Campaign Trail Results: Game #747112

Play The Campaign Trail

This Game:

  • Year: 1960
  • Player Candidate: John F. Kennedy
  • Running Mate: Lyndon Johnson
  • Difficulty Level: Easy
  • Winner Take All Mode?: No
  • Game Played:
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View overall results, or a specific state:
CandidateElectoral VotesPopular VotesPop. Vote %
---- John F. Kennedy27534,341,59851.63
---- Richard Nixon24931,806,52347.82
---- Harry Byrd13365,4830.55

Visits:

  • Texas:5
  • Pennsylvania:3
  • California:1
  • New York:1
  • Vermont:1
  • Virginia:1

Answers:

  • What kind of tone will you attempt to set in your campaign this fall?
    I have always been on the more moderate wing of the party. We need to emphasize my anti-Communism and my record as a Senator if we hope to win back the Eisenhower Democrats.
  • 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?
    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 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?
    This program is a good starting point, but I would much prefer a program of national health insurance for all Americans -- not just the elderly.
  • Do you believe that the islands of Quemoy and Matsu should fall within the United States defense perimeter in Asia?
    We need to dispatch an armed garrison to these islands, to make sure there is no mistaking our commitment in our fight against Communism.
  • 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?
    I am satisfied with our progress over the past few years. We have prevented further expansion while avoiding any major wars.
  • 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.
  • 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?
    They are absolutely necessary. Farmers are not in a good position to bargain for their crops, and any economic weakness in that sector can easily cause a recession in the broader economy.
  • Would you support the passage of a federal civil rights bill as President to address the worst excesses of segregation in the South?
    I am supportive of a civil rights bill and will work with Congress to get one written and passed.
  • 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.
  • 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.
    Our current minimum wage is sufficient in my opinion. The minimum wage is a necessary expedient but we shouldn't be increasing it so much that we cause unemployment.
  • How serious, at the current time, do you believe the internal Communist threat is?
    The last thing we need is a return to excesses and witch-hunts of the early 1950s. We need to keep ourselves focused on the external Communist threat.
  • 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?
    He absolutely did, and I would like to see further action to desegregate our schools and enforce our civil rights.
  • What would you do as President to combat increasing unemployment in America's industrial cities?
    We need to strengthen our labor unions and protections for the nation's industry, including trade protections if necessary.
  • Has the United States adequately defended against the Communist threat in Indochina? Would you support further action there if necessary?
    I believe we need to defend South Vietnam at all costs, whatever commitment of our forces that entails.
  • 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 focus on Texas and the South.
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