"For The Good of the Party..."

WI Carter pulled a Lyndon Johnson and decided not to run for reelection in 1980? Would Mondale have picked Ted Kennedy as his running mate?

ABC News Nightline, Ted Koppel Reporting:

"Good evening. For several weeks now there has been speculation that President Carter would not run for a second term and tonight he has made it official: faced, as he himself said, with plummeting approval ratings over the economy and the hostage crisis, President Carter announced from the White House that he would not run for reelection. This leaves the field open to his natural successor, Vice President Mondale, but also to his rival for the nomination, Ted Kennedy. Mondale has stated that he will carry on the earlier message of the Carter campaign, while for his part Kennedy was unusually guarded, as if biding his time while he contemplated his own strategy..."
 
WI Carter pulled a Lyndon Johnson and decided not to run for reelection in 1980? Would Mondale have picked Ted Kennedy as his running mate?

ABC News Nightline, Ted Koppel Reporting:

"Good evening. For several weeks now there has been speculation that President Carter would not run for a second term and tonight he has made it official: faced, as he himself said, with plummeting approval ratings over the economy and the hostage crisis, President Carter announced from the White House that he would not run for reelection. This leaves the field open to his natural successor, Vice President Mondale, but also to his rival for the nomination, Ted Kennedy. Mondale has stated that he will carry on the earlier message of the Carter campaign, while for his part Kennedy was unusually guarded, as if biding his time while he contemplated his own strategy..."

ASB. This suggests Teddy accepts being #2 at that age.
 
ASB. First of all, Ted would still lose to Reagan, secondly Carter would never do that. One forgets that RFK had 50-50 odds or higher of beating Nixon and was a much more formidable nominee than LBJ. Carter, despite his woes, is much better suited to take on Reagan, while Ted can be painted as a stereotypical liberal. Thirdly, Carter would not withdraw if only to spite Ted. This was as much an ideological than a personal war, more so than '68 or '48.
 
I don't see this happening. Carter lead the election up until the debates as it was, so why would he suddenly bolt out of the race for the (likely) weaker candidate in Mondale or Kennedy?
 
Top