The Comeback Gentleman

[Gracchus]

One of, if not the best timeline I've ever read

This TL is making me love Nixon and I'm not sure why

Keep it up!

[DKrol]

One of, if not the best timeline I've ever read

This TL is making me love Nixon and I'm not sure why

Keep it up!

Thank you! I appreciate the comment very much!

[America Needs R'hllor]

This TL is making me love Nixon and I'm not sure why

Can't wait for more.

[DKrol]

Part XV - Midterm Reset

1986 did not get off to an immediately better start for the Dole/Nixon Administration

On January 28, 1986, NASA televised the launch of the Space Shuttle Challenger, carrying New Hampshire teacher Christine McAuliffe, who was scheduled to teach a science lesson from outer space. 73 seconds after launch, the shuttle disintegrated in front of a national audience - Vice President Nixon had even traveled to Cape Canaveral to see off the mission. School children across the nation were shocked and horrified as teachers scrambled to shut off the televisions. President Dole delayed his planned State of the Union address by three days out of respect and mourning for the crew and their loved ones.

At the State of the Union, Dole announced the creation of a commission to investigate the disastrous result of the mission, choosing his Vice President to chair the commission. Nixon graciously accepted the duty and received a bipartisan standing ovation from the Joint Session of Congress. Political commentators noted that even considering such a thing even five years earlier would have been unfathomable.

Nixon threw himself at the Challenger Commission, personally meeting with witnesses and collecting testimony through dozens of interviews with engineers and scientists across the nation. While the Commission had 14 other members, mostly specialists from the aerospace and defense industries, Nixon ran the Commission with an iron fist and used his girth as Vice President to steamroll over the experts. After 8 months on the job, the Nixon Commission, as it became known, produced a report in September of 1986 declaring a failure of O-rings in the rocket booster as the cause of the disaster. The report, largely personally written by Nixon, called for the end of the Space Shuttle Program for “an indefinite period” and a “serious change” in the management of NASA. Nixon, in an interview after the report was released, said that he believed NASA’s leadership had “gotten eyes bigger than their abilities” and had “foolishly rushed ahead of the technology and put human lives at risk in the process.” Dole privately chastised Nixon for speaking so freely about “such a sensitive matter” but said nothing publically.

Former President Ted Kennedy was the winner of the 1986 Midterms

With Nixon working furiously for the Nixon Commission, Dole was forced to carry the torch of campaigning for Republican candidates during the midterms. This fed into Democrats’ plans. Attacking Dole as weak and ineffectual, former President Ted Kennedy criss-crossed the nation for Democratic candidates in House and Senate races. Kennedy attacked Dole for his inaction during the El Descanso disaster, his soft stance on Duke, and his brutal use of the National Guard during the race riots. Dole and Republicans tried to counter and argue that Dole was a competent administrator and that, with strong Republican majorities in Congress, major legislation like tax reform and infrastructure plans were coming.

Going into 1986, Republicans held a 54-45 majoriting in the Senate. They lost one seat, in North Carolina, from a special election in March, reducing their margin to 53-47. Republican Senators were unseated in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Dakota, and Maryland and only unseated one Democratic Senator, Thomas Eagleton in Missouri. This left the Senate with a 51-49 Democratic majority. In the House, Republicans held onto their majority by a single seat, 218-217. While not a landslide by any margin, it certainly hurt the White House’s standing in the eyes of the electorate as the Dole/Nixon Reelection Machine was gearing up.

[Cold War Liberal]

YES IT'S BACK

I was actually, believe it or not, considering bumping this earlier today, but decided against it. Great to see an update.

[DKrol]

YES IT'S BACK

I was actually, believe it or not, considering bumping this earlier today, but decided against it. Great to see an update.

Coincidental timing!

Truth be told, my semester in Europe got the best of me for the last month or so but I'm back in form!

[America Needs R'hllor]

Yas! I'm actually doing a project concerning Nixon now so I'm delving a bit into his thinking, it's fun to see this TL in the meantime

[DKrol]

Part XVI - Keep on Keeping On

Ronald Reagan, a long time rival of Nixon, reared his head again in 1987

With the new Congress sworn in in January, 1987, President Dole looked to reset his administration and get off on a good foot. At a meeting of the Cabinet on January 10, Dole asked for the resignation of the entire Cabinet. He would not accept them all, but wanted the opportunity to replace some troublesome or controversial members, many of whom Nixon had appointed during his time as Acting President. It was not a problem for most secretaries, who acknowledged that they served at the pleasure of the President. Secretary of State Ronald Reagan, however, proved troublesome when Dole informed him that he would not be continuing on. He arrived in Nixon’s office in an irate fury the morning of January 11, expecting to find a friendly ear as he argued for keeping his job. Instead, Nixon stood firm with Dole and expressed concerns of Reagan’s health and management abilities.

Reagan went on a tear against the Dole White House the day after his resignation became final on January 22. He gave a no-holds-barred interview with Tom Brokaw for Meet the Press where he said that Nixon “was the real brains behind the operation” at the White House. Reagan called Dole “a weak bumbling fool” and said that “he could die at any moment,” leaving Nixon in power. The Reagan interview dominated the news cycle that week, which was already sour for the White House after a story had leaked about White House Chief of Staff Jack Kemp accepting money from conservative activist groups in exchange for access to the Oval Office. Dole announced that Kemp was fired on January 23, which he hoped would alleviate some of the pressure. It didn’t, but what was coming did.

Reagan’s Deputy Secretary of State Donald Regan proved a key figure in his boss’ undoing

In 1985, it was first reported by CBS that arms had been sold to key Iranian military officials in an effort to secure the release American hostages in Lebanon. Years of investigative reporting found that an effort was also made to provide funding for the Contras of Nicaragua as they fought against the socialist government in their country. Dole denied any responsibility in the funneling of money to the Contras but admitted to, and accepted responsibility for, the sale of arms to Iran “in an effort to save American lives.” In February 1987 it became known that it was Donald Regan, Deputy Secretary of State, who authorized the transfer to the Contras. Days later it was reported that Regan was acting under immediate orders from Reagan in violation of the Boland Amendment of 1984. The leak came from within the White House but wasn’t tied to a specific official until the publishing of Nixon’s memoirs, where Nixon said that it was National Security Adviser Donald Rumsfeld.

The White House sent Nixon, seen as the face of credibility and responsibility, on a full press junket to attack Reagan, discredit him, and restore faith in the Dole-Nixon White House. Nixon said that Reagan had acted “completely and entirely outside of the orders of the White House” and has “irrevocably damaged the standing of the United States of America.” Nixon announced that an independent counsel would be appointed in the coming days to “launch a thorough and completely independent investigation into the actions that have taken place” and recommend any charges, if found necessary. For the job, Attorney General Clement Haynsworth chose Hillary Rodham Clinton, the Democratic attorney who had argued against Nixon being eligible to receive electoral votes.

Richard Nixon, forced from office by the efforts of a Special Counsel investigating a Republican administration, found himself as the champion of another Special Counsel investigating a Republican administration.

[DKrol]

Are people still interested in this TL? I've got the key points plotted out and an endgame in mind that I'd love to write if people still want to read it. I know the gaps in writing may have turned some people off or diminished interest.

[OSR stands with Israel]

Are people still interested in this TL? I've got the key points plotted out and an endgame in mind that I'd love to write if people still want to read it. I know the gaps in writing may have turned some people off or diminished interest.

I am still interested

[Cold War Liberal]

Are people still interested in this TL? I've got the key points plotted out and an endgame in mind that I'd love to write if people still want to read it. I know the gaps in writing may have turned some people off or diminished interest.

I am still interested

Very much so, I might add

[DKrol]

Chapter XVII: Back to the Future

Former President Ted Kennedy saw and opening in 1988 for a comeback

In June 1987, the first Democratic candidate announced his bid for President of the United States. Speaking to a sparse crowd in Memphis, Tennessee, preacher Jesse Jackson declared that he would champion the cause of the "common man" against the "big business interests of the Dole-Nixon White House." When Nixon read that Jackson was running against them in the Wall Street Journal he laughed, according to his Chief of Staff, Karl Rove, and said "Don't even tell Pat there's an election. I don't want her to try packing a bag if he's who they're sending up." For most of the summer, Jackson was the only serious Democratic candidate. The other prospective candidates were waiting, keeping an eye on signs from Boston.

Former President Ted Kennedy had spent 1986 on the campaign trail for top-level Democratic candidates across the country. While helping their prospects and securing a Democratic majority in the Senate, he was also maintaining his own visibility and ensuring favorable press. He had hinted, through senior staffers, that he was considering a bid to return to the White House in 1988 and had told other top candidates to give him until August 31 to make a decision. On August 3, President Dole announced he was running for reelection, with Vice President Nixon by his side. Democratic Party officials then stepped up their pressure on Kennedy to make a decision. And yet the youngest Kennedy Brother demurred even longer. His self-imposed August 31 deadline came and went and yet no pronouncement from Boston came. Top candidates like Senator Joe Biden, Governor Michael Dukakis, Senator Al Gore, and Governor Mario Cuomo all continued to wait, not wanting to step on the toes of their popular former President and hurt the odds of garnering his support should he not run.

Then, on September 15, 1987, only days before the filing deadline in Iowa, a capacity crowd in Boston's Fanieul Hall heard the liberal lion roar.

[America Needs R'hllor]

Are people still interested in this TL? I've got the key points plotted out and an endgame in mind that I'd love to write if people still want to read it. I know the gaps in writing may have turned some people off or diminished interest.

I am still interested

Very much so, I might add

[DKrol]

Chapter XVIII: Troubles at Home, Troubles on the Trail, Troubles All Around

Richard and Pat Nixon met in the late 1930s at a local theatre production

Former President Ted Kennedy announced he was running for a return to the White House in the middle of September 1987. The news was quickly overshadowed in the Nixon household by several events. In early October, Tricia Nixon Cox and her husband, Edward Finch Cox, startled the family at a monthly family dinner in New York City. Tricia had uncovered an affair between Edward and the wife of one of his business partners that dated back for at least three years. They had attempted to work through it but Tricia couldn't bring her self to "live like that - as someone's other woman." The Cox's intended to divorce at the earliest possible date. That date turned out to be January 14, 1988 - the same date as the Michigan Primary.

While easily winning the Republican Primary in a mostly-uncontested race, President Dole failed to eclipse 70% of the vote total, with New Hampshire Governor John H. Sununu capturing a surprising 15% in his up-start bid against the incumbent. Immediately, this sent warning alarms off for the Vice President, who was forced to split his attention between his daughter's failed marriage, his duties as Vice President, the campaign responsibilities, and his wife. Pat Nixon had suffered a minor stroke in 1976 and another in 1983. In the summer of 1987, unbeknownst to the public, she had been diagnosed with lung cancer. With the pressures of Tricia's divorce and trying to keep up her public schedule, Pat was often ill and weak. On the morning of January 16, as Richard was leaving for a campaign stop in New Hampshire, Pat collapsed on the stairs of the Vice President's residence in Washington and fell down a flight of stairs. Hitting her head along the way, she had passed away before her body came to rest.

The Vice President was devastated by the series of events between 1987 and 1988. He wrote in his diary frequently, asking God "Why have you cursed me with so much so soon?" President Dole, Speaker Trent Lott, and Majority Leader Robert Byrd all approved the use of the Capitol Rotunda for Pat to lie in state but the Vice President didn't want "anything large or flashy, that wasn't the way she did things." Instead, a private service was held at the family's church in San Clemente followed by a private burial at the family plot. Even President Dole was rebuffed when he offered to attend the service alongside his Vice President. A lone photograph was taken, with a zoom lens from a building across the street from the cemetery, showing Nixon, head held high, comforting Tricia with one hand. His other was resting on Pat's coffin before it was lowered into the ground.

Richard Nixon found comforts abroad after the death of his dear Pat

Nixon had made his career as an avid campaigner, having visited all 50 states en route to his loss in 1960 to John F. Kennedy. After Pat's death, he lost that drive. Instead, he resigned himself to largely ceremonial, Vice Presidential duties, leaving campaigning to President Dole and other partisan surrogates, such as Texas Senator George HW Bush, as they fought to defeat the upstart New Hampshire Governor and his insurgent challenge. In March, Nixon embarked on a state visit to the United Kingdom and to Ireland on behalf of President Dole. The British Isles were embroiled in a decades-long struggle over the role of the British Government in Ireland and Dole hoped that sending the skilled diplomat Nixon could help lead to a breakthrough.

While in Ireland, Nixon caused a stir when he refused to meet with reported Irish Republican Army leader Thomas Murphy. Nixon told an aide that he "wouldn't dignify their barbarism with a photo-op." State Department officials tried to mend the faux pas by arranging for Nixon to tour a facility dedicated to helping the families of Irishmen killed or wounded in the struggle for independence but Nixon appeared disinterested and unmoved when members informed him of their hardships. The British leg of his journey went much more smoothly for the Vice President. He met with Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher at her country estate, Chequers, where he had been received by Queen Elizabeth II and then-Prime Minister Edward Heath in 1970 as President. Privately, Nixon wasn't keen on Thatcher's extreme free market capitalism, worrying that it would cause "irrevokable damage to our planet" but the two got along well in public and engaged in civil discourse in private.

It was with Prince Charles that Nixon "had fun for the first time", he later wrote, "since she passed," notably never referring to his late wife by name again. The heir to the British throne had represented his mother in the United States while Nixon was President in 1970 and again in 1985, with his wife, Diana. While Nixon knew the heartbreak of his wife's passing, Charles knew the heartbreak of a failed marriage. When he and Diana had visited the White House in 1985, the Prince and Princess had traveled on separate planes and spent much of the trip apart. Nixon and Charles bonded over their sorrows and, according to Nixon's memoirs, raised a glass "to brighter days ahead." With Charles, Nixon visited the headquarters of the National Osteoporosis Society in Somerset, where Charles' longtime mistress Camilla Parker Bowles had just begun as patron.

Little did either of the men present that day realize who massive that visit would become. The Princess of Wales became notably distraught and demanded a separation and eventual divorce from her husband when she read of the visit and saw a picture of the Prince, the Vice President, and Parker Bowles together.

[Former Senator Haslam2020]

FF Nixon. RIP Pat, but I’m pulling for Nixon to lead us through the Gulf War.

[DKrol]

Will this TL take place solely in the 1970s? Or will it feature some details of a post-good-Nixon world?

The main storyline will go until the early 1990s when Pat dies (same as OTL). I may do some kind of epilogue then, but no promises.

Obviously, the plan has changed since I first said this.

[DKrol]

No actual post today, but a bit of a teaser. The epilogue of this TL will be set in 2027. Any guesses as to what the final event will be?

[erſatz-york]

The real Nixon tapes are declassified/the forgery efforts are revealed.

[DKrol]

Chapter XVIX: Stalemate

Voters who held onto their yard signs from 1984 could reuse them in 1988

Nixon returned to the campaign trail for the first time after Pat’s death on August 8. The Dole Campaign held a rally to formally announce Nixon’s renomination as Vice President. Speaking to a crowd in Columbus, Ohio, Nixon acknowledged that it may have been “more politically advantageous in the moment” to tap New Hampshire Governor John H. Sununu, who had clearly and definitively lost in the primaries after failing to capture a single state but still refused to release his two hundred and seven delegates, for the Vice Presidency but thanked Dole for “choosing the right man for the job with respect to the long term future of this country.” There had been, in fact, a strong movement within the Republican Party’s upper echelon to pressure Dole to dump Nixon from the ticket. Led by Party Vice Chairman Frank Fahrenkopf, they worried about Nixon’s bought with depression and withdrawal after the Second Lady’s death. His complete turnaround after his return from the trip to the United Kingdom silenced those critics.

Former President Ted Kennedy also easily secured his party’s nomination for the third time. Jesse Jackson’s campaign was plagued by mismanagement and inconsistent messaging. Faced with the daunting task of taking on a former President from American political royalty, Jackson floundered and ended his campaign after winning less than 10% in South Carolina. For his running mate, Kennedy went for the same idea as he had with John Stennis four years earlier: a southern moderate who would balance out the northern liberal Kennedy. Instead of choosing a man in his mid-80s known for rabid segregationist ideas, however, Kennedy went with Senator Al Gore of Tennessee. Gore came from a political dynasty of his own, with his father serving as a Member of Congress and a Senator from 1939 to 1971. Gore had previously worked with Nixon on environmental issues, an area where they shared interest.

President Dole took an active role in campaigning in 1988

The Democratic message in 1988 was built around the message that Ronald Reagan made in his “farewell tour”. The Dole White House was incompetent and mismanaged, they argued, with the Vice President holding all real power. Kennedy and Gore also attacked Dole as weak on foreign policy, citing the failures in his early tenure with the El Descanso disaster. Nixon also came on fire for being 75 years old, with Democrats arguing that he was too old to assume the duties of the Oval Office if needed. Dole and Nixon responded by saying that Kennedy had had his chance to shape the United States and that he had failed to “craft America’s image in a positive way.” When Nixon and Gore debated in Miami, they were amicable and engaged in a thoughtful exchange of ideas - concurring over the need to care for the planet but differing over the methods to do so, agreeing that federal spending needed to be controlled but arguing over the cuts that needed to be made, and acknowledging that either man would do a fine job as Vice President. The Dole-Kennedy debate lacked that formality and civility, with fireworks and bombs being thrown back and forth. Dole lambasted Kennedy as running on his name alone, while Kennedy responded by attacking Dole’s “lack of good judgement”, especially highlighting the Iran-Contra Scandal.

From the first returns, it was clear that election night was going to be long and slow. The earliest signs that it would be a tight race came when Dole/Nixon held on to Delaware by 54 votes while Ohio was too close to call for either side. Democrats received a needed boost when they won a majority in the House of Representatives, but it was muted when Republicans pulled of an amazing victory in the Massachusetts Senate race as attorney Bill Weld defeated incumbent Senator John Kerry. Weld’s victory gave the Republicans a 51-49 majority in the Senate, dividing control on the Hill. As more states came in, the Presidential race became less and less clear. Dole/Nixon won Pennsylvania but lost Ohio to Kennedy/Gore. Kennedy and Gore won Nixon’s home state of California while Gore’s Tennessee voted for Dole and Nixon. Just before 4 AM on November 9, 1988, Peter Jennings announced on ABC to millions of Americans that something historic had occurred.

“Ladies and gentlemen, ABC News can now project that this election will be heading to the House of Representatives and the United States Senate.”

Kennedy/Gore (269) v. Dole/Nixon (269)

[Former Senator Haslam2020]

President Nixon! Also not to be that guy, but Nixon’s 75 I think he could maybe become President . Fr though, great job on the timeline. You’ve truly taken a character and made an extreme interesting timeline out of him, one that’s almost believable.

[DKrol]

President Nixon! Also not to be that guy, but Nixon’s 75 I think he could maybe become President . Fr though, great job on the timeline. You’ve truly taken a character and made an extreme interesting timeline out of him, one that’s almost believable.

At 75, ITTL Nixon would be older than RL Reagan was when he first was inaugurated if ITTL Nixon somehow found his way back into the Oval.

[America Needs R'hllor]

Oh god- Kennedy\Nixon?
Either way, this TL is so good.

[DKrol]

Chapter XX: The Odd Couple

Ted Kennedy and Richard Nixon had a complex relationship dating back to the 1960 Election

For the first time in American history, a presidential contest with only two major candidates and no disputed results was deadlocked. Following the proper Constitutional order, it was sent to Congress, with the House charged with electing the President and the Senate with electing the Vice President. The Democrats held a 19-seat majority in the House, so the election of Kennedy was not in doubt. On January 5, 1989, the House voted 30 to 20 by state bloc for Kennedy to become America's 41st President, the second President to serve nonconsecutive terms. Two Republican delegations voted for Kennedy on the principle that he won their states' votes, so he should win their votes as well.

The Senate, where Senators voted as individuals and where the Republicans held only a 1-seat majority, was more contested. Conservative Democrats attempted to lobby several Republicans to vote for Senator Lloyd Bentsen of Texas. They argued that a White House led by Kennedy and Nixon would be too divided to function, quoting Lincoln's "A House Divided Cannot Stand" in an effort to get Republicans to turn on their senior statesman and head of the party. Kennedy expressed a personal preference in private to Bentsen over Nixon or Gore, but legal scholars argued that the Senators were limited in their choices to the top two finishers - Nixon and Gore. A group of rebellious Southern Democrats argued that they were free to make their own rules but, in the end, fears of acting extra-constitutionally kept all Senators in line. By a vote of 51 to 48, with Democratic Senator Howard Metzenbaum missing the vote due to his recovery from back surgery, the Senate voted for Richard Nixon to continue in office as the Vice President of the United States of America.

For his second Administration, Kennedy turned to his former enemy as a major ally

From the earliest days of the administration, it became clear that the arguments about a divided house may have been good advice rather than political posturing. Kennedy and Nixon sparred over staff choices, cabinet choices, and planning details for the inauguration. Kennedy chose former Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter for his Secretary of Defense, citing his time in the Navy's submarine program after World War II as qualification, over Nixon's suggestion of Donald Rumsfeld, President Dole's National Security Adviser. Joe Biden's name was tossed around for Attorney General, angering Nixon immensely over the trouble Biden gave him over the Bork nomination, only to be passed over for former Georgia Senator Herman Talmadge, who had been a key Democratic member of the Watergate Committee. Talmadge's selection drew ire from Kennedy's liberal base, who were upset of the new Attorney General's history of racial segregation. The only senior-level cabinet official that the President and the Vice President agreed on was the Secretary of State: George HW Bush, who agreed to leave the Senate and resume the post he had held under President Ford.

From Day One of the term, the President and Vice President operated as if the other did not exist. Nixon set up shop at Number One Observatory Circle, having large portions of the first floor converted into office space for his staff and creating his own Oval Office with the Vice Presidential Seal in the carpet. Kennedy, in response, had his staff move into the Vice President's office space in the White House. In an ultimate insult, Kennedy instructed security officers to require to see Nixon's ID badge before allowing him into the building, despite his face being among the most recognizable in the country. Cabinet meetings were frosty, with Nixon complaining to staff members afterward that he "felt like a gazelle in a  pride of lions, like a seal in shark-infested waters. They're out for blood, out for my blood." He would often spend long evenings with Secretary Bush at One Naval Observatory Circle, cutting loose after having to hold back and accommodate the liberal President all day. Nixon also took to making frequent personal trips back to the United Kingdom, a country he had fallen in love with since Pat's passing, or Canada, where he met with the Duke of Edinburgh during a March tour of British Columbia. American commentators made note of the Vice President's growing relations with the British upper-class as his relationship with his President deteriorated.

Thankfully for Nixon, the arrangement wasn't to last.

[Former Senator Haslam2020]

President Nixon pls

[DKrol]

Chapter XXI: It’s All In the Family

Edward Moore Kennedy, 39th and 41st President of the United States

On April 5, 1989, members of the United Mine Workers Association at the Pittston Coal Company in Pittston, Pennsylvania went on strike after working for over a year without a contract. The dispute included fights over pay increases and health care coverage for mine workers, many of whom were becoming very sick due to the exposure to the dangerous chemicals in the coal. President Kennedy, considering himself a champion of the union worker and looking to sure up support in coal country after losing several states to Dole/Nixon, traveled to the Moss 3 Mine in Virginia on April 7 to meet with striking workers and give them his support. The crowd was on edge after receiving threats from security forces hired by the Pittston Coal Company and the stress of having the President of the United States visit did not help.

Kennedy arrived at the mine shortly after 10 AM. He spent about an hour moving up and down a rope line, meeting with strikers, before he went into the plant manager’s office to speak with him on the miners’ behalf. Kennedy spent 45 minutes with the manager and company representatives before he exited the building and made his way towards his waiting car. He was nearly in the limo when he heard a group of miners shouting to him from a roped-off area. Although his security detail tried to stop him, Kennedy, ever conscious of his image, veered away from the car and reapproached the rope line.

One mild-aged miner, Jeff Goldman of Pittsburgh, reached out to shake the President’s hand. Goldman refused to let go as Kennedy tried to move on, hoping to have a longer conversation with the President. Kennedy tried to tug his hand loose but Goldman pulled the President towards him, with Kennedy bending over the rope line. According to someone standing near by, Goldman said “You’re either with us or you’re not, we’re not a political toy” before pulling a gun out of his jacket and firing three shots, point blank, into Kennedy’s chest.

The Secret Service, who had been thrown out of synchronization by Kennedy declining to get into the car, ripped Kennedy away from Goldman and threw him into the car, which went speeding to the nearest hospital. Being in the middle of nowhere in Virginia Coal Country, the closest hospital was the Dickinson Community Health Center, a small practice with two doctors, six nurses, and no on-site x-ray machine or surgical suites. According to a medical report report uncovered by a Freedom of Information Act request in 2009, the bullets failed to cause any serious damage to any vital organs and Kennedy likely would have survived had he been able to get to a major trauma center in time. Unfortunately, he wasn’t and he passed away just after 2:30 PM on April 7, 1989, Ted Kennedy joined his brothers Jack and Bobby.

From L to R: Secretary of State George HW Bush, former Secretary of State Ronald Reagan, Secretary of Defense Jimmy Carter, former President Jerry Ford, President Richard Nixon (1989 - Nixon’s swearing in to office)

Richard Nixon was on a weekend-long vacation to the United Kingdom, his second of the year, when Kennedy was shot. Immediately, he was placed on Air Force Two and flown back to the United States, the plane becoming Air Force One over the Atlantic. Nixon was not aware of the severity and fatality of the attack until he landed at Andrews AFB and Chief of Staff Paul Kirk, who had the most frosty relationship with Nixon, greeted him as “Mr. President.” Nixon was rushed to the White House, where Associate Justice Dallin Oaks, the only Supreme Court Justice in town that night, was waiting for him. Just before 8:00 PM, Nixon took the oath of office for the third time. He then spoke to the nation from the Oval Office for 12 minutes. He praised the late President’s “lifetime of bold, progressive action” to “ensure that every voice had a seat at the table of our national discourse.” Nixon tried to make the country feel safe, telling them that the attacker “as a single mad man with a gun, a lone wolf out with a specific task in mind” despite the Secret Service not being sure of that. He also addressed his own history with the Oval Office, pledging “to begin my administration on the best foot possible, with eyes towards the future, not the quagmire of the past.”

Immediately after addressing the nation, Nixon assembled the Cabinet, who had all been collected by their security details and placed in secure locations after the first news of the attack, in the Situation Room. He demanded all of their resignations, effective one month later, “so as not to give the American people the feeling that a coup has occurred.” Like with Dole’s demand after the 1986 midterms, this request was perfectly normal and comfortable with the vast majority of the Cabinet. Secretary of Defense Jimmy Carter, knowing his resignation would be accepted without hesitation, demurred and took several days to fill out the paperwork. It took a call from President Kennedy’s mother, Rose, to get Carter to go along with it. Carter was correct; Nixon did not ask Carter to continue on after the month passed.

Although his swearing in was a small, rushed affair in the Oval Office, Nixon wanted to hold a larger, public display. The Secret Service was hesitant as their investigation into the Kennedy assassination was still on-going and they worried about holding a major public event so soon thereafter. But, as almost always happened, President Nixon got his way and a faux inauguration was held on April 24, complete with prayers, speeches, and a re-issuance of the oath of office by Chief Justice William Rehnquist. A parade followed Nixon’s “Commencing Address”, as the White House press office called it, but the Secret Service forced Nixon to remain seated in his limousine for the duration of the parade route.

Notably, the parade route had to be diverted when a group of about 6 dozen protesters jumped over the barricades and attempted to throw paint at the President’s car, wearing shirts saying “Nixon, Not Again!” In his diary, Nixon noted that was the type of moment when he missed Pat the missed.