WI: Watergate had not been scandalized?

What if the men who were behind the Watergate scandal had done their business better and had never gotten caught? What would the consequences of Nixon remaining president be?
 
Well for starters we wouldn't be adding -gate to the end of every minor scandal so that would be a plus. Additionally trust in politicians would probably still decline, it has in every other Western country as the deference culture has ended, but it would take longer. More broadly I think you would see the long term trends of the Republicans gaining strength in the South continue, which combined with their stranglehold on the flyover states would see them win elections for a while, though you might still see a Democrat win in 1976 as the Oil Crash and the ensuing economic consequences tarnish Nixon's final term.
 
Nixon has time to pursue his health care plan. It passes with Democratic votes. It angers conservative Republicans. This makes Ronald Reagan's path to the 1976 nomination easier. He loses to a Democrat not named Jimmy Carter.
 
The Democrats don't absolutely swamp the Republicans in the senate election 1974 (they still win, but not s significantly) they don't have enough votes to defund the ARVN who with proper funding would have been able to hold off the North for years. South Vietnam survives and the Vietnam war is remembered as a draw like Korea rather than a defeat. The malaise of the 70s isn't as bad, maybe Jerry Brown gets the Democratic nomination in 76 and defeats who ever the Republicans nominate.
 
The Democrats don't absolutely swamp the Republicans in the senate election 1974 (they still win, but not s significantly) they don't have enough votes to defund the ARVN who with proper funding would have been able to hold off the North for years. South Vietnam survives and the Vietnam war is remembered as a draw like Korea rather than a defeat.

South Vietnam and North Vietnam have booming economies by the 90s.
 
Nixon would be remembered as a great president, assuming Watergate and that silly conspiracy theory about the October surprise don't leak out in the years following his demise.
 
Q. What if Napoleon won at Waterloo?
A. He would have lost somewhere else.

It's hard for the Nixon White House to avoid scandal. It was playing fast and loose with the rules for the entirety of the administration. Even prior to election, Nixon undermined the Vietnam peace negotiations to ensure there would not be an October surprise in Humphrey's favor. The Watergate break in was not even the worst thing they did. For example, Liddy was plotting how to outright murder Jack Anderson. Watergate was a symptom of a systematic type of problematic behavior. And that behavior would have continued. Every time it happened, it opened Nixon up to being discovered and punished, and rightfully so.
 
Nixon is already a vastly underrated president. This would finally give him some credit for the foreign policy accomplishments he had, and make my political party have a better role model to look at and hopefully moderate on a handful of issues.
 
Economically speaking, 1974-1977 under Nixon isn't much different that it was under Ford OTL. '74 is still a Democratic year due to the bad economy but it's not a big democratic sweep without Watergate. Nixon probably passes health care reform sometime after the midterms.

Foreign policy is where the major differences might be. Nixon probably intervenes in Vietnam in 1975 despite congress as this is Nixon we're talking about. Nixon overall probably does a lot more in foreign affairs than Ford did.

As for 1976, I honestly would say that would be a tossup. With the economy being the way it was, the Democrats have their best shot at winning since 1964, even without Watergate. However, assuming Nixon doesn't royally screw up foreign affairs or Nixon's rule bending doesn't catch up with him before election day '76, the GOP as a decent shot at winning it. Ford came very close to beating Carter with all the chips stacked against him, without Watergate, the only thing that can hurt the GOP is the economy, and while that counts it isn't everything. I'd say the GOP nominee is Reagan, especially if Nixon passes health care reform. For the Democrats, one things for sure, it won't be Carter. Maybe Udall, Birch Bayh, Walter Mondale, or even (god forbid) Ted Kennedy. Regardless of who wins, the election will be close.

As for Nixon's standing in history, if the break in or any of the other scandals don't come out in Nixon's post presidency, he'll be seen as average or slightly above average. If it does come out in his post presidency or after his death, he'll be remembered as below average. Either way, without the cover up and resignation, Nixon isn't seen as the top five or ten worst presidents.
 
Q. What if Napoleon won at Waterloo?
A. He would have lost somewhere else.

It's hard for the Nixon White House to avoid scandal. It was playing fast and loose with the rules for the entirety of the administration. Even prior to election, Nixon undermined the Vietnam peace negotiations to ensure there would not be an October surprise in Humphrey's favor. The Watergate break in was not even the worst thing they did. For example, Liddy was plotting how to outright murder Jack Anderson. Watergate was a symptom of a systematic type of problematic behavior. And that behavior would have continued. Every time it happened, it opened Nixon up to being discovered and punished, and rightfully so.
I am by no means a "fan" of Richard Nixon, but I have yet to see any evidence that he directly ordered Chenault to intervene in the Peace Talks, nor have I seen any evidence that Liddy plotted to murder Anderson outside of his own bragging on the Howard Stern Show. There is, of course, evidence that Nixon wanted to "smoke out" the Brookings Institute and of course the whole Ellsberg break in, but I don't think that scandal with Nixon is as guaranteed as your premise suggests.
 
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