1964: Johnson picks Eugene McCarthy as his running mate instead of Humphrey.

[Don Vito Corleone]

In 1964, President Lyndon Johnson considered picking Eugene McCarthy as his running mate, but he ultimately went with the other Senator from Minnesota, Hubert Humphrey. McCarthy of course, would go on to knock Johnson out of the 1968 election with a very strong showing in New Hampshire.

So what if Johnson had gone with his future Nemesis as his understudy? Would McCarthy push Johnson to the left on Vietnam? How would the relationship be between the 2 men? Would McCarthy still challenge Johnson in 1968? How would this hypothetical challenge go? Should he challenge Johnson in 1968 would he win the Nomination? If he did, how would he do in the general? Discuss these and anything else want to talk about.

[MillennialModerate]

It would have made Humphrey a much stronger candidate in '68 because he wouldn't be connected to the administration like he was.... on the idea of McCarthy pushing LBJ left on Vietnam: Yeah right. LBJ was a stubborn persistent s.o.b ...

[Don Vito Corleone]

It would have made Humphrey a much stronger candidate in '68 because he wouldn't be connected to the administration like he was.... on the idea of McCarthy pushing LBJ left on Vietnam: Yeah right. LBJ was a stubborn persistent s.o.b ...

But would Humphrey even have run if he wasn't Vice President? I read somewhere he thought the only way he could be the Democratic nominee was if he became VP first.
And wouldn't being Johnson's VP legitimize McCarthy more, thus making him stronger as well?

[Agonized-Statism]

Senator Hubert Humphrey (D-MN) / Senator Edmund Muskie (D-ME)
Fmr. Vice President Richard Nixon (R-CA) / Governor Spiro Agnew (R-MD) ✓
Fmr. Governor George Wallace (AI-AL) / General Curtis LeMay (AI-CA)
Vice President Eugene McCarthy (I-MN) / Senator George McGovern (I-SD)

McCarthy opposes Vietnam and considers resigning, but stays on to run what he thinks will be a more viable campaign against Johnson in 1968. Humphrey, the perennial lunch pail establishmentarian, still wins the nomination and McCarthy ends up running third party in one of the weirdest moments in US political history.

[darklordoftech]

Maybe Humphrey would be the anti-war candidate in 1968?