1968 Election Story For Open Participation

[Reluctant Republican]

Unknown to all but the highest levels of the American government, Johnson secretly orders the CIA to “use any means necessary”  to ensure that Minh loses the Vietnamese elections, and money begins to be secretly funneled into the bank accounts of several individuals and parties that are known to hold Pro American and anti Communist views. Johnson suspects the Soviets are attempting the same thing with Minh, So he feels justified in the technical breaking of his agreement with the North Vietnamese.

In response to Romney’s statements and rising support, Johnson gives a short speech in which he blasts the Michigan governor as a “shortsighted fool who would have us sacrifice 40000 more American boys to save face. A new strategy is required in Vietnam, one of negotiation, and it is a strategy that shall always be the first resort of a Johnson administration!” Reaction to the speech will prove to be mixed.

[Reluctant Republican]

The attack on Saigon immediately causes a strong reaction from around the world. Many international analysts openly question why Minh, an almost certain lock to win the election due to be held in a week, would so brazenly sabotage the ceasefire. In Vietnam, almost everyone believes that the attack was orchestrated by the Americans as a desperate ploy to prevent Minh’s victory, and the populace swings more in the communist leader’s favor then ever before.

Back in America, the attack does boost Johnson’s approvals back into the low 30’s, but he is still a deeply unpopular president and with the elections in Vietnam being “indefinitely postponed” many on the left fear that Johnson is planning to resume his original hawkish stance on Vietnam. This causes serious talk amongst the doves in the Democratic party about running someone against him in the primaries.

[Reluctant Republican]

[Sorry for the long post, hope its alright the way it is.]

Rostow’s admission of guilt in the Saigon bombing and his fingering of the Johnson administration as ordering it causes a bipartisan reaction of outrage  amongst the public. Johnson’s approvals plunge, and editorials around the country from even reliably Democratic papers urge him to resign, though congress for now remains silent. So, to combat the damage, five days after Rostow’s speech he gives one of his own.

“My fellow Americans, You’ve no doubt heard the allegations that have been  levied against me and my administration. I am announcing today that Walt Rostow is a liar, and his allegations are totally and completely fabrications. Moreover, I fully intend to continue to seek a second term for office, and shall not resign under any circumstance.”

Johnson’s speech triggers protests across the country. Walter Cronkite goes so far as to speculate that ”President Johnson has lost touch with reality.” Many Democrats, increasingly unhappy with Johnson, find a new candidate when  Eugene McCarthy announces his run for the white house on the 15th of January. News speculates that other Democrats, such as Robert Kennedy, are also considering running.

Republicans are quite openly happy with the president’s strife, and they grow more and more optimistic about their chances of winning the election. Richard Nixon, the 1960 nominee who was initially leading in the polls for the nomination this time around, but has recently been overtaken by George Romney, decided he needs to go on the offensive. Giving a speach to a crowd in California, Nixon declares that “Lyndon Johnson has misled the country. He needs to resign now, and if he refuses to do this, congress needs to look into impeaching him.” The crowd of partisan Republicans goes wild, and it looks like Nixon may have finally perhaps found a way to overtake Romney for the nomination.

[Reluctant Republican]

Monroe’s allegations turn the country sharply against Kennedy and  pose a serious threat to his cadency. After consulting with his advisers, Kennedy holds a press conference where he announces his withdraw from the presidential race. “Bobby” believe that the Democrats, still being tied to an unpopular president, will lose and lose badly in this election and he hopes to have four years to rebuild his stock in the party and swoop in in 1972, appearing as the Democratic party’s savior and leading them to victory. His withdraw from the race shocks political analysts on both sides of the political aisle and most see the race between Humphrey and McCarthy, though the increasingly paranoid Johnson still holds the loyalty of enough delegates to perhaps pull off a upset.   

The Democratic race is thrown for a loop however, when Alabama governor George Wallace announces that he too will run for the presidency as a Democrat. A hawk on Vietnam who also opposed the civil rights act of 1964, Wallace could prove to be a strong contender for the Democratic nomination, though most believe he has no shot at gaining the nod.

[Reluctant Republican]

The New Hampshire primary’s big loser is Hubert Humphrey, who finishes with a scant 12% of the vote, just behind a surprisingly strong showing by George Wallace. Humphrey vows to continue his campaign, but his momentum is lost, and he’s no longer taken as seriously by the country. Still, should the convention deadlock, the vice president believes there would be a strong possibility the party would turn to him, and so he still holds out hope that he can be nominated.

Meanwhile, despite Wallace’s relatively strong showing, the real winner of the NH primary is Eugene McCarthy, who beat sitting president Johnson by a 2 to 1 margin. McCarthy now has momentum, though many wonder if he can win over enough delegates to ultimately gain the nomination. Still, the message is clear: President Johnson and the hawks in the Democratic party have been rebuffed. Johnson fumes quietly at his humiliating defeat, but is not in a position to do much about it. He has his hands full with the war.

But on March 16th everything changes. word comes out that Lyndon Johnson has suffered a heart attack. The nation anxiously awaits for news on the president's condition.

[Reluctant Republican]

Another twist to what is already shaping up to be the most exciting election of the past 50 years comes when George Wallace announces he is leaving the Democratic party and running as an "American independent" for the presidency. Wallace in his declaration speech blasts Humphrey as too irresponsible to be president and declares he is running to give a voice to the blue collar worker. Wallace harbors no illusion that he will win, but hopes to take the south away from Humphrey and cost him the election.

[Reluctant Republican]

President Johnson, still furious at Humphrey’s “interference” In Vietnam while he was acting president, gives a nationally televised speech the night before the first debate.  Johnson drops a bomb near the end of it by announcing that he will not be endorsing Hubert Humphrey. Johnson gives no endorsement to any of the other candidates but says that “based on vice president Humphrey’s record as vice president and specifically his work as acting president, it is clear to me that any of the other candidates in this race are better suited to the office of the presidency then him.”

Johnson’s attack on Humphrey is a blow to the momentum that Humphrey has been gathering , but it does give Humphrey the advantage of now being able to completely distance himself from a rather unpopular president. Still, Humphrey stumbles in the polls, and now leads Perot by one point. It appears the debate will be an important factor for all of the top three candidates.

Humphrey - 29%
Perot - 28%
Romney - 27%
Wallace - 10%
Undecided - 6%

[Reluctant Republican]

{Well I feel a bit sorry for Humphrey, so let me try to help him a tad]

The Romney/Rockefeller campaign is rocked with scandel when it is revealed that Rockefeller has been having an affair with two volunteers with the campaign. The Romney campaign, attempting to appear the most moral and upstanding of all the campaigns faces a crisis, and the conservative part of the Republican party, led by Ronald Reagan, demands Romney drop Rockefeller from the ticket [Reagan secretly hopes for the VP nod himself.]

Humphrey is also given a boost when the AFL-CIO finnaly endorses him. The endorsement will keep a lot of blue collar workers, who were leaning towards Wallace, in the Democratic camp.

New polls show a tightening race

Romney - 27%
Humphrey - 25%
Perot - 26 %
Wallace - 12%
undecided -10%

[Reluctant Republican]

Perot’s arrest blows up in Humphrey’s face. commentators all over the country blast the arrest as being “politically motivated” and strongly criticize Humphrey and the Johnson administration. Humphrey gains a reputation as something of an authoritarian, due to his ramming through of his agenda while he was acting president, and now his attempts to push Perot out of the race.  Much of the nation believes that the charges against Perot are frivolous, and Perot’s supporters rally around their man and seek to protect him from “the thug from Minnesota.” Perot, to his benefit, exploit’s the situation by urging people to “look at the people who are persecuting me.”

Perot does lose a few points, but the whole scandal as a whole hurts Humphrey far more then him. On the morning of the debate, the numbers are:

Romney/Rockefeller 32
Perot/Goldwater 28
Humphrey/Kennedy 22
Wallace/LeMay 11
Undecided 7