[DBWI] WI: President Lyndon Johnson?

[UncleDynamite]

I've been reading up a lot lately about Kennedy's Vice President, Lyndon Johnson. Fascinating figure, a big wig in the Senate who had boundless ambitions.

Let's say Kennedy dies before his mental illness comes to light(what if it was passed off as an assassination? Knowing how dirty the Kennedys are, I can see that happening.) or is otherwise unable to contest the Goldwater/Bush ticket in '64 and Johnson runs instead. Could Johnson have turned the Democrats fortunes around in 1964(a historic Republican landslide OTL)?

Johnson was less focused on foreign policy than Goldwater and less abrasive- could the Third World War between Russia and China be worse than OTL with Johnson as President?

What about domestic policy? Could the rollback of the welfare state and labor movement been averted with Johnson in charge? Would the rise of the religious left continue as in our timeline?

 

[Emperor Julian]

OOC: Are you implying that Kennedy was assassinated by his own family to hide a mental illness?

 

[eliphas8]

OOC: Unless your idea is for this to be from the perspective of people in burned out hovels in a post apocalyptic scenario World War III. Also I really doubt Goldwater could win.

 

[UncleDynamite]

OOC: Are you implying that Kennedy was assassinated by his own family to hide a mental illness?

OOC: Oh, God, no. But in character, the Kennedys operated sleazily enough that this is a real possibility

OOC: Unless your idea is for this to be from the perspective of people in burned out hovels in a post apocalyptic scenario World War III. Also I really doubt Goldwater could win.

Not a global apocalypse, but there was a massive confrontation between the USSR and the PRC that went nuclear and took Eastern Asia and Western Europe with it. America shakily stands as the only massively overstretched and increasingly impotent power in a ruined world.

Goldwater won due to making increased bows to the moderates by tapping Prescott Bush as VP, and the Kennedys strongarming the Democrats into nominating JFK again after he publicly had bouts of insanity and drug abuse and the vote being split with Humphrey's "Independent Democrat" ticket.

 

[ramones1986]

I'm wondering what would be his strategy in relation to the Vietnam conflict

 

[Queeney]

I'm wondering what would be his strategy in relation to the Vietnam conflict

Huh? I presume you meant the Second Indochina War*, but that one wasn't confined only to Vietnam of course.

*OOC: The OTL Vietnam War has this byname as well, but it's rarely used. Let's just assume that in this TL -due to the conflict being much more widespread- the term Second Indochina War is used.

 

[ramones1986]

Huh? I presume you meant the Second Indochina War*, but that one wasn't confined only to Vietnam of course.]

Yeah, the Second Indochina Conflict. I stand corected