What if John F. Kennedy Jr. hadn't been killed in a plane crash? Would he have followed in his father's footsteps by pursuing a career in politics and perhaps even make a run for president?
Does he survive the crash? If his wife and her sister do not, he's very much damaged goods. Then again his uncle killed a girl and still made Senator.What if John F. Kennedy Jr. hadn't been killed in a plane crash?
I see it as less of a possibility if Sr. had lived. The Kennedy legacy would not have been what it is. Jack Sr. Would have had to deal with a seriously fractured Democratic party which likely would have meant he would have failed to pass the Civil Rights Act and would have likely been remembered as a do-nothing president. Perhaps his hesitation to go to Vietnam would have made him also be remembered as the President who didn't do enough to combat the spread of Communism. Also to wonder is whether or not his numerous affairs would have come into light and hurt his personal standing. In my opinion, him living would have tainted a Kennedy legacy and may have deterred Jack Jr. from getting into politics. But hey, all we can do is speculate.
Perhaps his hesitation to go to Vietnam...
This myth really should have been killed off long ago. In Kennedy's very first speech as president he committed the US to supporting President Diem of South Vietnam; when Kennedy was sworn in, there were 900 US military advisors in South Vietnam, within two years he had boosted the US presence in the country to over 12,000. Johnson inherited Kennedy's cabinet and National Security advisors, making no changes and followed their advice completely - it is extremely unlikely that Kennedy, who was far more interested in foreign policy (particularly the spread of Communism) than Johnson (who was an entirely domestic president) would have acted differently with regard to Vietnam than LBJ did.
Anyway, this thread is about JFK Jr, not JFK Snr.
This myth really should have been killed off long ago.
It's like the "jet fuel can't melt steel beams!" claim-it cannot die, ever.
I don't think he would have run for governor in 2002. I would imagine him running for a House seat in 2002 or 2004, then Senate in 2006 or 2012.The question of whether JFK, Sr. would have escalated Vietnam is an interesting one--see Was Kennedy Planning to Intervene in Vietnam? for why I find the argument that he would not have, though hardly proven, more plausible than some people here do--but we are talking about JFK, Jr.
And as to the latter's political future: "Ted Kennedy believed that politics were John's destiny, and urged him to run for several offices. By the summer of 1999, Ted believed that the best chance to return a Kennedy to the White House would be for John to run for Governor of New York in 2002." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_F._Kennedy_Jr.#Personal_life If he does that, however, I think Pataki beats him soundly, and not just because 2002 was a Republican year.
Christ, I mean - who comes up with stupid shit like that? Never mind Jet fuel - I've watched structural I beams bend in a diesel fire! Somewhere out there are a bunch of modern-day cloistered monks on the internet, imagining new (and even stupider) goose barnacle stories.
Having him die in that plane crash saved a lot of lives with the safety measures that got put into place/more public notice to pilot training.
Let's assume he gets into the crash as happened OTL, but he recovers instead.
Let's assume he gets into the crash as happened OTL, but he recovers instead.
All the training in the world won't save a pilot without IFR expertise who flies outside VFR conditions.Having him die in that plane crash saved a lot of lives with the safety measures that got put into place/more public notice to pilot training.
Was his aircraft so equipped? A brief Google search suggests that autopilot function is a more recent option for the Piper PA-32R.The sad thing is that the whole thing could have been avoided had he used the autopilot the plane, a Piper Saratoga, was equipped with. Why he didn't isn't known and to me, that remains the enduring mystery of the whole accident.