Reagan '68: VP choices?

[Fuzzy Says: "Abolish NPR!"]

If Reagan had been the GOP nominee in 1968, he would have been looking toward doing well in the South and Border States (conceding much of the Deep South to Wallace).  He was inclusive; in 1976, Reagan was willing to pick a LIBERAL Republican (PA Senator Richard Schweiker), and in 1980, Reagan picked George H. W. Bush who was NOT a "movement conservative".  This was one of Reagan's strong points in politics; he was always identified as a movement conservative, but he never had the kind of resistance from moderate and liberal Republicans that, say, McGovern and Mondale had from conservative Southern Democrats. 

At the same time, Reagan was a party loyalist.  Reagan would have considered a moderate, or even a liberal Republican as his running mate in 1968, but that running mate would have had to be someone who, at a minimum, gave a tacit endorsement to Goldwater in 1964, even if it was only a matter of publicly announcing that they would vote for Goldwater.  This would have ruled out George Romney, Jacob Javits, and (probably) Nelson Rockefeller.  He would have been quite interested in a number of moderate candidates, however, such as Sen. Hugh Scott (R-PA), Gov. James Rhodes (R-OH) and the conservative Sen. John Tower (R-TX). 

My guess is that Reagan would have picked Rhodes.  I'm really kind of amazed that Nixon didn't pick him.  Rhodes was a moderate, from Ohio (a key swing state then, as now), a second term Governor who was not eligible for a third term, and a guy with a decent profile.  (Rhodes was frequently mentioned as a possible Commissioner of Baseball.)  He would not have picked a mere Congressman; that has never worked out well.  He would not have picked a Westerner; Nancy Reagan always believed that Ronnie needed Eastern support to go all the way to the White House.  He MAY have picked a Southern Democrat if, and only if, the dynamics of the race were such that Reagan could have carried the Deep South with Wallace in the race; that, however, was not Reagan's style, and would not have been received well in the Northeast and parts of the Midwest.  Scott would have been the second most likely pick, but Scott was 68 in 1968, and that was more of an issue back then.

[Fuzzy Says: "Abolish NPR!"]

Former Acting Governor, you are right on.  Nixon begged Rocky to take second place on the ticket in 1960 to no avail.  Rocky ONLY wanted the top spot, but his 1962 divorce and remarriage pretty much ended his Presidential aspirations, but you couldn't tell him that.

The Vice Presidency that Ford handed him in 1974 was sort of a parting gift.  His  thought that he would stay on the ticket in 1976 was insanity.  He was very unpopular among rank and file Republicans even with his support for the Vietnam war and his tough anti-drug policies in his home state if NY.

People have forgotten the utter hatred the Movement Conservatives had for Nelson Rockefeller in the 1960s.  John Stennis would have received a warmer welcome from liberals had he been McGovern's running mate in 1972 than Rockefeller would receive at any time from the Republican Right.  I am not sure that Reagan would have challenged Ford in 1976 had Ford picked a conservative Republican as his VP, and, certainly, not Rockefeller.  And it was personal.  Jacob Javits and Clifford Case were more liberal than Rockefeller in many ways, but Rockefeller was truly hated by the GOP Right.