Fortunate son
After months of campaign it was finally here. The 1968 election, bound to happen on November 5th had arrived. The two candidates had gone through a exaustive process of political infighting and baby-kissing. Now one would take the white house, and the other would take nothing.
On one side stood RFK. Champion of the so called forgotten masses, of the civil rights struggle in the political scene, of the movement against Vietnam. He had come a long way from a hopeful candidate facing the democratic incumbent. But with Johnson refusal to run, Humphrey's assassination, and his charismatic Aeschylus speeches, Kennedy had propeled himself to the top of the democratic political machine. His support for a organized end to the Vietnam war took his rival Eugene McCarthy biggest trump card straight out of his hand. As it was stated before, the fact that both candidates stood firmly against the war served to bring many of the young voters to their side. The DNC had gone smoothly. He and McCarthy, after all, agreed on many points. His family political connections also helped considerably. He was, of course, a Kennedy, and Kennedys had friends.
From Mayor Daley of Chicago, to Frank Sinatra to Jimmi Hendrix, the Massachusetts dynasty knew how to get influential support behind them. Come election night, Kennedy was prepared.
On the other side stood Richard Nixon. Hero of the so called Silent Majority, of the return to law and order, of the movement in favor of winning Vietnam once and for all. A titan in the Republican Machine years before kennedy ever rose to prominence in the back of his brother. Nixon had been a governor, a Vice-president to Ike, and a presidential nominee. He had been the man responsible for giving Goldwater his nomination four years ago. He had created the so called Southern Strategy, by appealing to the racist elements in the south. He was a politician in every sense of the word.
The RNC had been a mess. Fighting shouting and booing had led to a brutal event that almost saw a brutal deadlock between Nixon and Rockefeller, with Reagan a close third. In the end, he had won the votes by sheer political exaustion of the delegates. Many influential figures had become disellusioned with the californinan. Many supporters of Rockefeller, might have plans of their own.
But that didn't disturb Richard Nixon. He had the nomination, and now the people would rally behind him. Not the loud few that screamed dreams and delusions, that went around with their drugs and promiscuity. No, the true american people, the workers and business man, those that truly valued the American Way. Come election day, he wasn't worried.
And then election day came and went.
Most of New England went to Kennedy of course. A Democratic stronghold for the man from Massachusetts. Two notable exception were Vermont and New Hampshire.
New York of course, fell to the democrat. Perhaps the biggest center of democratic support in the Country, New York was won by a huge majority. Neighboring Pennsylvania and New Jersey too went to Kennedy, but the latter by a much thinner margin.
In the great lakes region, Nixon secured Indiana, as well as Wisconsin. Kennedy took Ohio and Illinois, however. The first is believed in large part to be the result of Governor James Rhodes. One of Rockefeller biggest Supporter, Rhodes had come to despise Nixon. To the day of his death the popular governor would deny it, but many beleive that he quietly campaigned against Nixon in his state. In the end, it was close, but Kennedy took the whole cake. Illinois, was won by a larger margin. In no small part thanks to the avid campaigning of Bobby Kennedy in Chicago.
The Midwest went entirely to Nixon. Even South Dakota, Kennedy's Vp home state fell to the republican , although not by a very wide margin.
The Conservative Reagan would never let his state fall to Kennedy. The moment he gave up on the convention, his support was entirely behind Nixon. And so, by over three hundred thousand votes, California went republican.
Oregon was also taken by the republican, while Washington was the only democratic bastion in the west.
In the South, Kennedy managed to carry Texas, by very slim margins. Governor John Connaly, once hopeful for the position of Vp, campaigned hard. Some said that he had a sense of duty to candidate's family, given that his brother died by his side in 1963. But to most, that's just a story. The upper south all fell to Nixon, for a while his southern strategy seemed to be working.
And so came George Wallace. The Segregationist managed to take 6 states with his American Independent Party. Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississipi, Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina all fell to the southener. In the end, Nixon southern strategy failed. The California republican was not as attractive to the south as Alabama's favorite child George Wallace.
And so came Florida. For a while, it seemed it would fall to Nixon. Most political analysts say that the large concentration of Hispanics in the state was what gave Kennedy the edge. Others say it was just the last remnants of democratic loyalty in the south. Regardless, Kennedy took it.
And so, Robert Fitzgerald Kennedy was the next president of the United States.
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The End and the Beginning of a Era, Marcus P. Edginton
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Next week, Kennedy's Acceptance speech, and his first year of government!