Eisenhower doesn't run for POTUS?

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Deleted member 1487

What if Eisenhower, who had a history of health issues, opts not to run for POTUS in 1952 due to increased heart trouble? Would Taft win the nomination? Would Stevenson with the general? How would either govern?
 
Without Eisenhower entering the race, Taft would probably win the nomination; Stevenson would have a much better shot at winning through.
 

Deleted member 1487

Without Eisenhower entering the race, Taft would probably win the nomination; Stevenson would have a much better shot at winning through.
Any idea what a Stevenson presidency would look like?
 
is Ike doesn't run then Taft would almost certainly be the nominee, and Stevenson would probably win the election

a Stevenson presidency would probably see the New Deal enhanced a little more, perhaps a shift towards some form of Medicare/Medicaid
if Stevenson won a second term (likely) then perhaps a stronger push towards civil rights

alternatively without Ike its possible the liberal wing of the GOP would unite around another candidate, maybe Earl Warren, Stassen, or possibly (albeit unlikely) Dewey again.
 
I think Taft wins narrowly. There is still corruption, Communism and Korea. When he dies on July 31, 1953, his Eastern moderate Vice President, someone on AH.com said it would be Alfred Driecol, the the.Governor of New Jerseyy, would govern as Eisenhower did.
 
Possibly no Operation Ajax, but instead an attempt to mediate the disagreement between Britain and Iran, which might move Iran into the US's sphere, but at a cost of slightly cooled relations between Britain and the US.
 
Possibly no Operation Ajax, but instead an attempt to mediate the disagreement between Britain and Iran, which might move Iran into the US's sphere, but at a cost of slightly cooled relations between Britain and the US.
So essentially Suez Crisis 2.0?
 
Taft wouldn't win in a landslide, but I think he could beat Stevenson. He won his Ohio Senate seat in a landslide, because he managed to actually become popular among the rank-and-file members of organized labor and because he was a skilled politician. He'd be able to get votes from Southern whites but also probably cut into the black vote (he was more liberal on civil rights than the hyper-cautious Eisenhower)
 
The big question is, who is Taft's running mate? Someone associated with the liberal wing of the party no doubt. Dewey wouldn't agree to it; I doubt Stassen, the probable runner up to Taft without Eisenhower, would be chosen.
 

Deleted member 1487

Well the Suez Crisis came afterwards, so it can't be 2.0, but it might lead to a gradual cooling of relations, yes. I wonder how this will affect de Gaulle's 'no' vote to Britain in the EU.
Stronger Europe, weaker US-NATO relations?
 

bguy

Donor
Who then would be Taft's vice president?

James Patterson's biography says Taft favored either Everett Dirksen or William Knowland for his veep. Of those two Knowland probably makes more sense since he provides some geographic balance to the ticket. Knowland was also closely aligned with Earl Warren at this point (OTL Knowland backed Warren's candidacy in 1952), so selecting Knowland is a good way to mend fences with Earl Warren (who is likely Taft's principal opponent for the nomination if Eisenhower doesn't run.)

As for a Knowland presidency, he was very pro-Taiwan, so we will probably see the US act much more aggressively against Communist China. (Maybe the US launches air strikes if the Communists still shell Quemoy and Matsu ITTL.) During the Suez crisis OTL Knowland basically sided with Britain, France, and Israel (or at least he wanted to require any UN sanctions applied against them to withdraw from Egypt to be matched by equal sanctions on the Soviet Union to withdraw from Hungary), so if a Suez equivalent happens ITTL, we probably don't see the US pressuring Britain and France to withdraw. And Knowland eventually came around to supporting civil rights legislation, so we'll probably see some sort of push for that, though I doubt he will be any more successful than Eisenhower in getting major legislation enacted.
 
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