Campaign Trail Results: Game #518799
Play The Campaign Trail
This Game:
- Year: 1960
- Player Candidate: John F. Kennedy
- Running Mate: Lyndon Johnson
- Difficulty Level: Normal
- Winner Take All Mode?: Yes
- Game Played:
- jooruje
View overall results, or a specific state:
| Candidate | Electoral Votes | Popular Votes | Pop. Vote % |
|---|---|---|---|
| ---- Richard Nixon | 497 | 40,141,548 | 59.92 |
| ---- John F. Kennedy | 26 | 26,504,713 | 39.57 |
| ---- Harry Byrd | 14 | 343,665 | 0.51 |
Visits:
- California:4
- Nebraska:3
- Kansas:1
- Nevada:1
- Pennsylvania:1
- Washington:1
- Wyoming:1
Answers:
- What kind of tone will you attempt to set in your campaign this fall?I will deemphasize the political aspect of this campaign, as much as practicable, and emphasize my own personality and leadership ability. Of course I will still make strong statements on the Cold War.
- 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?Let's be cautious with this idea. Nixon is a skilled debater, and the last thing we need right now is a campaign setback on national television.
- 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?Let's gather some of these leaflets and show them to the media and to major newspapers. I think they demonstrate the lengths that some people will go to discredit my candidacy.
- 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 put a couple of statements into my next campaign speech to address this issue, and reassure the public that I take no orders from the Pope.
- 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?These activists are trespassing on the property of lawful businesses. I think there are better methods of pushing for change in the South.
- Richard Nixon has made "experience" the centerpiece of his campaign. What do you have to say on this point?I will bring new, dynamic leadership to this country as President. I don't see how this line of argument puts me at any disadvantage.
- 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 would redouble our efforts on this front. Too many of our nation's elderly are unable to afford decent medical care in their advanced years.
- Currently the highest income tax bracket pays a rate of 91%. Will you work harder to cut tax rates as President?We need to cut this rate substantially. It is way too high.
- Is the United States adequately prepared to defend against the Soviet threat today?We can never be fully satisfied, but we have certainly held our own in the Cold War over the past eight years, compared to where we were during the Korean War.
- Do you believe the United States is adequately prepared to defend against the Soviet threat over the next ten years?We have a missile gap, and an overly tight monetary policy that is constraining our growth. I'm very concerned that these shortfalls will allow the Soviet Union to gain an advantage if they are not addressed.
- During the Great Depression, the federal government began a policy of farm subsidies to stabilize farm incomes and to target a specific output of each crop. Are these policies still necessary in 1960?I think these programs need to be phased out over time, but in such a way that we don't bring sudden instability to our nation's farm policy.
- 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?We need to minimize the federal funding of education, even in block grants. It could easily open the door to federal control of our schools.
- Would you support the passage of a federal civil rights bill as President to address the worst excesses of segregation in the South?I would not support a measure like this. This would be an unnecessary and unconstitutional interference into the rights of our states.
- 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?I will give a statement encouraging the State of Georgia to protect the safety of Mr. King, while criticizing him for participating in these inflammatory and illegal protests.
- 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.
- Do you support a minimum wage of $1.25 per hour, with some exceptions for small business? Such a measure was recently defeated in Congress.I believe a minimum wage is at the very least a bad economic idea, and possibly unconstitutional. I do not support this increase.
- 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've seen some alarming things out of Cuba, but this isn't necessarily a lost cause. Cuba has not declared itself a Communist state and we should be making overtures to prevent that.
- Should the United States apologize to the Soviet Union for the controversy surrounding the downed U-2 spy plane and surrounding espionage?Absolutely not. We cannot show weakness in the face of the Soviet threat, and the Paris Summit collapsed from the intransigence of Nikita Khrushchev.
- 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.
- Has the United States adequately defended against the Communist threat in Indochina? Would you support further action there if necessary?I would support the use of massive air strikes or tactical nuclear weapons to defend our ally, South Vietnam.
- What is your position on the power of labor unions in the United States?We need to do anything we can to reduce the power of labor unions in this country, including a national right-to-work law.
- Do you believe that current levels of defense spending are adequate?In the final analysis, every dollar spent on defense is taken from more productive uses within our economy. I will look for ways to find common ground with the Soviet Union so that we can cut defense spending.
- Where will you spend your final day before the election?We will travel to California and the West Coast.