WI: HHH In 1976
- Thread starter Han
- Start date
I accidentally thought this was referring to the wrestler when I first saw the title.
Triple H as President..... what was that quote from Futurama, the one the alien new anchor says about Nixon?
Well, wouldn't you like to have a President carrying around a sledgehammer?
And I haven't seen Futurama so I couldn't tell you the quote.
Sledge nothing. I remember this one match, years upon years ago, that involved a 2X4 wrapped in barbed wire.
Humphrey had terminal bladder cancer in 1976, which he very well knew. Not to mention being a three-time loser for the Presidency. In 1976 the Dems badly need a DLC-er with gravitas, which they do not have. They have an incompetent, inexperienced one (Carter), and the rest are New Dealers (Jackson) and liberal populists (Harris, Church, Udall) along with Wallace. Him running and winning is borderline ASB.
The rest of my post still applies. HHH is a three-time loser who is politically obsolete in that era, too old for a Dem and has no voter base. Liberals? Pick any of the Westerners. Hawkish New Dealers? Scoop. Nor would the supers plump for HHH, who they knew would surely lose to Ford. In the near-ASB event of HHH being nominated to face off against Reagan, Reagan wins over 400 EV and an electoral landslide. That's what also would have happened in 1972 had HHH defeated Nixon- he'd have gotten his ass kicked by Reagan, with all the butterflies thereof.
Against Ford, I agree. Against Reagan, they need Jackson or Carter, though all that would do is lightly trim Reagan's margins.
I disagree. Reagan's election over Carter was quite a bit closer than it should have been and that was after Carter had been an abject failure for four years. If someone capable had been in the office, regardless of their ideology, they could have done better against Reagan.
Paul V McNutt
Banned
If you take away the Southern states Carter won that removes 110 electoral. votes or 84 electoral votes if let HHH win Texas as he did in 68. If,however, you add Washington, California, Ilinois and Conniecticutt that means 104 electoral votes that means a replacement 104 electoral votes. So that would mean HHH would win with 291 electoral votes without Texas and 317 with Texas.
The only way HHH could win Texas would be to pick Bentsen as his running mate. In '68 it was the LBJ/Connally machine that put him over the top, nothing else.
Paul V McNutt
Banned
In 1980, Reagan won against the incumbent in a time of both a hostage crisis and a bad economy. He would not had these advantages in 1976.
Reagan had charisma unequalled by any living Dem or any other POTUS except FDR, and the economy was quite bad in 1976 as well. Not quite as bad as 1980, but that's a bit like saying "just a little pregnant".
If Gerald Ford is the GOP nominee, than Humphrey can associate Gerald Ford with Richard Nixon. I'm almost 100% positive that in 1976, most voters would've voted for Humphrey in 1968 if they could have a election do-over. Humphrey's best path to the White House is to go on the offensive, consistently attacking Ford for his pardon of Nixon. IIRC, Humphrey was popular with blue collar workers, and could sweep the industrial rust belt.
Here's a map of a close Humphrey election, fwiw:
HHH running in 1976 is no different than Al Gore running in 2008. Both had lost several times, but voters believed that they made the wrong choice in those elections, and would gladly have voted for the loser in those scenarios. Gore would've won against McCain if nominated.
I do agree that HHH would lose to Reagan, however.
Here's a map of a close Humphrey election, fwiw:
HHH running in 1976 is no different than Al Gore running in 2008. Both had lost several times, but voters believed that they made the wrong choice in those elections, and would gladly have voted for the loser in those scenarios. Gore would've won against McCain if nominated.
I do agree that HHH would lose to Reagan, however.
I'd say it was Wallace acting as a spoiler. I doubt HHH would've carried Texas in a two way Nixon v. Humphrey election.
I agree here. Supposedly, four out of every five Wallace voters would have voted for Nixon in the '68 election.
Humphrey would likely win by a larger margin than Carter did if he were in fact nominated by the DNC. Remember, Carter had a massive lead until he made some of those PR mistakes (especially in Playboy), mistakes Humphrey would know enough to avoid. Its not going to be a landslide by any means, but it should be a comfortable margin. However, defeat in 1980 is just as certain, especially if the same situation arises with Anderson and Reagan. Of course, Humphrey could simply not seek another term (not unreasonable considering his age) giving the Democrats a chance in that year.
Who would the Dems nominate in 1980? Gary Hart is too untested, I don't think Bentsen ever wanted the Presidency though he'd be their best candidate. Ted Kennedy? Wrong Kennedy to beat the Gipper, for ideological/psephological/moral reasons.