Kennedy's post-Presidential career

[HammerofWar]

I've heard what people think Kennedy would do if he weren't assassinated, but I wonder what he would do after.

Assume he serves only the one term or both both if you want. What does he do after the Presidency? Does he stay in politics? Write books? Raise his family?

 

[Lalli]

Probably writes memoirs and is dealing with family issues. Might try help his brothers on politics.

 

[brunohusker]

I'm guessing he is a writer. Maybe he's also a kind of guest columnist for the Boston Globe or New York Times. He also might be more into raising his family. Apparently Jackie had a miscarriage and he tried to be closer to her but that might be a myth.

 

[marktaha]

In poor health. Assuming lived on - back to Senate?

 

[1940LaSalle]

In poor health. Assuming lived on - back to Senate?

A lot depends on the '64 election and who his opponent is. If it's Goldwater, chances are Kennedy serves two terms; if Bill Scranton or another moderate Republican, he might well lose.

If Kennedy loses, my sense is things could fall apart. Jackie might decide she's had enough of his flings and sue for divorce, taking the kids. Kennedy himself might well move to California and re-establish himself for a while until his health fails.

If he wins he assumes something of elder statesman status with possibly a network news gig as a pundit/analyst. No columnist work, though, unless he can get it ghost written. He might live somewhat longer--maybe to age 70.

 

[Amadeus]

A lot depends on the '64 election and who his opponent is. If it's Goldwater, chances are Kennedy serves two terms; if Bill Scranton or another moderate Republican, he might well lose.

I doubt that. JFK had the highest average approval ratings of any post WWII President and in 1964 he would be able to run on peace and prosperity. Even if the GOP nominates a moderate, they are likely to lose to Kennedy. JFK could only lose if his affairs are revealed to the public (highly unlikely since the press only started doing this to politicians in 1987) and if there is a major domestic or foreign policy blunder. Since neither of these developments are likely, Kennedy would have defeated any Republican candidate in 1964.

 

[Nürnberger]

There was a TL(sadly don't remember it's name) in wich Kennedy lived, only to father a lovechild with one of his mistresses, the whole thing became public, along with the fact that he had put pressure on her to convince her to have an abortion, it has gotten so bad that his entire public image was shattered in less than a year(I think Jackie even divorced him, though I don't remember that for sure) and he alienated all of his former base including catholics, causing Goldwater to win in '64- only to have his own presidency started with a tragedy- during his innaguration there was a mass protest in DC because of his anti-Civil Rights views, initially the Police was ordered not to suppress it(because of a personal friendship of Kennedy and Goldwater and Kennedy not wanting to have his friend's term of his own to start with a violent crackdown on protestors) but it actually made everything way worse as the whole thing quickly spiralled out of control and became violent, causing to, if I'm correct, ~200 people to get killed, ITTL this event recieved the name "Washinghton massacre"

Sadly after that TL was abandoned by it's author but judging by that things were shaping up to get really dystopian ITTL

Would also love to read any TL that avoids the clishé of everything going better after Kennedy's survival, if you know any please reccomend them to me!

 

[Deleted member 140587]

Following his presidency, JFK was probably going to do what he wanted to do in the first place: writing. I'd imagine the Seventies would likely see JFK publish memoirs of his Presidency, how he handled the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Civil Rights Act, and the escalation of Vietnam. It's highly possible that he might buy the Boston Globe and try to turn it into a world class paper (like the New York Times). That would be a useful tool in maintaining his image following his Presidency and for if his brothers tried to make the plunge in subsequent years (I can imagine Bobby going for it in '76 or '80).

I don't see JFK and Jackie divorcing. Following the death of their son, Patrick, the two had grown much closer and JFK and Jackie, whilst they did have their ups and downs, did genuinely love one another. I'd imagine they might also have another child or two. Jackie was only 34 when JFK got shot, so it's not totally out of the question.

As for where the Kennedys would live, I'd imagine a penthouse somewhere in uptown Manhattan for most of the year, whilst still summering at the Kennedy Compound in Hyannis Port. There was also some talk of JFK renting an apartment at Chatsworth House in England or at the very least spending more time there after his Presidency, which would make sense due to his Anglophilia, his spending time there in his youth, and to it being where his sister was buried.

 

[marktaha]

A lot depends on the '64 election and who his opponent is. If it's Goldwater, chances are Kennedy serves two terms; if Bill Scranton or another moderate Republican, he might well lose.

If Kennedy loses, my sense is things could fall apart. Jackie might decide she's had enough of his flings and sue for divorce, taking the kids. Kennedy himself might well move to California and re-establish himself for a while until his health fails.

If he wins he assumes something of elder statesman status with possibly a network news gig as a pundit/analyst. No columnist work, though, unless he can get it ghost written. He might live somewhat longer--maybe to age 70.

Goldwater pretty sure nominee. Nomination of anyone else would have led to Wallace as third party candidate.

 

[Amadeus]

JFK probably retires to the Kennedy compound in Massachusetts and writes his memoirs. I believe in the Schlesinger book A Thousand Days it says that JFK talked about going into publishing or maybe returning to Congress like John Quincy Adams. I think the former is more likely. As @Gracchus Tiberius mentioned, Kennedy could use his family fortune to buy the Boston Globe sometime in the 1970s.

However, by his mid 50s I think JFK's health would deteriorate due to Addison's Disease. Today, the mean life expectancy for men with Addison's is 65. Given that Kennedy had other health problems, but at the same time had the best doctors, it's difficult to tell how long he would have lived. I think he'd at least live past his 60th birthday. But I think living to 70 is less likely. Regardless, Kennedy most likely has a productive post-Presidential career unless he bungles Vietnam as Johnson did and leaves office in disgrace.

 

[GrandMaster]

Given his popularity upon his death in 1963 (which, mind you, was the year before a Presidential election), he most likely would have been re-elected in 1964, causing him to leave office in 1969. He also had Addison's disease, and the average male lifespan for someone with that condition is 64.8 years, so he would have died in either 1981 (at age 64) or 1982 (at age 65). During that time, he would foster his son John F. Kennedy's political career, as well as support the political careers of his two brothers, Robert F. Kennedy and Ted Kennedy. The 1970's would see RFK be elected to President, with George Wallace or George Smathers as his Vice President, and, as the 1980's rolls around, Ted Kennedy is chosen to be Vice President by a Democratic Presidential nominee.

 

[GuildedAgeNostalgia]

I doubt that. JFK had the highest average approval ratings of any post WWII President and in 1964 he would be able to run on peace and prosperity. Even if the GOP nominates a moderate, they are likely to lose to Kennedy. JFK could only lose if his affairs are revealed to the public (highly unlikely since the press only started doing this to politicians in 1987) and if there is a major domestic or foreign policy blunder. Since neither of these developments are likely, Kennedy would have defeated any Republican candidate in 1964.

Mehh, how much of that approval rating was a temporary unify behind the president during a National crisis (Cuba)? Bush Jr. Had the same thing. It wore off.

 

[Amadeus]

Mehh, how much of that approval rating was a temporary unify behind the president during a National crisis (Cuba)? Bush Jr. Had the same thing. It wore off.

He had consistently high ratings for over a year after the Missile Crisis and throughout his entire Presidency. And although GWB's popularity declined by 2004, he was still re-elected. I find it hard to believe that someone like Bill Scranton, who would never be able to match Kennedy's charisma and who had only been Governor of Pennsylvania for a year, would defeat a popular incumbent during a time of peace and prosperity. He would have the same chance of beating JFK that Walter Mondale had when he ran against Reagan in 1984. (By that I don't mean that Kennedy would win by the same margin - he wouldn't. But there is no reason to think he would lose).

 

[GeographyDude]

Any chance he’d pull a Jimmy Carter . . . and go into international humanitarian and/or economic development?

 

[Deleted member 140587]

Any chance he’d pull a Jimmy Carter . . . and go into international humanitarian and/or economic development?

Eh... I don't think so.

Carter's humanitarianism was very much borne out of his born-again Christian beliefs and due to fact that he grew up poor in rural Georgia. JFK was neither of those things. That's not to say he wasn't religious or didn't have sympathy for poor people, but I don't see him going the same route as Carter did.

 

[brunohusker]

There was a TL(sadly don't remember it's name) in wich Kennedy lived, only to father a lovechild with one of his mistresses, the whole thing became public, along with the fact that he had put pressure on her to convince her to have an abortion, it has gotten so bad that his entire public image was shattered in less than a year(I think Jackie even divorced him, though I don't remember that for sure) and he alienated all of his former base including catholics, causing Goldwater to win in '64- only to have his own presidency started with a tragedy- during his innaguration there was a mass protest in DC because of his anti-Civil Rights views, initially the Police was ordered not to suppress it(because of a personal friendship of Kennedy and Goldwater and Kennedy not wanting to have his friend's term of his own to start with a violent crackdown on protestors) but it actually made everything way worse as the whole thing quickly spiralled out of control and became violent, causing to, if I'm correct, ~200 people to get killed, ITTL this event recieved the name "Washinghton massacre"

Sadly after that TL was abandoned by it's author but judging by that things were shaping up to get really dystopian ITTL

Would also love to read any TL that avoids the clishé of everything going better after Kennedy's survival, if you know any please reccomend them to me!

I’d love to see such a timeline myself. I wonder how things would turnout for Goldwater and other political figures. Not to mention does this entail other pols not even having careers?

 

[Hcira1]

Just as a side note about the discussion surrounding Goldwater in this thread. He was not "anti civil rights". In fact, it might surprise you to know that he was a founding member of the Arizona NAACP. Goldwater was actually very against segregation, what he objected to (according to the man himself) was the provision making it illegal for private businesses to choose who they do business with. Now, I personally disagree with him on that for obvious reasons. I think if you take that section out of the civil rights act, that desegregation does still happen, but it would take years longer for it to move down from the government and for all of society to truly desegregate. However that does not mean he was anti-civil rights. Another interesting thing is Barry Goldwater was also pro-choice. At the time, yes, he was the arch conservative for the GOP, but this was before the rise of the religious right and the folding in of the southern democrats into the party. Barry Goldwater's conservatism was about individualism, capitalism, and anti-communism, not social wedge issues and religion.

 

[Emperor Norton I]

He'd become a sexier Nixon: a writer, a speaker, a go-to intellectual and an elder statesman in the party. Even with his diseases, I would argue Kennedy could live into the 1980s easily. His diseases were existent but by 1963 his health was also under control.

The politics of the period are an open question. If you see a president RFK, that Robert Kennedy will be different. He will never have been tempered and matured by tragedy and forging his own path. As RFK's initial run for senate showed, he was not a born politician and had to make himself one. He may do so or may not; don't expect OTL RFK in any event. JFK may have thought Bobby could be the person to succeed him. However I may lean towards Ted Kennedy being more likely. Not in 1968 but perhaps later. Debateably 1972 at the earliest.

The easy answer would be Humphrey in 1968. Johnson would get stepped over if Kennedy had anything to say about it. But you open up a lot of wild cards based on a basic framework of assumptions we can make, but with all variables as possible. For want of a nail, John Glenn would have been a senator after 1964. Google it. Which opens him as a possibility too. The Kennedys would have liked Glenn to have been in politics and were the ones who suggested he run, and he was going to before a health issue.

The Republican side is a very interesting possibility. Nixon very well could have stayed out of elected politics. Before the assassination put a bug in his ear about "you should run again", he was happy to not run again and live as he was as a very respected private citizen and party elder. And there were a lot of interesting Republicans. I lean towards Romney personally. But who knows. Reagan is possible but I don't know how well a charismatic Goldwater Junior plays in the timeline. He plays well to a Republican party sick of Kennedyism but he is not necessarily going to play well to the mainstream. This was also not the "there you go again", "oh jee whiz, mommy" Reagan. This was a recently elected Firebrand-Conservative Reagan.

 

[Emperor Norton I]

I think the pivotal question for a 1960s political history is how and in what ways does Liberalism defend itself against Conservatism. That is dependent on the scenario that proceeds from the POD.

Politically, the course of the GOP is also always do they fight the currents or go with the currents to win? The Republicans have always based themselves on that question since Hoover. They either accommodate and adapt the status quo or lead an insurrection against it. It is either "we like these things and will do them better" or "we loath these things and will get rid of them". Or ideally they get away with both. Nixon meant both. Reagan meant both. They could appeal to the traditional Democratic base while also fighting old Democratic standbys in policy.

In 1968, Romney would be accommodation. Reagan would be insurrection. Romney/Reagan would be a hell of a ticket. But there's many other good candidates.

 

[Emperor Norton I]

To add on to my mention of Humphrey, keep in mind this is a different Humphrey. He would be in the Senate, and frankly a hell of an asset for Liberals and the administration in the Senate. He would also have cut his teeth as a pivotal force on the legislative agenda. He would be in a very strong position to be the nominee.