What Would A Robert Taft Presidency Be Like?

Wolfpaw

Banned
Let's say that Robert Taft does not contract cancer and die in the summer of 1953. Instead, he lives until 1961, to the ripe old age of 72, just like his daddy.

Now, let's couple this with another stroke of luck on Taft's part; he wins the presidency in either 1948 or 1952. (1940 is too easy; no American entry into WWII, Naziwank, etc.) And remember, he was awfully close to getting the nomination in '52; if it weren't for Nixon's "Fair Play" stunt, he might've just been able to nab it.

So, here's where things get interesting. Firstly, who's his running mate (in '48 or '52)? Is he reelected? If so/not, who does he win/lose to the second time? And, most importantly, how does the world and the United States change as a result of a Robert AlphonsoTaft presidency?
 
If "Mr. Republican" were ever to become Mr. President his best chance would have been in 1952. After twenty years of Democratic dominance in Washington, the electorate was prepared to vote for a candidate who belonged to the Republican Party, unless they were either the anti-Christ or Joe McCarthy. Yet, in my opinion his victory over Stevenson would be less convincing than that of General Eisenhower's. Thus, I'd expect Stevenson to win more southern states and those with strong connections to the labour movement. To subside a greater loss in those areas he'd need a moderate-to-conservative running mate such as Senator Henry Cabot Lodge of Massachusetts or Governor Alfred Driscoll of New Jersey.

His presidency would be similar to Eisenhower's in regard to domestic policy. Hence, the only dramatic change from RL would be his foreign policy, which would be far more isolationist than that of Eisenhower's, although not as isolationist as Harding. What I find far more interesting however, is the development of his personality. After he lost the nomination to Eisenhower in 1952, he became, according to sources "less partisan, abrasive and conciliatory". With Taft becoming 34th President of the United States, he'd be far more stubborn than he was during his final months. Yet another "Do-Nothing Congress" perhaps?
 
So, here's where things get interesting. Firstly, who's his running mate (in '48 or '52)? Is he reelected? If so/not, who does he win/lose to the second time? And, most importantly, how does the world and the United States change as a result of a Robert AlphonsoTaft presidency?

Running mate is probably a moderate Republican to balance out Taft's reactionary views. My bet is on Bill Knowland, the Senator from California. You could pick Nixon, but I don't think he really plays too well with the Taft isolationist wing of the party.

I doubt he's re-elected. If Taft wins either time and gets to do what he wants (i.e. destroy the labor movement and reverse much of the New Deal), he's going to get hammered by the Democrats in the midterms and probably destroyed in the next election cycle. His international policy, which would be a retrenchment towards isolationism, certainly wouldn't help, either.

With Taft in office, the rest of the world is pretty much 'on its own'. Taft opposes NATO, the Marshall Plan, and even the United Nations, so I doubt he's going to do much with regard to foreign policy. He'll probably pull American troops out of Korea early in his presidency if he's elected in 1952, and do his best to downplay American involvement in NATO and the UN.

I don't see Taft being particularly popular. If he wins in 1948, he probably loses to Stevenson or Truman in 1952. If he wins in 1952, he's probably defeated by Stevenson or Kefauver come 1956, maybe even by LBJ.
 
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