Texas Hold 'Em: George H.W. Bush v. Lloyd Bentsen

POD 1977, have George H.W. Bush and Lloyd Bentsen face off for the presidency. Bonus if it is before 1988, Double Bonus if in 1980, Triple Bonus if Dukakis is Bentsen's running mate. I'd prefer a Bush victory, but a Bentsen victory scenario is welcome as well.
 
You No John Kennedy.

I saw John Kennedy on television. Frankley Mr. Bush your no John Kennedy. In sted of Lloyd Bentsen of this comeing up in the vice presidential debate it would happen during the presidential debate. Lots of undecided voters decide Bentsen is alert, quick thinking and he gos ahead in the poles after this debate.
 
This is pretty tough, There wasn't a whole lot of appetite among '80s Democrats for moderates as presidential candidates. 1980 is all but impossible; the challenge to Carter was from the left, not the right. Ditto with Mondale in 1984.

I suppose one way to go would be a Carter death pre-1980, with President Mondale losing badly to Bush as a GOP nominee, causing the party to shift right a bit. Bentsen runs in 1984, wins the nomination and picks Dukakis as VP (in this scenario, Dukakis avoided the 1978 primary loss to Ed King and was re-elected in both 1978 and 1982). Your pick whether Bush or Bentsen wins.

One scenario does clearly work: Dukakis dies for some reason soon after the 1988 convention and the DNC picks him to replace him at the top of the ticket and the two face off in the fall of 1988. However, the POD there is later than you specified.
 
1980 or 1984 is probably impossible, for the aforementioned reasons. I could bring up my oft-used idea of a US General Strike following the PATCO ruckus, but that's a little ASB and even that would probably not help the Democrats all that much.
 
I saw John Kennedy on television. Frankley Mr. Bush your no John Kennedy. In sted of Lloyd Bentsen of this comeing up in the vice presidential debate it would happen during the presidential debate. Lots of undecided voters decide Bentsen is alert, quick thinking and he gos ahead in the poles after this debate.

Except its doubtful Bush would compare himself to Kennedy as Quayle did, setting up the line.
 
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