Richard Nixon Back Again!

Thursday, July 24, 2008Subject: The Return of the NixonTime: 5:14:00 PM EDTAuthor: cicero390 Edit Entry Delete Entry
Richard Nixon lost a nail-biter to John Kennedy in 1960. Two years later, he lost in his bid to become governor of California. He promised the press they would "not have Nixon to kick around anymore." Nixon went into the wilderness to re-emerge in 1968 as the Republican frontrunner. The American voter wanted order, a resolution to Vietnam, and a competent government.
The Democrats had screwed things up. The nation seemed paralyzed by anti-war protests and the war in Vietnam was getting more unpopular. The Vietcong launched attacks across South Vietnam and were thoroughly defeated. The press declared defeat (much like in Iraq). President Johnson struggled in the primaries and dropped out. The new frontrunner, Robert Kennedy, was murdered two months after Martin Luther King's assassination. The new frontrunner, Vice President Hubert Humphrey, was mortally wounded by Vietnam, riots and violence in America's streets, and a riot at his own convention.
Despite the mortal wound, HHH made a race of it. LBJ suspended bombings of Vietnam right before the election in a cynical attempt to swing voters. Additionally, Governor George Wallace attracted many blue collar voters that despised what the Democratic Party had become (in 2008, they voted for Hillary). Wallace siphoned off votes from Nixon, but Nixon managed to win by a hair. Governor Wallace would run again in 1972. During that campaigne, Wallace was paralyzed by an assassins bullet and never was a factor.
In 1972, Nixon took on the first modern Democratic candidate in George McGovern. Senator McGovern gave the Democrats proportional representation in their primaries (which gave the nomination to Obama this year) and their socially liberal platform that is almost always rejected by voters. One critic claimed the Senator's campaign was based on Amnesty, Abortion, and Acid. McGovern ran a classically liberal campaign and got trounced. He could not even pick a vice president correctly. His original choice was treated for depression with electric shock therapy. Nixon got 61% of the vote, but did not enjoy the victory for long. Despite going toChina and ending Vietnam, Nixon got bogged down by Watergate and was forced to resign in 1974.
Tags: Presidential Election, Richard Nixon