DBWI: Which Kennedy Had The Best Chance For The Presidency?

The Kennedy family is one of the most important and influencial political families in American politics, at least for the Democrats, so I find it somewhat odd that none of them ever became President, even though all four of the original Brothers ran for it at one point.

Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. ran for the presidency in 1960, but lost the nomination to Hubert Humphrey after he got caught saying a anti-semetic slur on national television.

John F. Kennedy ran for President in 1968, and likely would have gotten the nomination if he hadn't been assassinated before the convention.

Robert F. Kennedy became the first Kennedy to get his hands on the nomination in 1976, but lost by narrow margins to Ronald Reagan. This race still remains controversial.

Edward 'Ted' Kennedy is the only Kennedy to run for the nomination twice, in 1984 and 1988. He lost the nomination in 1984 to Gary Hart, but managed to take it away from incumbent President Hart after the sex scandal broke out. Like RFK he would lose narrowly to Richard Schweiker.

So, of the four of them, which one would have the best chance to be elected President?
 

Wolfpaw

Banned
RogueBeaver's gonna love this one. :D

As a side note, you're gonna have to tell us what each of the brothers' positions were. For example, with JPK still alive, JFK probably won't be senator. With him not being a senator, whose position does Ted succeed to if he goes into politics at all? And what's RFK's story?
 
RogueBeaver's gonna love this one. :D

As a side note, you're gonna have to tell us what each of the brothers' positions were. For example, with JPK still alive, JFK probably won't be senator. With him not being a senator, whose position does Ted succeed to if he goes into politics at all? And what's RFK's story?

OOC: Indeed he will. :p

And I sort of knew that, but I thought it might be better if someone else came up with postions for each of them, someone with a better idea of American politics. :)

Besides, I didn't want to come up with all of the information.
 
I don't see John achieving the Presidency. He was far too much a rowdy playboy with little care for responsibility, and his only real experience before a scant two years in the governorship was heading the Saturday Evening Post. Did he save it from going under, sure, but that and a few years as governor of Massachusetts a President does not make. Really, the whole Draft Kennedy campaign was daft and the idea he could have gotten the nomination are all hippie-Liberal lore.
 
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Germaniac

Donor
OOC: JFK will stick to his congressional seat, lets say Joseph gives up his senate seat after the loss, feeling like a failure (the only way to really explain why he didn't run again...), JFK takes the seat. JFK killed, Joe runs for gov spot and edward takes the Vacant senate seat. Robert who ran Joe's campaign, moved to New York to work for a Big Law office in the City. He Runs and wins the New York Senate seat in 1970. He runs for office in 76', looses...

Robert Kennedy and Edward Kennedy work together in the Senate until 2006, at the age of 81, Robert Kennedy suffers a stroke and retires from the Senate. He dies a year later. Teddy continues until 2008 when it is announced he has a Brain tumor and eventually looses a battle after a year. He dies in august of 2009.
 
OOC: JFK will stick to his congressional seat, lets say Joseph gives up his senate seat after the loss, feeling like a failure (the only way to really explain why he didn't run again...), JFK takes the seat. JFK killed, Joe runs for gov spot and edward takes the Vacant senate seat. Robert who ran Joe's campaign, moved to New York to work for a Big Law office in the City. He Runs and wins the New York Senate seat in 1970. He runs for office in 76', looses...

Robert Kennedy and Edward Kennedy work together in the Senate until 2006, at the age of 81, Robert Kennedy suffers a stroke and retires from the Senate. He dies a year later. Teddy continues until 2008 when it is announced he has a Brain tumor and eventually looses a battle after a year. He dies in august of 2009.

OOC:I like this, but we would have to find a way to make it work with what EMPNRTNI has already said. Possibly we could have JFK being a reckless playboy senator instead of a reckless playboy governor?
 
OOC:

John wouldn't even likely enter politics if JPK Jr. lives. In the OTL, it was Jr who was to lead the family into political glory, and John was allowed to be in his father's blindspot in that area. So John was allowed to be a rowdy playboy prankster all he liked. When Jr was killed, the mantel was thrust upon Jack and he pursued it accordingly and toned gave up (most of) his previous behavior. If Jr isn't killed, there's no reason for Jack to go into politics. That's why I made him a two year governor, since I think that's the minimum needed to run for President, and my hand was forced by him running for President in the OP to at least do the minimum. More realistically, he'd probably be in the House or a state senator or something small time like that, I think. Totally realistically, he'd never become a politician.

JPK Jr will probably follow Jack's OTL path or something similar to the Senate or Governorship, and will stand in for Jack in a timeline where he lives (albeit he'd have a different personality).

Robert was always out of his father's political spotlight. But he was exceedingly loyal, and that's what thrust him into politics to start with. But, I'm not sure he'll run unless appointed to a position under one of his brothers to begin with.
 
OOC: Ah yes, I was just perusing some primary source material today. :cool: In essence, Norton is correct, but there are some things that have to be clarified.

I) Each brother followed a fallen brother: Jack initially went in as Joe Jr.'s placeholder, Bobby as Jack's, and Ted's as Bobby's. Since they were all very different personalities, that didn't work out, but it took differing amounts of time for each to create their own persona. This is most evident if you watch their speeches or campaign appearances. RFK reminds me of a certain eminent Irish-Canadian of his father's generation in speaking style.

II) Though this isn't well-known, Bobby was approached to run for a Connecticut congressional seat (after all, Ethel was from Greenwich) in 1950 and the MA AG's office in 1956. While relentlessly single-minded (Nixon thought him the smartest of the three), devious and free of personal issues (the only brother without marital issues), he wasn't a natural politician in the sense of being Blair-smooth.

III) Ted is the parliamentarian: the man who knows the rules inside-out, an expert on parliamentary procedure, and clubbable. In other words, an Eastern Lyndon Johnson. That's why LBJ liked Ted the best of all three brothers.
 
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