The Trickiest Dick
Part 1: 1960
1960 was to be one of America's important years. She had more than a few by this point, considering she was coming up on her bicentennial in just 15 years. 1776, 1783, 1861, 1865...the list goes on. The big difference between all of these dates though is that they all have to do with war and conflict. 1960 was a different type of year. It was a year for peace. For the most part.
Coming into the Presidential election of 1960, there were many contenders on each side who desired the office of the Presidency. For whatever reason, moral and immoral, just or unjust, the two major parties of America got together and conducted what they did for every Presidential election. It was all a grand show for the nation to observe and enjoy.
For the Republicans, their choice in 1960 was an easy one. The popular Richard Nixon announced his intention to run for President, being the first Vice President to do so since Breckenridge in the 1800's. His extreme popularity in his party killed off the early campaign of Nixon's only other serious rival, Nelson Rockefeller.
For Nixon, the Republican Primary was remarkably easy. Nixon secured 86.6% of the votes for the primary (the runner up had 3.7%) and lost only 4 states of which 2 had no one on the ballots. Needless to say, the primary was already decided as soon as Nixon announced. The only real unknown of the primary season was to be decided was the position of running mate.
This was something Nixon had pondered heavily for several days before the convention. He knew he wanted to focus on foreign policy this election which struck out the names of several big name Republicans. They could get a good number of votes just by their names, but many didn't have a lick of foreign policy experience between them.
In the end, Nixon came down to three names.
- Alfred Gruenther, a career military official and Red Cross President. He was remarkably intelligent and was known as "the brain" but he lacked any sort of political base. In the end, Nixon crossed his name off the list with a sigh. General Gruenther was a friend of President Eisenhower and would have been well liked on a national scale. But the lack of any political base totally killed any chance of political usefulness.
- Neil H. McElroy, a businessman who served as the Secretary of Defense. While his time as Secretary of Defense could be useful, he had practically no experience in government. So too, was his name crossed off.
- Henry Cabot Lodge Jr, a two time Senator and very experienced Ambassador. As a result, he became the obvious choice. He was not very intelligent or very talented at much beyond the average diplomatic work. But for Nixon, it was about who he was, not who he
actually was. So, he was to be Richard Nixon's running mate in the election.
On the other hand, the Democratic Party's chaos contrasted starkly to Nixon's easy going waters.
There were four serious candidates who were actively campaigning and were attempting to win the primaries outright. John F. Kennedy was the front runner and the most popular but he was young and Catholic. Second was Hubert Humphrey who was a noted supporter of Civil Rights which was both a draw and a flaw in those days. Then there was Wayne Morse who was a Republican turncoat of little note or importance. Then finally there was Adlai Stevenson, who was largely branded as an eternal loser after his two failed attempts for the White House already on his very stained record.
On top of that there were four local "favorite sons" who did not actively campaigned but tried to market themselves as a compromise candidate in the case of a convention meltdown which seemed more likely by the day.
Lastly, but without a doubt not the least was Lyndon B. Johnson. He did not actively campaign and existed only as a write in but he controlled the party's machinery. To many people, Johnson was a genuinely scary person. He was an imposing and menacing man who could and very likely would threaten individuals if he didn't get what he wanted when he wanted. He was the total opposite of Nixon who never did anything wrong or lie or anything else lie that. That just flat out wouldn't be nixonlike.
The famous Johnson treatment
In the end, John F. Kennedy managed to barely beat Johnson in the first round of voting. For whatever reason, Kennedy ended up offering the position of running mate to Johnson. The theories for why this occurred change depending on who is telling the story, but all people agree that it was an odd event regardless.
So, with the two tickets decided, it was time for the big show.
Part 2: Titans
The Kitchen Debate. In which Khrushchev met Nixon.
The private plane that the GOP had purchased for Nixon's travel during the campaign was well kept but also smelled a little musty inside, to be truthful. Dick Nixon would never complain about it openly though, especially not while flying in it. But what reason did Nixon have to complain in the first place? Yes, the cabin had an odd scent but it was his transport for the campaign. A man might have reason to complain about a musty car or a musty house, but a musty plane? When had that ever happened? Hell, when had a Presidential candidate need to take a plane so that he could visit every state in the union? When had any of this been normal?
"What strange times we live in." Nixon pondered musty cabins and the future for a few moments before an unnamed aide interrupted his deep trance.
"Mr. Nixon," The aide said while tugging at his tie "Do you have an answer for the Democrats about the debates? They want it televised and so they need to set up the dates and..."
"Well," Nixon cut him off mid sentence "I'm still considering it, to be frank." Nixon stretched his arms leaned back in his chair with a yawn. It was a comfy chair, the kind of chair a man could take a nice nap in. Nixon considered doing so after finally getting this aide out of his hair.
"I-I mean it's important to get the date set up, that's what the Kennedy camp says." The aide nodded in affirmation of himself. Nixon took a few moments to observe the aide. He was certainly new to the campaign, and considering how young and baby-faced he looked he couldn't have been older than 25. His pale skin gave away his anemic nature. Nixon considered how he himself must look considering he had just got out of a hospital only so many weeks prior.
"You're right. I'll make my choice." He gave a smile to the aide.
"Okay. Thank you Mr. Nixon." He backed away and intended on returning to whatever part of the plane he came from.
"What's your name?" Nixon cut off the aide's early escape.
"Franklin."
"Franklin who?" He was a tad taken aback by the aide's odd response.
"Woodward."
"Franklin Woodward?"
"Yes, Franklin Woodward." Everyone in the room gave a brief chuckle at the strange situation, even Silent James, one of Nixon's numberless bodyguards laughed. The aide left red faced but happy and Nixon adjusted himself in his seat.
"Well, he's right ya know. We need to decide." Nixon said "I'm thinking yes but Ike and his boys say that it's a bad idea." Nixon looked to the few people around him for advice on the issue but they were silent for a few moments until Pat spoke up.
"You're a debate champ and you went head to head with that Russian premier. You can handle him Dick." Pat spoke with a firm confidence that even Nixon's closest advisers could never hope to achieve. They had been married since 1940 and they had 2 children together. They loved each other dearly.
"I agree on that. That's why I'm thinking yes." Nixon felt at ease for a moment but then felt something else come over him. It was anxiety. He turned to his right and looked at Silent James. James' washed out blue tie matched the cabin carpeting in an odd twist of fate.
"What do you figure James?" Silent James was by no means an analytical mind or a great political one either. But he was a good judge of character and Ike recommended him. Silent James wasn't exactly memorable either, with short hair and an odd 'empty-headedness' about him. But he was a decent judge of character and knew how to jump in front of a gun. That's what mattered.
"He seems wily to me. If he's working with that fella Johnson then he's dangerous." Nixon was surprised at how on-point the statement was. Kennedy was an obvious snake and the television aspect worried him. It was a silly thing to worry about according to Pat but Nixon couldn't get the fear out of his mind.
"I also agree with that." Nixon crossed his legs and began to attempt to resume his thinking from earlier before being interrupted once again, this time by Pat.
"Mr. James is right. I met Johnson and his wife Ladybird at that one luncheon last spring," Nixon nodded in response "and they're both rather odd." Nixon nodded his head again. Then an idea took hold, he could just keep it on radio only, something the Kennedy camp would end up refusing due to how much they want a televised debate.
"We'll just ask it be radio only. If they accept that then I'll be fine." With that, the idea of a debate in 1960 died. The Kennedy camp demanded a televised debate and the Nixon camp prevented the Kennedy camp from accepting the radio offer by dictating the terms of a radio debate to them. In the end, both sides just forgot about the whole idea. To the benefit of some and the detriment of others.
Part 3: Basic math
As the day of truth approached, the polls became closer and closer. Things got even more intense on the day itself when exit polls indicated a virtual tie.
Nixon listened to the results of the election with his wife Pat. Slowly over the evening the results rolled in. Kennedy got a number of good states early on though Nixon caught up with him at a rapid pace. The two titans went back and forth with one another. At one point Nixon would be ahead but then Kennedy fired back with a state or two. It was a tide of fate that gave Nixon an incredible amount of anxiety.
"We got New Jersey!" yelled Lodge with a massive grin. The crowd around Nixon cheered and yelled with joy as they had with every other win. Even the typically dainty Pat joined in with a holler or two. Dick just stood and smiled while occasionally giving a weak chuckle or two when a state went in his favor. His entire stomach was in knots and he felt like the entire world was pressing down on him. Slowly but surely the mass of the earth and all of its inhabitants applied its pressure to Nixon's back, letting his eyes pop out of their sockets and his legs flop about helplessly.
"Oh Christ I don't want to - "
Nixon snapped back into reality with another state going red. The election was almost over but there were still a few more states to be won or lost. Anything was possible. He walked over to the big green board they had set up to calculate the electoral vote. Nixon picked up a piece of chalk and rolled it around in his hands. He did this and pondered the concept of losing for more than just a few minutes.
Then suddenly the room exploded with shouts of joy and dancing aides. Even Woodward was enjoying himself. Nixon was confused for a moment but quickly grasped the situation as Pat ran up to him and gave him a hug while his two daughters who had fought to stay up late that night flanked him on the sides with their own hugs. Nixon was enveloped.
"I won?"
Nixon had managed to win the popular vote by less than a percent. It was the closest election ever in American history. Yet Nixon didn't feel relived. Some Democrats (no doubt influenced by Johnson) came together only hours after the results were announced to contest the election results and levied the charge of electoral fraud against Nixon and the Republican Party.
Will our titular hero be dethroned before nuking the reds? Will Kennedy have anything to say about this affair? Will the media say anything about his? Will Dick get licked?
Find out in the next installment of
The Trickiest Dick!