CanadianTory
Progressive Conservative
- Location
- The Loyalist Province
- Pronouns
- He/Him
I’ve recently been doing some reading on the Eisenhower Presidency and have been stuck thinking about the ramifications of Ike declining to seek re-election in the fallout from his heart attack.
So let’s say Ike doesn’t rebound quite so we’ll as per OTL, effectively remains an invalid and despite all the praises and desperate pleas from his cabinet he opts to retire after four years. In my mind the obvious frontrunner would be Vice President Nixon, who had gained elevated stature after having stepped in for Ike in the immediate aftermath of the latter’s heart troubles. He’ll likely get a challenge from Senator Bill Knowland on the right and Harold Stassen on the left, but as the de facto incumbent and lack of a credible alternative I could see Ike and the Eastern establishment reluctantly rallying behind a Dick Nixon candidacy.
As for the Democrats, without a popular President like Eisenhower in the race, more names are likely to run. A fun one I saw tossed around was everybody’s favourite Texan, Senator Lyndon B. Johnson. Imagine Nixon having to face off against a Johnson/Kennedy ticket. At this time VPs had trouble getting elected to the top job, and I could imagine that with LBJ on top of the ticket, he’d have little trouble getting elected over the more dour, gloomy Nixon.
But what are y’all’s thoughts on the subject?
So let’s say Ike doesn’t rebound quite so we’ll as per OTL, effectively remains an invalid and despite all the praises and desperate pleas from his cabinet he opts to retire after four years. In my mind the obvious frontrunner would be Vice President Nixon, who had gained elevated stature after having stepped in for Ike in the immediate aftermath of the latter’s heart troubles. He’ll likely get a challenge from Senator Bill Knowland on the right and Harold Stassen on the left, but as the de facto incumbent and lack of a credible alternative I could see Ike and the Eastern establishment reluctantly rallying behind a Dick Nixon candidacy.
As for the Democrats, without a popular President like Eisenhower in the race, more names are likely to run. A fun one I saw tossed around was everybody’s favourite Texan, Senator Lyndon B. Johnson. Imagine Nixon having to face off against a Johnson/Kennedy ticket. At this time VPs had trouble getting elected to the top job, and I could imagine that with LBJ on top of the ticket, he’d have little trouble getting elected over the more dour, gloomy Nixon.
But what are y’all’s thoughts on the subject?