1956 Without Ike

[BL53931]

Not many remember this but Eisenhower came close to not running in 1956 following his heart attack. If he doesn't who runs and who gets nominated?

My guess would be Stevenson and Nixon. Any ideas? Who wins?

[BL53931]

I agree that almost any Democrat would have won if Ike had not run.

Stevenson was regarded by many on the Right as a sort of squishy Liberal but I think he would have been centrist. Interesting to speculate on the course we would have taken under him. I doubt he would have been proactive on Civil Rights- neither was JFK but circumstances forced him to lead. Adlai would have done that too, maybe a lot earlier than 1961 or so.  

In real life Stevenson died at age 65; if re-elected in 1960 he may not have lived out that term.