Epilogue, Part IV: Richard Nixon, the day after his acceptance speech at the Republican Convention, stood at a podium with San Francisco Bay and the still-devastated Golden Gate Bridge behind him. Nixon was introduced by his surprise running mate, Governor John Connally of Texas, a conservative Democrat who'd been allied with the now-broken former President, Lyndon B. Johnson. Nixon had angered many in his party when he chose Connally, but he knew what they didn't: Connally was not a fan of the liberal Humphrey, and thought him weak. Because of that, and Connally's popularity in Texas, Nixon believed he could make the state go Republican, and that would likely sink Brown and the Democrats. Furthermore, Connally's experience as Secretary of the Navy gave him defense knowledge if, God forbid, any catastrophe happened. After the past year, such a thing was far more likely than it ever had been before.
In his speech, Nixon promised that the Bridge would be rebuilt by the end of his first term, just like he would rebuild the rest of the nation. He repeatedly claimed he would carry out a foreign policy of peace, and swore that he would carry out JFK's pledge to put a man on the moon by decade's end. The man once known as "Tricky Dick" was putting forth proposals that were concrete, and he was answering the questions of reporters with something that neared charm. His running mate, meanwhile, was debonair and gregarious, adding personality to a campaign that would have seriously lacked it otherwise. Connally was also brilliant at the art of advance work, something quite new to Nixon, and which he took to quickly when he was introduced to the concept by Connally during their two-hour meeting before Nixon announced his choice for Vice President.
The former Vice President was salivating at the chance to take on Pat Brown again, as he had a clear command over matters of national security that Brown lacked. Humphrey was somewhat more seasoned, but overall, both men were domestic policy specialists. Considering this campaign was being fought over a mix of concerns on both ends, it was a toss-up as to who would have the advantage in this heavyweight political donnybrook. Brown's campaign began in Boston, where Bobby and Ted Kennedy turned out for the Governor, who showed his deep knowledge of infrastructure building, dashing off figures like a mathematician in a Harvard lecture hall. The reporters were impressed at his record, and rightfully so. Brown had built highways, dams, and overseen a massive water project that improved water delivery across California. Despite this, when asked about his plan in Vietnam, where American advisers still remained, Brown was unable to give a coherent response. He was then asked about proposals by some in Europe for breaking apart NATO, since it no longer had a mission in lieu of the Treaty of Bonn. Brown answered, "We are stronger together than we are apart. I do not believe now is the time to separate our bonds." Pressed on the question, Brown would not give a more detailed question. Brown's nimble communications director for the campaign, Bill Moyers, quickly got Brown away from the podium. News coverage the next day was scathing, while reporters on the trail with Nixon filed glowing reports.
Humphrey stepped in at this point, telling Brown that they needed to take a few days and do a crash course on foreign affairs so they wouldn't be caught with their pants down again. Brown agreed to this proposal, and the pair slipped into the White House complex, where President McCormack made his staff available to both men to brief them. To avoid the press, which mingled in the West Wing lobby daily, the briefings were held in the Old Executive Office Building, where prying eyes were few. On the flip side of that issue, Richard Nixon feverishly studied domestic policy proposals every night and worked out his "Southern Strategy," a plan to ensure full civil rights for all Americans while winning the South to his side. Connally was part of that, a ploy to win Texas. The next part was to tune his pitch, and that meant finding careful ways to slow-pedal integration of the schools and other areas that were thorns in the side of white Southerners. Nixon made a call to LBJ mentor and leader of Southern Democrats, Senator Richard Russell of Georgia, and promised him Secretary of Defense in return for his cooperation with Nixon's plan. The two former colleagues discussed the "Southern Strategy," Nixon explaining that he wanted equality under the law for all races. "Richard, you don't have to love them, and I'm not going to make you tear apart your schools to force in X number of Negroes. Treat them equally, stop this lynching bullshit, let them vote. They don't have the numbers to stop most of you anyway in a ballot box, so why kick up a fuss? I'll help you keep your neighborhoods and schools intact. I want you to get your people in Georgia to calm down, and talk to Stennis about helping to do the same in Mississippi. There's no need to be this goddamn ugly with them. Kill them with kindness, and the furor for integration will die down, and the lawsuits will dry up. Give them enough rights to feel equal, and you can keep the neighborhoods and schools of the South safe." Russell was impressed with Nixon's plan, and he became the first crack in the wall of the Solid South. After consulting with Senator John Stennis and Governor Ross Meredith in Mississippi, they also broke ranks and supported the Nixon-Connally ticket.
In the West, there was another pitched battle for California, forcing Governor Brown to devote more resources towards his home state than he would've liked. New York was another ominous sign, as Rockefeller decided it was better to have his voice on the inside with Nixon than be shut out, and so he vigorously campaigned across the state, driving Democrats there as well. Multiple places that were once solidly Democratic had been slowly changing, beginning in the Eisenhower years, and then opening up further with the fissures of the past year. Nixon had his own weaknesses of course, mainly in having to try and win over states to his column that had high percentages of labor voters, like Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. The Republican Party didn't have the best of relationships with labor, and Nixon was in a corner of his own making when it came to the labor vote. The son of a grocer, who'd bootstrapped himself up to every job he'd held, was portrayed as big business friendly, because of his alliances with Eisenhower backers and California businessmen, all of whom were staunch conservatives. Furthermore, Nixon had practiced law in New York City, working with and befriending PepsiCo chairman Don Kendall. This everyman, this gruff, hardworking, driven man, was the victim of his own successes in life. That was an image he would need to shake, and his first opportunity would be in the forum that tripped him up four years ago: the televised debates.
(In Part V, the debates, the election, and the finish to this timeline!)
In his speech, Nixon promised that the Bridge would be rebuilt by the end of his first term, just like he would rebuild the rest of the nation. He repeatedly claimed he would carry out a foreign policy of peace, and swore that he would carry out JFK's pledge to put a man on the moon by decade's end. The man once known as "Tricky Dick" was putting forth proposals that were concrete, and he was answering the questions of reporters with something that neared charm. His running mate, meanwhile, was debonair and gregarious, adding personality to a campaign that would have seriously lacked it otherwise. Connally was also brilliant at the art of advance work, something quite new to Nixon, and which he took to quickly when he was introduced to the concept by Connally during their two-hour meeting before Nixon announced his choice for Vice President.
The former Vice President was salivating at the chance to take on Pat Brown again, as he had a clear command over matters of national security that Brown lacked. Humphrey was somewhat more seasoned, but overall, both men were domestic policy specialists. Considering this campaign was being fought over a mix of concerns on both ends, it was a toss-up as to who would have the advantage in this heavyweight political donnybrook. Brown's campaign began in Boston, where Bobby and Ted Kennedy turned out for the Governor, who showed his deep knowledge of infrastructure building, dashing off figures like a mathematician in a Harvard lecture hall. The reporters were impressed at his record, and rightfully so. Brown had built highways, dams, and overseen a massive water project that improved water delivery across California. Despite this, when asked about his plan in Vietnam, where American advisers still remained, Brown was unable to give a coherent response. He was then asked about proposals by some in Europe for breaking apart NATO, since it no longer had a mission in lieu of the Treaty of Bonn. Brown answered, "We are stronger together than we are apart. I do not believe now is the time to separate our bonds." Pressed on the question, Brown would not give a more detailed question. Brown's nimble communications director for the campaign, Bill Moyers, quickly got Brown away from the podium. News coverage the next day was scathing, while reporters on the trail with Nixon filed glowing reports.
Humphrey stepped in at this point, telling Brown that they needed to take a few days and do a crash course on foreign affairs so they wouldn't be caught with their pants down again. Brown agreed to this proposal, and the pair slipped into the White House complex, where President McCormack made his staff available to both men to brief them. To avoid the press, which mingled in the West Wing lobby daily, the briefings were held in the Old Executive Office Building, where prying eyes were few. On the flip side of that issue, Richard Nixon feverishly studied domestic policy proposals every night and worked out his "Southern Strategy," a plan to ensure full civil rights for all Americans while winning the South to his side. Connally was part of that, a ploy to win Texas. The next part was to tune his pitch, and that meant finding careful ways to slow-pedal integration of the schools and other areas that were thorns in the side of white Southerners. Nixon made a call to LBJ mentor and leader of Southern Democrats, Senator Richard Russell of Georgia, and promised him Secretary of Defense in return for his cooperation with Nixon's plan. The two former colleagues discussed the "Southern Strategy," Nixon explaining that he wanted equality under the law for all races. "Richard, you don't have to love them, and I'm not going to make you tear apart your schools to force in X number of Negroes. Treat them equally, stop this lynching bullshit, let them vote. They don't have the numbers to stop most of you anyway in a ballot box, so why kick up a fuss? I'll help you keep your neighborhoods and schools intact. I want you to get your people in Georgia to calm down, and talk to Stennis about helping to do the same in Mississippi. There's no need to be this goddamn ugly with them. Kill them with kindness, and the furor for integration will die down, and the lawsuits will dry up. Give them enough rights to feel equal, and you can keep the neighborhoods and schools of the South safe." Russell was impressed with Nixon's plan, and he became the first crack in the wall of the Solid South. After consulting with Senator John Stennis and Governor Ross Meredith in Mississippi, they also broke ranks and supported the Nixon-Connally ticket.
In the West, there was another pitched battle for California, forcing Governor Brown to devote more resources towards his home state than he would've liked. New York was another ominous sign, as Rockefeller decided it was better to have his voice on the inside with Nixon than be shut out, and so he vigorously campaigned across the state, driving Democrats there as well. Multiple places that were once solidly Democratic had been slowly changing, beginning in the Eisenhower years, and then opening up further with the fissures of the past year. Nixon had his own weaknesses of course, mainly in having to try and win over states to his column that had high percentages of labor voters, like Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. The Republican Party didn't have the best of relationships with labor, and Nixon was in a corner of his own making when it came to the labor vote. The son of a grocer, who'd bootstrapped himself up to every job he'd held, was portrayed as big business friendly, because of his alliances with Eisenhower backers and California businessmen, all of whom were staunch conservatives. Furthermore, Nixon had practiced law in New York City, working with and befriending PepsiCo chairman Don Kendall. This everyman, this gruff, hardworking, driven man, was the victim of his own successes in life. That was an image he would need to shake, and his first opportunity would be in the forum that tripped him up four years ago: the televised debates.
(In Part V, the debates, the election, and the finish to this timeline!)