Indeed. In fact the Anybody But Carter movement attempted to get Mondale to run because they couldn't find a suitable non-Kennedy candidate.
Oh, Finch. Nice.
If Carter withdraws in 1979 than Kennedy won't run, in my not terribly humble opinion and Mondale wins. If, however, Carter withdraws sometime in 1980 (let's say Kennedy takes Iowa, for the moment) than Kennedy is stuck in the race. He can beat anybody but Mondale, but will Mondale run in these circumstances? I dunno.
Hmm...I think under the scenario that Jimmy withdraws in '79, I think Mondale would be pushed into running by party leadership. The Democratic Race however becomes just as interesting as the Republican race was in otl. Kennedy and the Party Leadership will most likely throw their support behind Fritz. If Mondale brings in Jimmy's '76 primary campaign team, there's no question he won't be able to clinch the nomination. Winning the general in my opinion would be the hard part. Do you think it's likely that Mondale would choose Finch? Or does he go with a minority or a woman and what are some good choices if he decides to go that route?
What effect would it have on The Republican Nomination battle? If a liberal like Mondale/Kennedy is seen as the frontrunner, might the GOP go with more of a moderate like George H.W. Bush, John B. Anderson or even Howard Baker? I still think Reagan probably wins it by a hair, but he may go with a different running mate if his battle between Bush is particularly nasty? What are some other potential running mates for Ronnie?
If Anderson runs as strong as he did in the start of the campaign(He was polling 25% at one point). He could very well win a handful of states, probaby weakening Mondale in the Northeast and Reagan in the Mountain west. He could potentially throw the election to the House, where Mondale wins. Not really a mandate to govern on lol