If JFK's trip to Dallas had gone on without incident, and he survived, I have a few questions:
1) If he had survived, could he have won the '64 Election? I have heard he was slipping in popularity polls in the months leading up to his death. If I remember correctly, it seemed clear that Goldwater was to be his opponent already and they had planned to have debates as in 1960.
2) If he had won in '64, how do you think history would be different? Would the Civil Rights movement have proceeded as quickly under a second Kennedy term as it did under John's one and a half term? Would we have committed ourselves to Vietnam? Would the counterculture have emerged as it did in the latter part of the '60s?
3) Would he have been remembered as lovingly as he is now? I've read he was actually a very average, borderline mediocre President domestically (in that he was quite unsuccessful in getting any major legislation passed) and a failure in foreign policy. People act as if his death meant the end of a much more promising, almost Utopian future.
4) Would the Civil Rights movement have become as radical and militaristic as some parts of it did in the mid-late 60s, with the race riots and whatnot?
5) Would Kennedy's affairs have ever been made public in his lifetime had he lived and remained President?
6) Lastly, would he have lived through a second term? I've read that due to the severity of his Addisons and his other ailments, he may have become an invalid or even perhaps not survived through a second term....But it seems that is debatable.
1) He would have won, Goldwater was too conservative. It would have been a closer race though
2) Civil rights movement would have been slower for political reasons. JFK wanted to wait until his second term, LBJ needed to court black voters to get re-elected. LBJ also used JFKs death to get bill enacted. I also find it hard to believe anyone would have been as incompetent in vietnam as LBJ was. JFK could have forgotten about nam after re-election. LBJ kept things going, because he didn't want to lose vietnam as Truman had lost China, and then face the voters.
3) He wouldn't be as loved, because he was martyred. I don't consider him to be a poor domestic policy president though.
4) I think the constant riots were partialy a failing on LBJs part. Every time a race riot occurred, LBJ trotted out a new civil rights law
5) I've heard that there was a plan to release information on his affairs during the election year. It would have been hard to keep those things under wraps for too long
6) I think he would have made it through a second term, but not too long after that
