Timeline Part Five (1963: No Dallas)

June 19, 1968  The impact of his brother's death takes its toll on the President's health, and he once again is bed-ridden for three days due to complications due to Addison's Disease. Photos taken from his first year in office, compared to his final year, show a man looking much older than his chronological fifty-one years. His hair has grayed at the temples and crow's feet, forehead wrinkles, and lines down his cheekline are very prominent.

July 3, 1968  The CIA's "Phoenix Program" is ramped up to cover all of Vietnam. Kennedy's advisors fearing that a "domino effect" could spread to Cambodia, Laos, even Thailand from Vietnam, get him to approve a coordinated effort to disrupt the economy of Vietnam. A plan to assassinate Ho Chi Minh is not approved though, as reports come in of his increasingly poor health and the belief he'd die within two years.

July 10, 1968  Six days earlier than OTL, Abdul Rahman Arif is overthrown as President of Iraq by Ba'athists led by Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr. al-Bakr's deputy is a rising star in the Iraqi Ba'ath Party named Saddam Hussein. The CIA analysts believes Hussein is a stalwaart anti-Communist and see positive signs at his rise in the Iraqi Government.

August 5, 1968 The Republican National Convention begins in Miami Beach, Florida. Richard Nixon wins the nomination for President. Nixon formulating his "Southern Strategy" picks Gov. Spiro Agnew of Maryland (a border state, traditionally Democratic, and "Near South") as his running mate.

August 22, 1968 The Democrats hold their Convention in Chicago. It is an upbeat and cordial affair, with Vice-President Russell Long winning the nomination easily. The mood is upbeat, even as President Kennedy's poll numbers waver at 51% (a slight uptick occurs in the wake of Bobby's death). Long, under advisement from Kennedy, chooses Hubert Humphrey of Minnesota as his Vice-President; a reversal of Kennedy-Johnson, a Northern President and Southern Veep.

President Kennedy's "farewell address" is given on August 25th at the Convention. To thunderous applause and sixteen interuptions for minutes-long cheering, he reconts the successes of his eight years in office. Noticeably, he downplays much of the civil rights achievements to focus on the economy, the space program, and foreign policy (naturally, no mention of Vietnam). The near-omissions of the civil rights agenda angers some black and liberal Democrats, though none of that anger shows at the Convention.