Gov. Richard Nixon (R-CA)

Let's say that Nixon pulls off a squeaker against Pat Brown in 1962 and becomes Governor of California. How does this affect Nixon's political prospects? He will be re-elected by a blowout margin in 1966, and thus becomes the leading GOP candidtae for '68. Let's assume that the national political scene goes the same as OTL for the sake of discussion.
 
Let's say that Nixon pulls off a squeaker against Pat Brown in 1962 and becomes Governor of California. How does this affect Nixon's political prospects? He will be re-elected by a blowout margin in 1966, and thus becomes the leading GOP candidtae for '68. Let's assume that the national political scene goes the same as OTL for the sake of discussion.

If Nixon is having a better time of things between 1960 and 1968, he may be rather less paranoid by 1972, possibly butterflying away Watergate.
 
I don't think it butterflies Watergate: Nixon's only mistake was being caught doing something that was a bipartisan staple until that point. But yes, he'll probably be less paranoid and insecure. Keep in mind a secure Nixon would never be elected POTUS.
 
I don't think it butterflies Watergate: Nixon's only mistake was being caught doing something that was a bipartisan staple until that point. But yes, he'll probably be less paranoid and insecure. Keep in mind a secure Nixon would never be elected POTUS.

I'm not true that a more secure Nixon that late in his career can't be POTUS.
 
He can be more secure, but not completely secure. In any case, my point is that the only mistake Nixon made with Watergate was getting caught in something that was bipartisan SOP until that point.
 
He can be more secure, but not completely secure. In any case, my point is that the only mistake Nixon made with Watergate was getting caught in something that was bipartisan SOP until that point.

You're right. His problem was getting caught. Things had changed since the Kennedy years, and the fact was realized far too late. Nonetheless, a Richard Nixon more secure in his career tajectory has far less of a reason to spy on the other party.
 
I don't think it butterflies Watergate: Nixon's only mistake was being caught doing something that was a bipartisan staple until that point. But yes, he'll probably be less paranoid and insecure. Keep in mind a secure Nixon would never be elected POTUS.
RogueBeaver

OK. This is NOT an accusation. YOU WOULD KNOW THIS, I WOULD NOT. So many have said that his only mistake was getting caught. That it was all SOP. The Kennedy's were far worse. OK. I can accept that, up to a point. But please inform me, beacause I DON'T know this. When in the past have sitting Presidents used privative and White House personnel to bug the National Headquarters of the opposition party? I'm not saying it didn't happen, I'd just like to know when it did.
 
You're right. His problem was getting caught. Things had changed since the Kennedy years, and the fact was realized far too late. Nonetheless, a Richard Nixon more secure in his career tajectory has far less of a reason to spy on the other party.


Even if NIXON had been doing nothing at all, there were far too many people in the West Wing who would have been doing such things as a matter of course. Can you imagine an older Karl Rove in that environment pre-Watergate? Actually, they had one. John Mitchell. He got involved with dirty tricks as early as the summer of 1969! Now that I think of it though, I don't recall any stories of dirty tricks in Nixon's 1968 campaign. True? False?
 
If you remember, the last wiretapping blowup occurred in Oregon in May '68- the MLK wiretapping. RFK snapped at a reporter who had the temerity to ask: "National security, and that's all the answer you're gonna get!" Didn't hurt him in CA politically, did it? Nixon didn't have that Teflon quality, nor could he claim that Larry O'Brien was consorting with Commies. But he'd do well to follow Kennedy's advice: "never write (record) it down".
 
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Even if NIXON had been doing nothing at all, there were far too many people in the West Wing who would have been doing such things as a matter of course. Can you imagine an older Karl Rove in that environment pre-Watergate? Actually, they had one. John Mitchell. He got involved with dirty tricks as early as the summer of 1969! Now that I think of it though, I don't recall any stories of dirty tricks in Nixon's 1968 campaign. True? False?

You forgot the biggest dirty trick of all: the Chennault affair. :p
 
I'm surprised nobody is bringing up the biggest implication: the forestalling of Ronald Reagan's career.

Let's say that Nixon runs for, and wins, reelection in 1966. If he then wins the presidency in '68, his Lt. Governor succeeds him. This would likely be George Christopher (R), the former SF mayor, who just barely lost the Lt. Governor's race in '62.

Reagan might run in '70, but he'd be facing an incumbent in the primary and he wouldn't be able to capture the anti-Great Society/anti-Pat Brown zeitgeist sweeping California in 1966. Most likely it's a Christopher (R) vs. Unruh (D) matchup in 1970.

If Unruh wins, he delays Jerry Brown's career and could end up being a serious contender for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1976, quite possibly winning post-Watergate. Maybe we wind up with something like this?

37. Richard M. Nixon (R - 1969-1974)
38. Gerald R. Ford (R - 1974-1977)
39. Jesse Unruh (D - 1977-1985)
40. George H.W. Bush (R - 1981-1989)
41. Pete Domenici (R - 1989-1993)
42. Bill Clinton (D - 1993-2001)
43. George W. Bush (2001-2009)
44. Barack Obama (2009-?)

Of course, it's possible that no Reagan and an Unruh presidency could produce ripple effects that produce a completely different cast of pols today.
 
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