Campaign Trail Results: Game #1419901
Play The Campaign Trail
This Game:
- Year: 1960
- Player Candidate: John F. Kennedy
- Running Mate: Lyndon Johnson
- Difficulty Level: Hard
- Winner Take All Mode?: Yes
- Game Played:
View overall results, or a specific state:
| Candidate | Electoral Votes | Popular Votes | Pop. Vote % |
|---|---|---|---|
| ---- Richard Nixon | 352 | 33,950,106 | 50.52 |
| ---- John F. Kennedy | 171 | 32,887,368 | 48.94 |
| ---- Harry Byrd | 14 | 362,103 | 0.54 |
Visits:
- California:6
- Texas:5
- Michigan:1
Answers:
- What kind of tone will you attempt to set in your campaign this fall?I will campaign as a mainstream liberal Democrat, emphasizing key parts of our platform and pressing the case for more vigilance in our national defense.
- What do you have to say about the selection of Lyndon Johnson as your running mate?Lyndon Johnson is a loyal Southerner and Senator from Texas who will spare no effort to advance a Democratic agenda.
- Lady Bird Johnson, LBJ's wife, has been spat on by a gathering of far-right protestors in a Dallas hotel lobby. What are your thoughts?I have no real comment to make, but I'm sure that the voters in Texas will be incensed at the incivility of this episode.
- There has been a proposal for a series of television debates between you and Kennedy. Is this something you are interested in?I would love to go against Nixon in a televised debate. We could use the exposure and I'm confident that I would win.
- Anti-Catholicism has been a huge issue thus far in the campaign, with hundreds of pamphlets and leaflets being distributed across the South and Midwest. Do you have any comment?I will attack the idea that any good Protestant would vote against my candidacy because I happen to be a Catholic.
- Anti-Catholicism continues to be an issue. Major newspapers have published a statement by 150 Protestant clergy, including Norman Vincent Peale, opposing any Catholic as President. Do you have any comment?Let's take this opportunity to make a major speech on the topic. I will address this issue exclusively in a televised speech, and put it to rest for good.
- There have been a large number of sit-ins recently, where black students and activists are sitting at whites-only lunch counters and department stores to advocate for desegregation. Do you support this movement?This movement has my full support, as do the other civil rights measures of our day. I will push for a Civil Rights Act as President.
- Richard Nixon has made "experience" the centerpiece of his campaign. What do you have to say on this point?Richard Nixon and I entered Congress in the same year, 1947, and have both served in the highest levels of government for some time.
- There was a recent effort in Congress to pass a program to provide medical care to elderly Americans, but it was narrowly defeated. Will you make a further push for this type of program as President?I prefer a slightly different program, offering health insurance to the elderly that they can choose to purchase. The proposed program was mandatory, and also covered only those covered by the Social Security Act.
- Do you believe that the islands of Quemoy and Matsu should fall within the United States defense perimeter in Asia?It wouldn't be responsible of me to comment at this point. As President I will consult with our military leaders to determine what is appropriate.
- Currently the highest income tax bracket pays a rate of 91%. Will you work harder to cut tax rates as President?I would be open to this, depending on how the economy goes in the next year or two.
- Is the United States adequately prepared to defend against the Soviet threat today?Cuba has been lost to the Soviet Union, providing a potential base for Communist aggression on the very doorstep of our nation. I am very unsatisfied with the current situation.
- Do you believe the United States is adequately prepared to defend against the Soviet threat over the next ten years?I don't know, to be perfectly frank. Things are going well for now, but we will have many challenges to meet in places like Cuba, Lebanon, Latin America, Indochina, and elsewhere.
- What is your opinion on the current level of education funding in the United States? Would you increase federal education funding, even if it meant higher taxes or a larger budget deficit?I'm not satisfied with how well teachers are paid in this country, and I'd encourage local jurisdictions to address this issue further. We need to strike a good balance in this regard.
- Would you support the passage of a federal civil rights bill as President to address the worst excesses of segregation in the South?We need to do anything we can to move our nation forward on this issue, including a civil rights bill and measures to protect voting rights.
- Recently, Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested at a sit-in in Atlanta, and has now been sentenced to four months in prison for failing to get a Georgia driver's license after moving to that state. Do you have any comment or action you would like to take?Let's make a public comment criticizing this arrest, and expressing our hopes that this situation doesn't escalate any further.
- Are you satisfied with the economy and the economic policies of this country over the past eight years?We must do better. Our present Administration has advocated a hard money policy which caused the recession of 1958 and left idle industrial capacity in our country.
- How serious, at the current time, do you believe the internal Communist threat is?We should always be concerned about internal subversion, but the external Soviet threat should be our primary focus at this point.
- Do you believe that Cuba has been lost to the Communists as of this time? If so, do you think it is partially the fault of the United States?We will defend our base at Guantanamo and do anything else that is necessary if Cuba continues its hostility. However, it is too early to make a conclusive determination at this point.
- Should the United States apologize to the Soviet Union for the controversy surrounding the downed U-2 spy plane and surrounding espionage?A formal apology sounds a bit extreme, but we could certainly have expressed our regrets and perhaps saved the Paris Summit from collapse.
- Did Dwight Eisenhower do the right thing when he sent federal troops to Little Rock to ensure the integration of the high school there?We should have found a better way to resolve this issue, rather than intrude into the sovereignty of an American state.
- What would you do as President to combat increasing unemployment in America's industrial cities?We need more spending and should consider lower taxes to stimulate American economy and industry.
- Has the United States adequately defended against the Communist threat in Indochina? Would you support further action there if necessary?This is a situation that we need to watch carefully, and I am open to a variety of measures if necessary.
- Do you believe that current levels of defense spending are adequate?I believe that we need more vigilance in the area of defense, for both military equipment and for missile development. We currently have a missile gap with the Soviet Union.
- Where will you spend your final day before the election?We will travel to California and the West Coast.