"I will be sure to continue to improve this country and work to improve relations with the Soviet Union. Not only will we work to strengthen relations with the Soviet Union, we will also improve relations with the world. I have plans to build roads that stretch across the nation and I have plans to improve racial equality. This will be achieved with the help of Senator John F. Kennedy. I would also like to announce the USS Forrestal should hopefully launch next year."
With Robert Taft having passed away in 1953, and no real political opponent, the board was set for Dwight D. Eisenhower to present himself once again to the primaries for the Republican Party. The charismatic general, counting with the support of most Republican voters and being popular even with many in the Democratic Party, easily won the primaries, carrying 10 states with a total of 4,845,444 votes, the biggest wins ever seen in a primary in the history of the United States.
He would be presented the nomination for the presidency, choosing as running mate the Republican congressman Richard Nixon.
On the other hand, President Harry S. Truman, not wanting to alienate the American public by presenting himself to a 4th consecutive term, would instead back governor of New York William Averell Harriman in the primaries over party favorite Adlai Stevenson.
This was devastating to Stevenson.
The ballot was wholly in favor of Harriman as the more experienced candidate, having served as Secretary of Commerce under the largest period of economic growth in American history, being one of the men responsible for putting the GERA Programme into motion, and serving as Ambassador to the United Kingdom and to the Soviet Union before that, during the war.
Adding this to Stevenson's weak position against Communism, Truman's support for Harriman, and the view of many in the party of Stevenson as more of an orator than a leader. It was all but assured that Harriman would carry the nomination forward.
By the time of the 1956 Democratic National Convention, the ink had all but dried. Harriman had carried 12 states, and received the nomination alongside his running mate Senator John F. Kennedy.
Eisenhower Vs. Harriman
The path to the White House was much more difficult for Eisenhower as it could've been against Adlai Stevenson. Harriman was a much more experienced and charismatic candidate, with a bigger clout with the electorate.
Eisenhower had served in the United States Army as a heavily-condecorated general, and was still riding the people's sympathy from his last run for the presidency that was cut short due to disease.
Harriman had not served, but he presented himself as having done just as much for the war effort, having personally established and supervised the lend-lease program that helped turn the tide of the war. He also presented himself as working for the United States after the war, having helped in the rebuilding of Europe and elsewhere
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What might Stevenson be reasonably expected to have achieved in his first term? Would he be likely to be reelected in 1960 (rather than JFK)? How might America and the world be different today?
If you need a scandal for Eisenhower, it's that he was ruthless as a general and prepared to send many to their deaths for the greater objective and attaining positions. Specific incidents come to light and are reported in the press (that's the best I can come up with. Do your own if you like). Also, Stevenson can win with a minority of the popular vote if you like that more.
