An interesting quirk in US history is that FDR and Wendell Willkie, opponents in 1940, discussed forming a new "Liberal Party" after WWII but both men died before this could happen. Roosevelt also offered Willkie the position of Vice President in 1944, but negotiations fell apart. This might seem like a far out idea, but I decided to get creative and speculate about the 1940 election. What if the isolationist Tom Dewey had been able to outmaneuver Willkie at the convention (perhaps he is elected NY Governor four years earlier, giving him the establishment support and experience needed to win as he did in 1944) and a disappointed Willkie refuses to endorse him on principle, being a staunch internationalist who supports aid to Britain. Rumors abound that Willkie may support Roosevelt. FDR's aides start a back channel to Willkie, aiming to get his support. Simultaneously (as in OTL) Roosevelt appoints Republicans to key cabinet positions. Willkie is willing to endorse FDR - but only if he is given a place in the government. Seeing that he needs to make a bold move in order to beat Dewey, FDR offers Willkie the Vice-Presidency on a bipartisan "Unity" ticket, like the one Lincoln formed in 1864. Willkie accepts, and FDR/Willkie goes on to face Governor Dewey in the election. Is such a scenario at all possible? If so, could being VP butterfly Willkie's very avoidable OTL death, allowing him to become POTUS on April 12, 1945? What would be the consequences of such a dramatic divergence from OTL political history?
 
This would require Willkie to place "internationalism" far above every other interest or principle he held. Willkie had become a public figure as an opponent of FDR's New Deal domestic policies - in particular the creation of the TVA.

For him to reverse field and support FDR means abandoning the issue that was the basis of his rise to candidacy. The only way this could possibly happen is if the 1940 election becomes a de facto referendum on isolationism versus internationalism. And I don't think even FDR could win in 1940 as an explicit internationalist.
 
To me, what's really interesting about this scenario is how President Willkie might've handled the post-war world had he taken office instead of Truman in 1945. (This is based on the supposition that being VP would give him access to superior healthcare and diet, therefore prolonging his life).
 
To me, what's really interesting about this scenario is how President Willkie might've handled the post-war world had he taken office instead of Truman in 1945. (This is based on the supposition that being VP would give him access to superior healthcare and diet, therefore prolonging his life).
Willkie was a wealthy businessman, who ate whatever he wanted and could afford the best doctors. At this tiime, there was no expectation that the President or Vice President would rely on (or take advice from) elite government doctors. Certainly FDR did not; his personal doctor told him he had no serious health issues (what he wanted to hear) and he continued drinking and heavy smoking till his death.
 
Certainly FDR did not; his personal doctor told him he had no serious health issues (what he wanted to hear)

Actually Roosevelt's doctor was alarmed at the President's heart condition in 1944 and prescribed him to an improved diet. That didn't save his life, but it most likely prolonged it. In contrast, Willkie as a private citizen generally ignored not only the advice of doctors but also his aides until he was in critical condition.
 
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