Nixon in 1960

[Alben Barkley]

I am not at all convinced the Bay of Pigs would have been successful in this timeline. JFK deferred to the generals who were using an Eisenhower administration plan; I doubt Nixon would do any different AND for the better. What is the reasoning behind this assumption?

Now it’s possible Khrushchev is more scared of Nixon and thus less emboldened to put missiles in Cuba, so no crisis. But if there is one, I shudder to think how it might have gone down. JFK’s calm hand and cool head (neither of which Nixon possessed) along with the skepticism of the military brass he now had after the Bay of Pigs (not sure Nixon would have reacted the same) helped avoid disaster.
 
And even assuming Nixon avoids the worst, I wouldn’t assume he would cakewalk to victory in 1964. He’d be in a very similar position to Bush in 1992: Competent but uncharismatic and uninspiring, less popular VP to a two term Republican icon tries to run for a fourth term in a row for his party. Not sure he could pull it off. If 1960 was still really close, JFK may even beat him in a rematch.