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JFK’s 1960 Election Squeaker
In August 1960, polls indicated Richard Nixon had a slim lead over John F. Kennedy. As Vice President under Eisenhower, Nixon had an advantage. Republican strategists labeled Kennedy as “too young and inexperienced.” There was also suspicion of Kennedy’s Roman Catholic background. Some Protestants feared Kennedy would take his orders directly from the Pope in Rome.
In a speech before the Greater Houston Ministerial Association, Kennedy addressed the issue directly. “I am not the Catholic candidate for President. I am the Democratic Party’s candidate for president who also happens to be a Catholic. I do not speak for my Church on public matters and the Church does not speak for me.”
Nixon’s campaign was plagued by bad luck. In a televised interview, a reporter asked President Eisenhower to cite an example of a major idea Nixon contributed during Ike’s presidency. Eisenhower responded, “If you give me a week I might think of one.” Democrats turned the comment into a TV commercial.
Nixon suffered a serious knee infection causing him to lose two important weeks of campaigning. Since he pledged to campaign in all 50 states, he wasted valuable time visiting states where he had no chance to win or those with few electoral votes. He spent the final weekend before the election in Alaska, while Kennedy was in Ohio, New Jersey, Michigan and Pennsylvania.
