Candidates who should've been elected President, but weren't.

[LBJ Revivalist]

Who are some historical Presidential candidate nominess, from each party, who should've been elected President in retrospect, but weren't?
For example, you could say Charles Evan Hughes should've been elected President in 1916 over Wilson. Which historical Presidential candidates should've been elected or re-elected in retrospect?

I say TR should've won in 1912, for example. Of the three main candidates, he was the best in retrospect. The cause of Civil Rights would not have been set back in the way it was under Wilson; TR would not have locked up political opponents and he probably could've handled the post-WWI economy better rather than it floundering into recession.

[Phony Moderate]

Kerry, Gore, Dukakis, Mondale, McGovern, Humphrey, Stevenson, etc.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

Goldwater, Smith, Dewey, Ford (re-elected), Dole, McCain, you know the drill.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Charles Hughes, Barry Goldwater, George Wallace, Strom Thurmond, Robert Byrd, Pat Buchanan, Alan Keyes, Ron Paul (in 2008),Martin Luther King, Samuel Tilden, Richard Nixon (1960) are just a few.

[LBJ Revivalist]

Charles Hughes, Barry Goldwater, George Wallace, Strom Thurmond, Robert Byrd, Pat Buchanan, Alan Keyes, Ron Paul (in 2008),Martin Luther King, Samuel Tilden, Richard Nixon (1960) are just a few.

I don't think MLK was ever a candidate for the Presidency...Could be wrong.

[LBJ Revivalist]

Charles Hughes, Barry Goldwater, George Wallace, Strom Thurmond, Robert Byrd, Pat Buchanan, Alan Keyes, Ron Paul (in 2008),Martin Luther King, Samuel Tilden, Richard Nixon (1960) are just a few.

George Wallace, the adamant racist? I don't think that would've bode well for the cause of Civil Rights in this country.

[Roemerista]

Bob Dole. The rest in my voting life time are about right.

[This user has not been convicted of 34 felonies]

Al Gore.

Literally should have been elected President.

[LBJ Revivalist]

20th century: Gerald Ford, Hubert Humphrey, Thomas Dewey, Charles Evans Hughes, William Taft (2nd term)

EDIT: I forgot La Follette. Definitely deserves mention.

I agree with Ford and Dewey. Ford was the last decent Republican President. Hughes I'm not sure on, but he may have been better than Wilson. But I disagree on Taft. Good man, but TR would've been the far better pick in 1912. A better, more effective President overall And his election would've proved a third party can win...Opening up more opportunities politically.

I still think Nixon was the better pick both in 1968 and 1972...Watergate aside.

[Dr. Cynic]

Humphrey, Stevenson, Udall, Gore, Kerry, Cox, Hughes, LaFollette, Smith, Tilden.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Kerry, Gore, Dukakis, Mondale, McGovern, Humphrey, Stevenson, etc.

[Wonkish1]

Jack Kemp
and
Barry Goldwater

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

Guess.

[This user has not been convicted of 34 felonies]

Barry Goldwater and Bob Dole.

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

Barry Goldwater and Bob Dole.

From a personal standpoint, I actually like both, especially when Goldwater stood up to the rise of the Christian right.

[Oswald Acted Alone, You Kook]

Barry Goldwater and Bob Dole.

From a personal standpoint, I actually like both, especially when Goldwater stood up to the rise of the Christian right.

Didn't he want to nuke Vietnam?

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

I never said I politically supported him.

I believe his position was something along the lines of "end it now as hard as possibly or just GTFO"

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Charles Hughes, Barry Goldwater, George Wallace, Strom Thurmond, Robert Byrd, Pat Buchanan, Alan Keyes, Ron Paul (in 2008),Martin Luther King, Samuel Tilden, Richard Nixon (1960) are just a few.

I don't think MLK was ever a candidate for the Presidency...Could be wrong.

No, but had he lived, I think he would of ran at one point.

[I Am Feeblepizza.]

Barry Goldwater, Bob Dole, Jack Kemp, Gerald Ford, Douglas MacArthur, John McCain, and probably a ton more that I can't think of right this second.