns in the early 70s. Instead, the economy stays at a decent level of growth until the late 70s/early 80s, when the largest downturn since the Depression takes place.

Vietnam:

Nixon does not overthrow and kill Diem in ’63. As a result, Diem remains in place as dictator of South Vietnam. With massive amounts of American aid, he retains power, killing tens of thousands of his own citizens in the process, persecuting Buddhists and keeping an iron grip on the country. The NLF insurrection never goes away, but never manages to overthrow Diem.

Nixon’s support of Diem is seen in a poor light by the left and liberals in the US, but without a great number of American troops dying over there (total American deaths in Vietnam number in the hundreds during the 60s), there is no great wellspring of American opinion against the war. The edge of the culture war that began in the late 60s is somewhere blunted, although it does still take place.

Eventually, Diem’s regime is overthrown after his death in 1981. His family flees Vietnam, their status in the world’s eyes much like that of the Marcos. The military that overthrows him attempts to have elections. The elections are inconclusive, with no clear winners, and South Vietnam breaks out into civil war in 1982. North Vietnam invades and re-unifies the country. The loss of South Vietnam, combined with the harsh economic climate of the early 80s, ends the presidency of Ted Kennedy after one term.

1964 American election:

Nixon/Lodge easily defeats Humphrey/Gore, with the Democrats winning only the South, Minnesota and a couple of other states. (JFK chose not to run, instead waiting until 1968)

1965:

Nixon signs into law the Civil Rights Act over a storm of protest from the South.

Indonesia:

General Suharto attempts to overthrow the government of Sukarno. He does not, however, have the full support of the military, and despite the deaths of one hundred thousand Indonesians he is only able to take control of parts of the country. He is ousted from Java within a year and continues his fights from bases on Sumatra and Kalimantan.

Nixon decides to full back Suharto, especially given the close relations between China and Sukarno. A large amount of aid and eventually small numbers of American forces are sent to support the would-be dictator. However, the war is not successful for Nixon as Suharto cannot gain control of the country and begins to lose what support he has. In late 1967, the number of American deaths in Indonesia passes one thousand and many begin to feel that the way was a mistake.

After Jack Kennedy’s election in 1968, American troops are slowly withdrawn from Indonesia, the last leaving in 1970. Suharto is captured and executed in ’71 and the last of his forces surrender soon after. Indonesia breaks off relations with the US and does not resume them again until after Sukarno’s death 1978.

1968 election:

The Democrats easily win this election, as Kennedy/Brown (Pat Brown, who did not lose to Ronald Reagan in ’67 ITTL) defeats Romney/Scranton.

It has been an unusual move for the Republicans to pick candidates from Pennsylvania & Michigan, but the party hoped to win key northern states while writing off the south. They did win their candidates two home states, as well as Ohio, but lost California, New York, Massachusetts, and the entire South.

1972 election:

This becomes the most lopsided election in American history. After a contentious battle in the primaries, Nelson Rockefeller manages to win the Republican nomination. This, however, alienates the conservative wing of the party, who had been backing their perennial favourite, Barry Goldwater. As a result, the conservatives don’t really back the Republicans in the election. At the same time, the continuing good economic times, as well as Kennedy’s management of foreign policy, leaves the American people little appetite for change. Rockefeller manages to win only DC, as he even loses in his home state of New York.

American relations with China:

There is no “Nixon in China” moment, and the American intervention in Indonesia leads to worsening relations with China. At the same time, a détente does occur with the Soviet Union, as Kennedy cultivates a better relationship with the Soviet Bloc. Communist China is not officially recognized by the US until 1987 by President Kemp.

1976 election:

It is widely assumed the Senator Robert Kennedy will follow his brother into the White House. And he does declare himself as a candidate. However, a number of revelations come out in January ’76 revealing problems in his marriage – this leads to the discovery of his drug use and repeated infidelity. He withdraws from the race and there is speculation he may even quit the Senate. However, he keeps his seat and is returned to the Senate until his death in 2003.

Ted Kennedy does not to enter the race and the Democratic nomination goes down to a contest between Senator Scoop Jackson and Senator Birch Bayh, a contest between the more conservative and more liberal wings of the party. Jackson wins and he goes on to win the general election.

Jackson’s term in office:

Jackson, despite being from the same party as Kennedy, pulls away from Kennedy’s foreign policy, expanding the defence budget and scaling back Kennedy’s attempts to improve relations with the Soviet Union. Some believe that this leads to a new era of Cold War confrontation, as seen in the El Salvadoran crisis of ’79, while others support his stance as one of moral fortitude. On the domestic front, there are few highlights from Jackson’s administration, as the economy continues to grow, albeit more slowly, and the rapid rise of oil prices over the decade due to the three Arab-Israeli wars leads to increases in both inflation and unemployment.

1980 election:

Jackson suffers a heart attack in November of 1979, and decides that, for health reasons, he will not run for re-election.

Ted Kennedy decides that the time is right for him to run, and he easily wins the Democratic nomination.

Many feel that the Republicans will win the election due to the slowing economy and the fact that the Democrats have held the Presidency for over a decade. However, Kennedy’s vigorous campaign helps to pull out a narrow victory. It is a pyrrhic victory, though, as Kennedy is president right at the wrong time.

Kennedy’s administration:

Kennedy scales back defence spending and attempts to implement a number of social programs, including a national childcare program. However, the almost-constant unrest in the Middle East, highlighted by three civil wars in Iran, Egypt & Lebanon, pushes the price of oil continuously up. The US falls into recession in late 1981 and it does not being to recover until 1984.

At the same time, Kennedy’s loss of South Vietnam in 1982, and his inaction during the Soviet invasion of Poland in the same year, leads to the perception of a president weak at both home and abroad. It is the end of the Kennedy dynasty and his defeat in 1984 is almost certain.

1984 election:

Kennedy survives an internal challenge in the primaries to win the Democratic nomination. Congressman Jack Kemp is the surprise nominee for the Republicans, as he manages to unite both the libertarian side of the Republican Party, as well as the traditional moderate side. He balances the ticket by selecting Senator Orrin Hatch, mostly to placate Social Conservatives within the party.

Kemp wins the election easily, even making inroads into the South. During Kemp’s term in office, he implements a number of pro-business initiatives, slashing taxes and cutting social programs. The economy booms well into the 90s.

As far as foreign policy goes, Kemp is cold to the Soviet Union, especially after their actions in Eastern Europe, but he turns American policy on its head by recognizing China in 1987.

Kemp easily wins re-election in ’88.

Interesting and immagitive story but there a few pet peeves that need pointng out:
Ngo Diem and his brother Ngo Nhu in power in South Vietnam until 1981; Give me a break! All the king's horses and all the king's men couldn't prop up the 2 brothers beyond 1965 the latest. The longer the Ngo brothers are in power beyond 1963 the stronger the Viet Cong becomes and the more ground they gain. They will eventually be deposed or assassinated, with or without Nixon's approval. That's an unavoidable inevitability. Also, why would Bobby Kennedy run for senator of NY in 64 if his brother John wasn't elected President in 1960 and he wasn't AG for 3.5 years previously? Most likely he would continue to serve as legal council in D.C or go into the private practice as attorney. He probably reestablish permanent residency in Massachussetts and wait for the next political window of opportunity there. Probably run for state AG, Governor in 64 or 66, or for Senator in 66. Better yet he's elected Governor in 66 and his brother Ted (who probably served in House of Reps in JFK's old congressional seat) narrowly defeats Edward Brooke for Senator giving Massachussetts a double Kennedy Victory.
 
Well, perhaps if Johnson had been around to be Kennedy's VP, JFK might have been president 8 years earlier instead of losing to Nixon in '60. Symington was the best choice, of course, for a balance of both experience and regional makeup, but Johnson definitely would have given Kennedy Texas and maybe even another state or two in the South (don't know about Illinois, though, although it was so close.)

Would Johnson have accepted the VP nod? I don't know. Kennedy was young and Johnson might have worried that sitting on the sidelines until '68 wasn't the best idea. And then there's the issue of Bobby and Teddy Kennedy waiting in the wings for their attempted dynasty of the 70s and 80s. Could Johnson have prevented all that by being VP and taking over from Jack in '68? Or would he have gone down to the Kennedy machine?

Kennedy could have picked Senator Price Daniel (1953-1965) or Governor Ralph Yarborough (1957-63, Senator 1963-73) as VP pick and would have certainly carried Texas. I Just don't think it woild have worked if he had picked Senator John Connally(1956-63) being that he was the same age as JFK and would have been veiwed as relatively inexperienced.
 
Top