If Ford won in 76, would Ted Kennedy have won in 80?

[hcallega]

Ted Kennedy's biggest obstacle to the White House (besides Chappaquidick) was his lack of interest in the real estate. Considering that he only ran once despite being mentioned as a potential front-runner in every election from 1968 to 1988, it seems pretty clear that Teddy didn't really want to be President. Now I don't mean to say that he wouldn't have liked being President. He would have been the most progressive President since Johnson or FDR. Hard to deny the benefits there. But Ted didn't really want to be President. He didn't have the insatiable urge to win that Nixon or Reagan or the Clinton's had. I would argue that he only ran in 1980 because he saw Carter ripping the Democratic Party (and the nation) apart.

If Kennedy runs, he probably wins the nomination and has a good shot in the general. But I could very well see him deferring to another progressive. I would imagine Scoop Jackson, Gary Hart, Hugh Carey, Dale Bumpers, Walter Mondale, John Glenn, and a slew of other candidates would run if Teddy didn't. Even if Reagan is the GOP nominee (quite likely) the Democrats are still the favorites to win. It was simply a good time to be in opposition, especially with Ford's inability to effectively drive home his message.