John Glenn (D-OH)
1969-1973
Despite skepticism from some quarters, the American Space Program had grown through the 50s, in part a desperate effort to catch up with Soviet advances into space. And the first American to orbit the Earth was an Ohio boy, John Glenn.
Born in Cambridge and attending Muskingum College where he played football, and met his wife Annie. He would eventually attain a Civilian Pilot’s license, which he would attempt to use to join the Army Air Corps. When this failed he joined the Navy Air Corps, eventually serving in the Marines with honors during World War 2. Glenn would return to combat duty in Korea, where he would be among the first jet pilots, along with Ted Williams of Red Sox fame. After the war’s end, Glenn considered Bricker’s withdrawal disappointing, Glenn would become a test pilot, completing the first transcontinental flight at supersonic speeds.
These exploits made him an ideal fit for the emerging Project Cosmonaut at the National Satellite and Spaceflight Agency, although he only barely met the height requirements to become one of the famous “First 7” Cosmonauts from the United States. Glenn was not the first man into space, or even orbit. That honor was lost to the Soviet Union. Nor was he the first American in Space, with Alan Shepard and Gus Grissom preceding him on suborbital flights. However Glenn would be the first American to orbit the globe from space, aboard his ship the “Friendship” in 1962. Splashing down without incident, Glenn would instantly become a national celebrity, a status maintained by his natural charisma.
However there were 6 over men in the program before Spaceflight would arrive back to him, not to mention the new Project Partners, introducing new cosmonauts to NSSA. In addition Glenn’s newfound fame meant that higher ups were reluctant to put him in any danger. This, along with encouragement from certain Democratic Party officials, most notably the Kennedy brothers, Glenn endeavored to compete for the 1964 Ohio Senate election, launching a primary campaign against Stephen Young, whose health was fading and who was eventually persuaded to retire. This new blood, and Glenn’s outsider image, likely saved the Democrats in Ohio. Despite his fame Glenn only narrowly won over Robert Taft Jr, becoming one of the few Democrats to weather the storm of 1964
In the Senate, Glenn proved a particular critic of LeMay’s administration, pointedly using his own military experience to lend gravitas to his attacks on the General. Glenn was active on the Government Operations Committee, becoming well known (as a politician) for his work on investigations into the Federal Government. His background also made him an ideal spokesman for the Democrats on matters of science and technology. Despite this, he was generally well regarded across the aisle as a man interested in good governance in all areas.
Despite less than a full term in the Senate, Glenn was being touted as a Presidential candidate. Solidly liberal, but not a bomb thrower. A bipartisan man but no Lausche, unable to commit. Supportive of Civil Rights, but not a leader in the area. A celebrity, but one who had established a reputation as an honest workhorse. Glenn would perform well in the crucial New Hampshire and Wisconsin primaries, giving him momentum going into the convention, momentum that would carry him to a majority. Immediately questions would be raised as Glenn, never the most engaging speech giver, gave an acceptance speech that landed with a dud.
As his Vice Presidential nominee, Glenn chose his friend Massachusetts Governor Robert F. Kennedy. This move was controversial, as a northerner alongside with a strong civil rights plank ensured another southern schism. In addition rumors still swirl that the choice offended Kennedy’s older brother, the Senator from Massachusetts, who felt snubbed. Nonetheless Kennedy would prove a charismatic and energetic asset to the ticket.
The pair would sweep the nation, rallying against the LeMay Administration's failures and promising change. This time, there would be a fresh start, not a crack down. Despite another southern schism, Glenn would win in a landslide accepting LeMay’s surprisingly gracious concession before all polls had even closed.
Glenn embarked on a firm and progressive, but not necessarily radical, agenda in office. LeMay’s willingness to allow the South to skirt the spirit of desegregation, if not the letter, was no more. US Marshals would sweep across the South and begin enforcing Adams vs Board in full. In the halls of Congress, Glenn pushed for a new Civil Rights Act, one that would end desegregation in private business as well as public areas. The South’s fury was aroused, and in the end passage would only come in 1971, when President of the Senate Robert Kennedy pulled a procedural gambit to end a filibuster. Again, widespread unrest in the South followed, and the region began to shift towards the Republican Party, although not entirely.
Glenn would push for scientific research and development as President. Nuclear energy production was expanded, although coupled with strict regulations to avoid disasters. This at times pushed him into conflict with environmentalists, with whom he otherwise had a fairly constructive relationship, establishing the Environmental Protection Agency. The high point of Glenn’s presidency was no doubt in 1970, when America landed Michael Collins on the Moon, as part of Project Moonman. Moonlandings would continue for the rest of Glenn’s term.
Glenn enjoyed a close working relationship with Vice President Kennedy. Kennedy, via his brother and wealth, had many contacts on the hill. Glenn valued Kennedy’s advice, and often let the Massachusetts man into strategy discussions that had previously excluded the Vice President. Some alleged that the wealthy Kennedy family was pulling Glenn’s strings, a rumor inflamed by the purchase of Ashburton House as an official residence for the Vice President despite the Kennedy family already owning property in Washington. In truth, Glenn merely worked closely with Bobby, his administration marking the high water mark of Vice Presidential influence in modern history.
Abroad, Glenn found mixed results. The Paris Peace Talks proved successful, providing a framework for American withdrawal pegged to lower levels of Vietcong activity in the South. However the Brussels Conference for the Congo proved unable to bring a permanent peace. Although Glenn was able to secure independence for Katanga, he was forced to concede to a shaky coalition in the rest of the country, which soon became completely dominated by Communists. However Glenn would manage to open up relations with the Soviet Union somewhat as the superpower descended into Byzantine political names during Khrushchev’s final illness.
Glenn would open the 1968 Olympics in Chicago, and, always an avid football fan, began the tradition of the Presidential Coin Flip at the Rose and World Bowls.
Glenn has been regarded by history as a successful President. The first substantial Civil Rights Bill in over a century. A decline in civil disturbances, and a drawdown in the wars abroad. Glenn would be honored throughout his life, including managing another 2 trips to space, one in 1979 and one in 1997, setting records for age in space and time spent between Spaceflights. Glenn was a namesake and patron of the John Glenn College of Public Affairs, well known as the most highly regarded Public Affairs program in the nation, producing great planners, lawyers, chiefs of staff, non-profit executives, self-indulgent alternate history writers, civil servants, and think tank writers. Upon his death in 2016, Glenn was noted as perhaps the most successful one term President since James K. Polk.
But why then was he a one term President?
In 1972 the economy entered into recession, forcing many Americans out of work. As with most economic issues, the President took most of the blame, leaving Glenn out to dry. 1972 also marked the final ascendency of the Communists in the Congo, with Glenn taking most of the heat. A flare up in Vietnam also occurred which, although it ultimately did not derail the peace, undermined Glenn’s credibility. Glenn’s push for voting rights over the summer of 1972 was laudable, but perhaps ill timed, particularly as it required another use of the “Kennedy Manoeuvre” to avoid the filibuster which, although wholly justified, left Glenn open to attacks that he was “crushing debate.” Finally an October police shooting in Newark led to a series of race riots across the North. Nothing compared to the Lausche-LeMay years, but enough to spook certain whites.
Still Glenn was popular, and the race was razor thin. In the end a few thousand votes in Ohio, Maine, and Hawaii would doom him. Although, perhaps they might not have, save for the Electoral College. Glenn became the first man since Grover Cleveland to win the popular vote, but lose the Presidency. Many expected him to run for a non-consecutive term in 1976, but Glenn declined. Although his successor had major disagreements for him, Glenn had a great respect for his replacement’s down to earth nature and willingness to buck the party, always willing to forge his own path so long as he had some chewing tobacco.
