WI: Any Democrat but Carter '76

It started with the Biden Express TL.

Naw, I'm taking dibs on credit. I started the "Anyone but..." thing a year or so ago and did one for Lodge in '60 like a day before a trend burst. I plant my Norton flag in it.

Washington Senator Henry "Scoop" Jackson would have been a very good President.

Scoop Jackson has the problematic feature, which is frequently brought up in alternate history discussions (which is how I learned of it) that he was dull and would not have been a good campaigner. Good on paper, bad in practice in the age of the television president. On the one hand, he is going up against Gerald Ford who is not all that interesting himself. On the other, he'd be lack luster and have a chance of losing for it. And you also have the fact that he'd be running against Ronald Reagan in 1980 if he won: both were Cold Warriors on defense (Jackson has been frequently claimed as a proto-neoconservative), but Reagan would decimate him with charisma.

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Personally, I like the idea of Hubert Humphrey for 1976. It also has a Nixon vibe to it of the candidate losing and going into the wilderness for an administration before bursting back onto the scene, with a healthy dose of "we see what happened when we elected the other guy. we should have voted for you". The major problem for Humphrey would be his health, because he has bladder cancer which is killing him and which he needs to treat. It'd be a bit ironic because he first noticed it during the 1968 election but ignored it so he could run for that election. So that would be a potential hinderence to campaigning, and would certainly be a problem during his presidency were he to win in 1976. It could potentially force him to resign due to his health issues (I think unlikely since he would accept the nomination as it was even knowing of his situation) or he'd die in office or at least have a likelihood of doing so. Disease is always very fickle due to butterflies.
 
So that would be a potential hinderence to campaigning, and would certainly be a problem during his presidency were he to win in 1976. It could potentially force him to resign due to his health issues (I think unlikely since he would accept the nomination as it was even knowing of his situation) or he'd die in office or at least have a likelihood of doing so. Disease is always very fickle due to butterflies.
It was said by a member here that he was in talks to pick George McGovern as a running mate, and while McGovern's definitely controversial, I don't think people would worry so much about his competency to run the country in Humphrey's passing compared to say, if George H. W. Bush, John Kerry or John McCain were to die in office as presidents.
 
Naw, I'm taking dibs on credit. I started the "Anyone but..." thing a year or so ago and did one for Lodge in '60 like a day before a trend burst. I plant my Norton flag in it.
Er, it's like one of the most basic AH US political questions there is... You don't even have to know what alternate history is to think about it.

Frank Church started winning when he jumped in, it just took him forever to jump in and it was too late when he did. The thing is with Church is he was a total politician. There one story out there about him giving a speech condemning abortion in a conservative town in the morning and giving a speech supporting a woman's right to choose in a liberal city that same afternoon.
This was extremely common before television became prevalent. In fact, having one policy on these kinds of things severely disrupted the New Deal coalition.
 

katchen

Banned
Was Daniel Inoye legally qualiifed to be Vice President or President?
When President Obama and John McCain's natural born citizen qualifications came up, I read that to qualify a President must be born in a state, not a territory. When Daniel Inouye was born, Hawaii was a US Territory.
I have a feeling that this is why Daniel Inouye never got nominated for Vice President. Because he would have been a natural for Carter, Mondale, Clinton or Gore. An Asian-American war hero would have been a natural as a first minority V.P. to help carry California against Reagan- a logical first choice for first nonwhite to run for national office in 1980 or 1984. If Inouye was legally qualified to be President or Vice President.
 
It was said by a member here that he was in talks to pick George McGovern as a running mate, and while McGovern's definitely controversial, I don't think people would worry so much about his competency to run the country in Humphrey's passing compared to say, if George H. W. Bush, John Kerry or John McCain were to die in office as presidents.
Humphrey/McGovern? Now THAT's a slap in the face for Nixon!
 
Was Daniel Inoye legally qualiifed to be Vice President or President?
Very much so, and more personally qualified than many OTL POTUS.
I read that to qualify a President must be born in a state, not a territory.
Nope. Goldwater was born in Arizona territory and some people tried to kick up a fuss. No reason they can't be born in a territory. McCain was born in the Panama Canal Zone.
 
Er, it's like one of the most basic AH US political questions there is... You don't even have to know what alternate history is to think about it.

I'm not saying it isn't in varied ways, but those in the format and template like this come from those ones I did, and the trend of them of recent came from the ones I did.
Maybe I'm just trying to make up for not getting credit for Corbis.:(

Humphrey/McGovern? Now THAT's a slap in the face for Nixon!

I'm unsure about the success of that, though. The ticket could certainly win for Humphrey, but I'm not sure McGovern will factor into it much. McGovern in 1972 isn't a situation where it was close and "if only we had voted for you". He was tied up to so much muck and decimated in one of the largest landslides ever.

A "We should have voted for you" super ticket is an interesting idea, but I'm not sure if McGovern is all too super for it.

By the way, while googling for this, I found out that George McGovern voted for Gerald Ford. I'm not sure the reasons, but I suspect that matters to this discussion.
 
Considering spinning Humphrey/McGovern into a separate thread.

I'm unsure about the success of that, though. The ticket could certainly win for Humphrey, but I'm not sure McGovern will factor into it much. McGovern in 1972 isn't a situation where it was close and "if only we had voted for you". He was tied up to so much muck and decimated in one of the largest landslides ever.

A "We should have voted for you" super ticket is an interesting idea, but I'm not sure if McGovern is all too super for it.
Considering McGovern's only Veep, I don't think it'd annoy people outside the Democratic establishment a terrible amount, especially since Veep isn't the powerful position it is now. I know it was said in another thread that televised debates could favor McGovern, especially since one of his issues in '72 was the delay of his convention speech.

By the way, while googling for this, I found out that George McGovern voted for Gerald Ford. I'm not sure the reasons, but I suspect that matters to this discussion.
He just didn't like Carter that much.
 
Big Mo... or Hubert II

Give that he seemed to finish a close second behind Gov. Jimmy Carter in several of the early primary states (New Hampshire, Wisconsin, etc.), Congressman Mo Udall is perhaps the most obvious alternative to Carter.

If Carter's momentum is slowed or stopped by Udall in New Hampshire or Wisconsin, or by Wallace in Florida or elsewhere in the South, with no clear alternative emerging (either Udall or anyone else), then--leaving aside health considerations--Humphrey was the most likely compromise candidate at the 1976 Democratic Convention.
 
Given that Udall was only a Representative (yeah so was Ford, but he was the Incumbent President) would people be able to tar him as too inexperienced? Humphrey is kinda yesterdays news, and very ill.

I ask again, what about Daniel Inouye? WWII vet, Senate committee on Watergate, he seems like a long shot in my opinion, but I could see it happening if he started early.
 
Inouye was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. So unless he was framed to be smuggled in from Kenya, I think he'll be fine.
 
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