John Wayne.
Thursday, August 1st, 1968.
John Wayne Home.
5:17 PM, Newport Beach, California.
[1]
The visits and talks the legendary Duke had been in over the last few days were by far the most shocking thing in his entire life. He knew he was an icon in the American film world, having served in Hollywood movies for nearly forty years now and been in several American Classics like The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance in 1962, The Quiet Man in 1952, Rio Bravo in 1959, Red River in 1948, and The Searchers in 1956 and earlier this year, he had done the only pro-Vietnam movie, Green Berets, in a Hollywood infested with Anti-American Pacfist, Commie-sympathizing drudge that had the same basic premise, story, message, characters, plot, and various other factors, such as the studio being stubborn about covering the war in any capacity. Then there was his short stint in the John Birch Society. Don't get him twisted, he would never be a pinkie and he believed the Society was doing God's work in most things, even if he disagreed with their founder Bob Welch on some things, it was just the denouncing of fluoridation of water supplies as a communist plot. He was a star, an icon, a great many things and he was being tapped for a potential role in an up and coming new film based on Charles Portis' novel, "
True Grit". That film was going to be a classic one, he just knew it. There was also the fact that he turned down that role as Genghis Khan in that 1957 Film, "
the Conqueror", and he heard that many of its actors weren't doing so hot nowadays.
All this now showed him something that truly and seriously surprised him - several wealthy businessmen and even his friend turned Senator George Murphy had just approached him to try and urge him to run for President of these United States. Their rationale was...sound, he supposed. The current leading candidates were Nixon, who he supported in 1960 and 1962 only to see him lose twice, Nelson Rockefeller, who he would never support, and Ronald Reagan. who he backed in two years ago when he successfully ran for Governor. There was also the Governor of Michigan, what was his name again? George Ronny or something? He was a moderate but had really kooky and strange ideas, including brainwashing by the military into supporting the war before walking back said support. There were also some rumblings for the mayor of the Big Apple, John Lindsay. Wayne really couldn't believe what was going on right now in the Republican Party, the Party of Lincoln, of Grant, of Theodore Roosevelt, of Coolidge, and of Ike. It was torn asunder by Liberals who refused to let go of the party, failures who had lost elections twice in a row but believed that the nomination was still his by virtue of being Ike's Vice President (he liked Dick, he did, but him losing twice to Kennedy and to Brown made him a bit sour on the man), a Moderate who had right really running for the party nomination after his statements, and a Governor who, while he did support him, didn't have too much experience and wasn't as bonafide of an icon as The Duke.
But, c'mon, an Actor? For President? Has that ever realistically happened before? Could he do a good job at it, maybe, but he doubt the American public would ever realistically take him as seriously as he'd like, especially after some of the films he had already done and some of the films he was still doing. Hell, "
True Grit seemed like a really good film to do and was lobbying hard for the film to get done, Maybe he and the RNC could work some kind of deal where he acts on certain days for filming and campaigns on others if he did decide to run. Still, however, the idea made him slightly chuckle.
Then he looked at the television. It was just a wayward glance, wasn't meant to be long or anything. He saw students, Americans, protesting the war. Then he remembered what some young german marxist said, something about a "
Long March Through the Institutions" earlier in the year. Then he remembered all the socialist and liberal policies that President Johnson had done over the past several years that has severely hampered the countries ability to function and be governed appropriately. Then he remembered the assassination of the Kennedy brothers and Pastor King. He wasn't a fan of any of those men, but he believed that all men deserved the right to live and speak their mind openly in some way, even if they were a bleeding heart commie sympathizer. If they outed themselves in a debate, all the better. After several more minutes, he closed his eyes, let out a sigh, and walked to the phone. He had to call Reagan.
Thursday, August 1st, 1968 : At the Department of Housing and Urban Development, President Johnson signs a housing bill, providing 5.8 billion for the following three years for a program intended to construct 26 million housing units over the next ten years, President Johnson saying it could potentially be the Magna Charta for liberating cities and praising Congress' enacting of the bill after "decades of neglect."Later in the day, President Johnson authorizes the defense department to switch company steel orders to companies that have raised prices.
The Municipal University of São Caetano do Sul is established in São Caetano do Sul, São Paulo.
Friday, August 2nd, 1968 : President Johnson talks with former President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Mamie Eisenhower at the Walter Reeds Army Hospital as the former president recovers from a heart attack, Johnson telling reporters afterward that he and Eisenhower discussed steel but insisted Eisenhower would not influence his further actions.
The five-story tall Ruby Towers apartment building, located in the Santa Cruz district of Manila, collapsed during a 7.6 magnitude earthquake that struck the Philippines island of Luzon at 4:21 in the morning, killing 204 people. The quake, with an epicenter at the city of Casiguran, 140 miles (230 km) away, killed 10 people in rural areas outside Manila.
Sirhan Sirhan pledges not guilty to the assassination of Robert Francis Kennedy.
Saturday, August 3rd, 1968 : Two days before the 1968 Republican National Convention opens for the nomination contest, the widely known and beloved John Wayne of film, aka The Duke, announces his Presidential Bid for the Republican Nomination for President, being backed by individuals such as Barry Goldwater, Ronald Reagan, George Murphy, and others like them. His speech focused heavily on the societal and crime problems currently facing the nation with little remarks on the ongoing war in Vietnam outside of him "
having a plan" on how to deal with the war, but wants to put more attention at the domestic front than on the foreign policy front.
In response to the recent announcement, Richard Nixon states that while he loves Wayne's films and personally likes the man, he doesn't believe an actor has what it takes to become President, while President Johnson blows off the Wayne candidacy as a joke that is only meant to promote his upcoming film and Democrat frontrunner, Vice President Hubert Horatio Humphrey, states that Americans should be more concerned with the issues that truly matter rather than an out of touch Hollywood actor making a vanity run for President.
President Johnson orders government civilian agencies to purchase the cheapest steel available to them in a move seen as being against defiant steel producers.
The Bratislava Declaration is signed by the leaders of the Communist Parties of Czechoslovakia, the Soviet Union, Bulgaria, East Germany, and Poland, reaffirming their commitment to one another and to Communism.
Sunday, August 4th, 1968 : North Central Airlines Flight 261 was approaching Milwaukee's General Mitchell International Airport on a flight from Chicago when a private plane collided with it. The pilot of the North Central Convair CV-580 turboprop, Captain Ted Baum, was able to land safely in spite of being struck in the side by a Cessna 150. All three people on the Cessna (piloted by a 19-year-old man), were killed.
In Brazzaville, Alphonse Massamba-Débat, the civilian President of the Republic of the Congo, was forced to cede most of his power to a 40-member National Revolutionary Council led by a rebellious Army officer, Captain Marien Ngouabi. Massamba-Débat would continue for another month as a figurehead, before being forced into exile.
North Vietnam rejected yet another United States offer to begin the process to end the Vietnam War when United States negotiator Cyrus Vance met with North Vietnamese delegate Lau in Paris. The formula for mutual de-escalation the North Vietnamese rejected was originally put forward by the Soviet Ambassador to Paris Valerian Zorin.
Independent Presidential Contender George Wallace of Alabama announces that, if John Wayne is nominated for President by the Republicans, he will drop out of the race and encourage his voters to switch their support to Wayne instead, citing their similar stances and views on things like the civil rights movement and the many similarities between those who support Wallace and those who support Wayne.
Wallace's recent announcement causes an uproar as Democrats declare that Wayne, if nominated, would prove that the Republicans were planning on turning the clock back on Civil Rights while the Republicans countered by saying that if Wayne was nominated, then it would fulfill the dream of the founders that anybody could be President, while the Wayne campaign, planning for a Convention fight, remains quiet.
Monday, August 5th, 1968 : The Republican National Convention opens in Miami, Florida
President Johnson's proposed anti-riot legislation is sent to Congress, giving five year imprisonment and $10,000 fine as maximum penalties for individuals found to have crossed state lines for the purpose of inciting civil disorder.
Three weeks after the coup d'état that installed him as Iraq's new president, General Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr announced a general amnesty for his nation's Kurdish population, including people who had deserted from the Iraqi army or from police forces, and said that the surrender of their weapons would not be required. The announcement came the day after al-Bakr and the Revolutionary Command Council said that the RCC would implement provisions of a 12-point plan to provide for cultural autonomy and rights to use Kurdish.
Tuesday, August 6th, 1968 : The United Kingdom submitted a comprehensive proposal at the meeting of the Eighteen Nation Committee on Disarmament in Geneva, that would ultimately become the basis of the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention.
Dick Nixon.
Wednesday, August 7th, 1968.
Miami Beach Convention Center.
6:20 PM, Miami Beach, Florida.
[2]
This was admittedly a much tougher battle than the former Vice President thought he would be in. After all, just three days ago, he was the party frontrunner for the Republican nomination, a dream come true as he redeemed himself from his losses in 1960 and 1962 after six years in the political wilderness. All the makings of a proper comeback story. Patrick, a thirty year old adviser that his staff had hired to be the first one, had been absolutely crucial in writing up his speeches and policy ideas that allowed him to win big with his supporters and with his base. And then The Duke announced he was in and it all fell apart from there.
He was a fan of The Duke's films, loved them and agreed they were classics. The man was very much an American icon, far better than some of his colleagues, and he had the Conservative credentials that made many like him to boot. If any guy had his support if he wasn't nominated, it would be The Duke. However, how his campaign, a very last minute by the looks of things, was being taken seriously despite Wayne's status as an actor and while filming what would very likely be his last film if he was nominated and won the election, since Hollywood would be unlikely to have a standing or former President appear in any movie as an actor. However, Reagan announcing he would be backing Wayne for President was followed by an even more surprising announcement : just earlier today, Rockefeller had declared he was dropping out and wanted his delegates to vote for Wayne. This just left him, Wayne, and Romney. Then, to make matters worse, Wallace stated he would drop out of the race if Wayne was nominated, which caused a lot of party heads to see the potential in Wayne being the nominee, mainly the South being wide open. That announcement was made two days ago and the shockwaves were still being felt.
Currently, at the moment, the first ballot was being tallied. Of the 1,333 Delegates at the convention, a candidate needed only six hundred and sixty-seven to win. Nixon had canvassed the Convention floor for hours alongside his most fervent supporter Spiro Agnew of Maryland, a former Rocky backer. Meanwhile, Wayne did the same with the person he wanted to be his running mate, Congressman John Ashbrook of Ohio. Nixon swore and promised this would be his last Presidential bid. If he didn't get the nomination here, he was done running for political office. Maybe he could work with the Wayne campaign (Romney didn't have a shot at being nominated) and could potentially get into his cabinet, but even then, he doubted he could do much of anything. Wayne seemed like a stubborn and immovable man and his stance on Civil Rights made Dick squirm a bit. He was an opportunist, not a damn radical like Wallace or even that Nazi in Georgia (not Maddox, some whackjob that was planning to run for office). He wasn't calling Wayne a nazi, but his stances were far too similar to legitimate segregationists.
Then he heard the final announcement about the first Ballot results. "At the Convention of the 1968 Republican Party, the Delegates have assembled have finalized their votes and are now ready to be declared openly. Marion R. Morrison, 691 Delegates, Richard M. Nixon, 573 Delegates, and George W. Romney, 69 Delegates. Thus, it is with great honor that I hereby declare that Morrison is the Party Nominee for President of the United States of America." Following that, a recess was called before they reconvened for a vote on Wayne's running mate. Nixon sighed, seemed like his political career was over and done with. As he got up, he made up his mind. Time to see if Wayne would be interested in allowing him on the campaign team, along with the rest of his staff like Buchanan, and if he could worm his way into the cabinet. Tricky Dick ain't done yet, not by a long shot.
Wednesday, August 7th, 1968 : John Wayne wins the Republican Nomination, prevailing over Richard Nixon and George Romney with 691 Delegates to Nixon's 573 and Romney's 69. It is widely believed that Wayne's victory was due to the support from Reagan and Rockefeller dropping out at the last minute to support him in an anyone but Nixon movement.
More than 1,000 people drowned in the Gujarat State of India, after heavy rains during the monsoon season caused the Tapti River to overflow its banks.
Nine coal miners were killed in an explosion and subsequent slate fall at Peabody Coal Company's River Queen Mine, near Greenville, Kentucky.
Thursday, August 8th, 1968 : The Republican Party votes on Wayne's running mate, with Conservative Ohio Congressman since 1961 John M. Ashbrook, Wayne's preferred choice, winning with 675 Delegates to Nelson Rockefeller's 399, Spiro Agnew's 195, George Romney's 57, and John Lindsay's 27, creating a Wayne/Ashbrook, California-Ohio ticket for the Presidency, much to the shock of the Democratic Party. This solidifies the Conservative stance and swing of the Republican Party as Wayne announces that he will end a vast majority of Johnson's "
So called Great Society" and bring back true law and order to the nation. While he doesn't go especially harsh in his rhetoric, Rockefeller is quoted as saying during the speech "
I backed him. God, I backed him!"
East Germany's Premier and Communist Party First Secretary Walter Ulbricht sent a proposal to his West Germany counterpart, Chancellor Kurt Georg Kiesinger, seeking a summit for economic cooperation between the two German nations. Ulbricht's note is viewed in the west as a signal of "the failure and abandonment" of störfreimachen, a 1960 program to make East Germany independent of West German products. The next day, Ulbricht spoke at the East German parliament, the Volkskammer, and offered to normalize relations with the West.
Friday, August 9th, 1968 : British Eagle International Airlines Flight 802 crashed in Langenbruck, West Germany, killing all 44 passengers and the crew of 4, after the loss of its electrical power supply, uncontrollable stress on the aircraft, and its structural failure
Yugoslavia's President Josip Broz Tito, a Communist known for not always agreeing with the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact, visited Czechoslovakia's Prime Minister Alexander Dubcek and was cheered by tens of thousands of people during his visit to Prague.
Rest of August & Maybe some of September is next
[1] - From here :
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:John_Wayne_(1960).jpg[2] - From here :
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nixon_and_Agnew_on_the_convention_center_floor_-_Miami_Beach,_Florida_(1).jpg
