'68 Bobby Kennedy vs. ???

[CollectiveInterest]

If the Dems had nominated Robert Kennedy in 1968, would the GOP have gone with Nixon, who had lost to JFK. Ted Mosle, a Navy friend, had a scenario that the GOP would have nominated Reagan.

Kennedy vs. Reagan in 1968.

Would the Dems had nominated Bobby?

Would the GOP have yanked Dick?

Would the GOP have run Reagan?

Who would have won?

[RReagan4EVER]

 I think Kennedy would have beat anybody.

[Dr. Cynic]

Bobby would have won, no question. Reagan would give him a run for his money though.

[Keystone Phil]

Bobby would have won, no question.

I used to think that too. I thought that if RFK won the nomination, Nixon had no shot since RFK was...RFK. A Kennedy. A young, energetic campaigner. A former Attorney General. A United States Senator from the Empire State. A huge force in American politics. Then I realized....he was waaay out of touch with mainstream America. Yes he would have run a competitve race in the general election against any Republican opponent but in the end, he would lose.

[Dr. Cynic]

I disagree. A Kennedy is a Kennedy. They rarely lost.

[Keystone Phil]

I disagree. A Kennedy is a Kennedy. They rarely lost.

Rarely lost? Recently they have lost a couple races. Most recent example is the 2002 Maryland Governor's race. Kathleen Kennedy Townsends lost a Gubernatorial election that the Dems held for 40 years. So if you want to talk about their record in elections recently, I wouldn't they say they rarely lost.

Then again it was 1968. The Kennedy name helped big time. But I believe that when it comes down to it, people would notice he was out of touch with the mainstream and he would be defeated.

[Dr. Cynic]

I'm talking the brothers. Besides, Humphrey almost beat Nixon, and he was down by over thirty points at labor day. What would stop Kennedy from beating a man his brother had beaten four years before?

[Dr. Cynic]

Excuse me, eight years ago...

[Keystone Phil]

I'm talking the brothers. Besides, Humphrey almost beat Nixon, and he was down by over thirty points at labor day. What would stop Kennedy from beating a man his brother had beaten four years before?

Compared to RFK...
1) Humphrey was more towards the mainstream.
2) JFK was more towards the mainstream

That's what would stop RFK from winning, in my opinion.

[Dr. Cynic]

Humphrey was still a staunch liberal at heart, and believe it or not, the mainstream at the time was more left than right. Humphrey isn't the hawk that most people associate him as. He was in fact, severly limited by his loyalty to Johnson, and the latter's abuse of him. JFK is a mod. by today's standards, but was a liberal back then. The sixties were liberal, but the seventies and eighties were conservative.

[Keystone Phil]

Humphrey was still a staunch liberal at heart

Yeah I can agree with that actually. However I disagree with you on whether or not he was a hawk. I think he was and that's what made him look more mainstream. I should have made it more clear, I don't think Humphrey was a mainstream candidate. Compared to RFK, though, he was.

I also disagree that the mainstream was more left than right back then. The youth was more left wing, I can agree with that but your average voter would have been more likely to agree with the views Nixon held as opposed to what RFK believed in.

[Dr. Cynic]

Back then, it was young against older. Whoever showed up, would have won. I really wouldn't have wanted Bobby Kennedy, as Hubert Humphrey is my idol.

[Keystone Phil]

Back then, it was young against older. Whoever showed up, would have won.

"Older" turnout would be very high. While the youth back then was more likely to be big RFK fans, they were less likely to actually show up and vote.

[Dr. Cynic]

I still think we dems picked our best candidate in 1968.

[WalterMitty]

it's too bad that bobby kennedy never was president.

[PBrunsel]

Richard Nixon may have squeaked by. His appeal to the Middle Class, "The Great Silent Majority", and the old could have given him a victory over the more radical Robert Kennedy.

[M]

George  Romney could be da man if he can keep his mouth shut long enough.

Romney v Kennedy. How's that map look? (Assuming the SC rules that Romney is not a Mexican).

[Dr. Cynic]

A shift in three states would have won Humphrey the election.

[afleitch]

If...and here we go into 'if' we had the 'dream' ticket of RFK/MLK, would Martin Luther King have hurt him more than help him?

[CollectiveInterest]

Was Bobby K perceived as being out of the mainstream?

What role did the Vietnam War play in sinking Humphrey?

[PBrunsel]

Was Bobby K perceived as being out of the mainstream?

What role did the Vietnam War play in sinking Humphrey?

1. RFK was seen as not being in tthe mainstream of middle class America. He would have won over 95% of the black and hispanic vote. The middle class was scared of Bobby Kennedy.

2. HHH was tied to the Johnson Administration, so Vietnam's quagmire hurt him ecause it was Johnson's quagmire.