Chapter 43
Chapter 43: (Take Another Little) Piece of My Heart - The Presidential Election of 1968
Above: Hubert Humphrey campaigning in New York City; George Romney marching with Civil Rights leaders against housing discrimination while on the trail in Detroit; George Wallace spouting his trademark fire breath at a rally in Chicago.
1968 had already been a monumental year in American history without even counting its Presidential election. A plan for guaranteed universal income, spearheaded by President John F. Kennedy as his last major domestic initiative in the War on Poverty had just passed with bipartisan support in the House of Representatives and was undergoing fierce debate in the Senate. Final tests were being held to develop the craft that would land American and Soviet astronauts and cosmonauts on the Moon, the single most daring goal in the history of science. The Civil Rights Movement had seen many of its goals peacefully achieved and one of its leading icons, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. survive a near assassination in Memphis. The economy boomed and the state of the union seemed stronger than ever. Prosperity at home however was underscored by uncertainty abroad. New, conservative leaders in the Soviet Union and the People’s Republic of China reminded the American people of what they had to fear from the Communist bloc. Repression, coup d’etats, and ideological imperialism all possessed the potential to rise once again. President Kennedy’s decision to send the Air Force into Cambodia was met with near universal acclaim, though young people and anti-war elements felt betrayed by the idealistic Commander-in-Chief they had worshipped since his election eight years prior. Others on the right felt exactly the opposite. They started to circulate the position that Kennedy was not going far enough in his response to the Khmer Rouge’s offensives.
Attempting to find an issue to “own” in the same way that Senator Humphrey was seen as one of the nation’s foremost leaders on labor relations, Governor Romney began to school himself deeply in foreign affairs, and in particular, matters relating to the military. With the help of Richard Nixon, who was serving as his campaign’s unofficial advisor on foreign affairs, Romney began to craft a message of chiding, fatherly concern; attacking the administration’s position on Cambodia and insisting that more could be done to actively combat the communists. “Though the President is insistent that this bombing campaign is only a minor ‘police action’ meant to punish extremist actions against innocent civilians,” Romney said in a campaign speech in Milwaukee. “He neglects to address the grave reality of the situation on the ground. This is war. In all but name, this is armed conflict. If elected, I will ensure that this nation is not only prepared to face reality, but is willing to commit the resources necessary to see this war through to its successful prosecution.”
Governor Wallace’s position on the developing war in Cambodia was similar, if more extreme. The Conservative candidate accused President Kennedy and his fellow Democrats of “caving to the demands of the hippies and the protesters” in refusing to send American troops to the jungles of Southeast Asia. When asked by a reporter if he would rule out using nuclear weapons and other “extreme measures” to ensure victory if elected, Wallace laughed off the question and replied, “Is anything too extreme when it comes to the commies?” This answer concerned moderates and those on the fence who were attracted to the American Conservative ticket by the inclusion of Happy Chandler for Vice President, but delighted Wallace’s base, who ate up the comment as a sign of their candidates “strong foreign policy” positions.
By comparison, Senator Humphrey came off looking like something of a peacenik. Largely in agreement with the President’s response to the situation in Cambodia, the Happy Warrior wanted to steer the campaign back to domestic issues, his bread and butter. “While my opponents attempt to distract us with worries of armed peasants half a world away, we Democrats know better than to take the bait. Our military protects and defends this great nation, and we know the real reason that they are pressing this as the great issue of this election. Because they don’t want the American people to stop and think about how happy and prosperous they are after eight years of Democratic leadership in the White House!”
Humphrey’s argument was convincing, and polls taken after he made it seemed to confirm his status as the candidate to beat. At whistle stops the nation over, Humphrey pushed the central theme of his campaign: that he and George Smathers were the ticket for the American worker. They fought for his interests in Congress, protected his freedoms abroad, and stuck up for his values in the streets and on the airwaves. All in all, a neatly packaged, calculated defense of the party’s social flank against Wallace and the ACP. What the message failed to consider however, was the tidal wave of social change and progress which had occurred during the Kennedy years. The youth of the nation had left behind the “Leave it to Beaver” lifestyle of their parents and were beginning to look toward social issues such as access to contraceptives and abortion to determine which candidates they should vote for. At the other end of the spectrum were the American Conservatives, who took their cues from Jerry Falwell and their other evangelical progenitors in vehemently opposing these policies. Once again attempting to stop their base from fleeing to back Wallace, Humphrey and Smathers struck a remarkably conservative tone on social issues, while still expressing whole hearted support for civil rights.
Jumping on his father’s legacy of early contraceptive advocacy, Senator George Bush countered this stance by making his and Romney’s ticket supportive of progressive outlooks on social issues. A member of the American Birth Control League as early as 1942, as well as the treasurer of the first national capital campaign of Planned Parenthood, Senator Prescott Bush (R - CT) had been a pioneer in socially progressive politics within the Republican party. His son, hoping to corner suburbanite votes and possibly pick up the support of young people disaffected with the Democrats and Conservatives adopted these positions, even as the GOP’s Presidential candidate, Governor Romney, avoided the issue entirely, saying that abortion was “a decision made between a private individual, their conscience, and God; not any business of the government’s.” This work by Bush paid off, and the young Vice Presidential nominee made headlines the nation over by taking controversial topics head on. The New York Times described his talks on social issues as “fearless” and The Washington Post called his speaking engagements “bold and informative, if lacking a certain charisma or dynamism”.
With the help of “Youth Ambassador” Hillary Rodham and his wife, Barbara, Senator Bush toured the midwest, touting his party as “the party of women” and pointing to the GOP’s nomination of Senator Margaret Chase Smith for Vice President four years before as “exactly the kind of thing this nation needs more of heading forward.” This campaign style: real, down to earth, and lacking pretension, would pay dividends for the Republican ticket that November. Here, in the guise of the young, adorkable, Ivy-League educated millionaire from Texas, was a reasonable, centrist future that millions of Americans thought that they could believe in. As an advocate for Governor Romney, Senator Bush was about as good of a running mate as one could ask for.
…
Another unique feature of the ‘68 election was the decision by each of the campaigns to host two debates to be televised to audiences across the nation. One for the Presidential candidates, and one for the Vice Presidential candidates, each broadcast during primetime and with all three major parties sending their nominees. The format would be similar to those held between then Senator Kennedy and Vice President Nixon in 1960, and would be moderated by CBS’ Walter Cronkite. Questions would range across all major issues of the campaign and the candidates would be given chances to rebut each other’s answers and make opening and closing statements. The Vice Presidential debate, seen as the “kids’ table” of electoral politics was held first, on October 3rd, and was primarily a serious, issues-dominated affair. Senator Smathers and former Governor Chandler spent most of the debate’s 90 minute runtime arguing about the direction of the Democratic Party, and whether or not it had, as Chandler claimed, “turned its back on ordinary, hard working Americans”. Though this back and forth remained largely civil, it did cast doubts over both candidates’ bill of goods and enabled the youthful, energetic Bush to shine. The Texas Senator’s calm, cool demeanor and ability to stick to the issues and offer a meaningful alternative made him the clear winner of the debate.
The Presidential debate, held three weeks later was much more contentious in comparison. Senator Humphrey, “the Happy Warrior”, always known for his upbeat, optimistic manner was turned red in the face by the blatant attacks of the fire breathing former Governor Wallace. Every time Humphrey would try and make a point about he and Senator Smathers’ platform, Wallace would do everything he could to provoke him into saying or doing something uncouth. Though the Minnesotan was able to maintain his composure throughout the first 30 minutes of the debate, it was during the foreign policy segment that his cool collapsed at last. Governor Romney was answering one of Cronkite’s questions, about whether or not he believed that the Kennedy Administration and the Democrats in Congress were currently doing enough to combat communist influence abroad. In his answer, Romney accused Humphrey of being “soft” on foreign communism, and questioned whether President Kennedy’s foreign policy was as capable of keeping the country safe as the commander in chief had led the American people to believe.
Frustrated that the issue was being brought up once again, Senator Humphrey exploded in a furious rebuttal which began: “First of all, Mr. Cronkite, please allow me to dismiss the majority of my opponent’s answer as complete and utter nonsense. This country is safer than it has ever been before, thanks to the work of President Kennedy and our other fellow Democrats the nation over. Anyone who believes otherwise is likely a victim of the same brainwashing by the Military-Industrial Complex that President Eisenhower warned us about eight years ago. We do not need to launch a full scale ground war in order to be secure.”
Humphrey had thought his answer forceful and assertive, but in the end it proved to backfire mightily, coming off as rather condescending and dismissive of one of the largest concerns of millions of Americans. Just because Humphrey wanted the campaign to be about domestic issues didn’t mean that he alone could make it so. Instead of adjusting his message to meet the national zeitgeist, Humphrey stuck to what he thought would be a “safe” campaign strategy and in so doing, he likely made the same mistake that New York Governor Thomas Dewey did in 1948 against Harry Truman: he underestimated his opponent, or in Humphrey’s case, his opponents.
Tuesday, November 5th, Election Day arrived before the candidates knew it. All three crisscrossed the nation in the final days of the race, speaking, rallying support, and cajoling reluctant independents or opponents into backing their ticket. Wallace drew thousands to his rallies throughout the north and midwest, attracting media coverage but as exit polls would later reveal, not too many votes. Most, if not all of his significant support came from the deep heart of Dixie, where he hoped he could earn enough electoral votes to through the election into the House of Representatives and gain leverage to use against the Democrats. Senator Humphrey focused on backpedaling his “brainwashing” gaffe, trying to insist that he of course believed in strength abroad and Americans’ right to disagree on the issues with their candidates, but that the fundamentals of his campaign’s platform were sound and the best way forward for the largest number of the country’s people. Governor Romney saw his numbers slowly tick up, then surge in the last week or so of the race, as moderates and socially progressive voters flocked to his banner and his promise not to interfere with a woman’s right to choose (despite his personal opposition to abortion). Key swing states like Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Michigan held the race in the balance. With them, Romney held a clear path to the White House. Without them, he didn’t stand a chance. The papers printed on Tuesday morning declared the election “a dead heat” and many wondered if Wallace would indeed become the spoiler he so longed to be. In the end of course, these speculations would prove unfounded, and the nation would fall asleep by about two in the morning, knowing whom they had elected to be the 36th President of the United States. The election would stir controversy however, as the winner of the popular vote and that of the electoral vote would not be the same person.
Popular Vote Totals:
Humphrey/Smathers - 31,152,528 (42.7%)
Romney/Bush - 30,860,701 (42.3%)
Wallace/Chandler - 10,943,511 (15.0%)
Romney/Bush - 30,860,701 (42.3%)
Wallace/Chandler - 10,943,511 (15.0%)
The Democrats attracted 291,827 more votes than the Republican ticket, but these unfortunately came in states where they didn’t do much to help nationally. Much of this margin, for example, came from Minnesota and New York, where Humphrey had already handily won, and not in little Connecticut, the home of Senator Bush’s father, former Senator Prescott Bush. Connecticut, and her eight electoral votes it turns out, were the key to Romney capturing the Oval Office. The GOP ticket picked up the Nutmeg State by less than a thousand votes, but it was enough to capture the electoral count and prevent the race from entering the House of Representatives, where it almost certainly would have swung to the Democrats thanks to their majority there. Exit polls showed that throughout the Midwest, Wallace’s largest contribution to the election had been siphoning white, working class votes away from Humphrey, giving Romney a plurality in those states and enabling him to take their electoral votes. In the early hours of the morning, Senator Smathers urged his ticket mate to challenge the results in Connecticut, which some newspapers were saying were still too close to call. Humphrey did demand a recount, but this was quickly accomplished and the vote totals double checked. George Wilcken Romney, despite winning fewer votes nationally than his opponent, was President-Elect of the United States. Two days after the votes were tallied, Senator Humphrey officially conceded the race, congratulating his opponent and wishing Governor Romney the best of luck once in office. President Kennedy, shocked by the results, did the same shortly thereafter, and invited the President-Elect to join him at the White House to begin discussing the transition between their administrations.
Thanks to the hard work and tireless, shrewd campaign management of Richard Nixon, Nelson Rockefeller, and others, and after eight long years in the wilderness, and a quarter century of Democratic dominance, the Republican Party was headed to the White House once again. But would President-Elect Romney be able to overcome his lukewarm mandate to govern and bring the country together? Only time would tell…
Next Time on Blue Skies in Camelot: A Brief Down Ballot Report
Wikibox by Hulkster'01
Wikibox by Hulkster'01
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