Campaign Trail Results: Game #874384
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:
View overall results, or a specific state:
Candidate | Electoral Votes | Popular Votes | Pop. Vote % |
---|---|---|---|
---- Richard Nixon | 423 | 34,742,722 | 52.31 |
---- John F. Kennedy | 100 | 31,306,052 | 47.13 |
---- Harry Byrd | 14 | 370,317 | 0.56 |
Visits:
- Texas:6
- California:4
- Florida:1
- Hawaii: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?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?I support the civil rights movement, but I'm a little concerned about the disregard for the law that some of these activists have shown.
- Richard Nixon has made "experience" the centerpiece of his campaign. What do you have to say on this point?I question this premise, to be frank. It's still not clear to me exactly what role Nixon had in the Eisenhower Administration, or what policies of his have been implemented.
- 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?I'm not sure it's practical or desirable from a military standpoint to defend two tiny islands that are much closer to the Chinese mainland than they are to Formosa.
- Currently the highest income tax bracket pays a rate of 91%. Will you work harder to cut tax rates as President?This is not a high priority for me as President. We need to create an old age insurance program and increase our funding for education.
- 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.
- 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?Education is a key front in our battle with Communism, and that includes adequate pay and respect for our nation's teachers. I would support additional federal spending on this.
- 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 are on the right track economically. We can't deny that there was a recession in 1958, but the recovery has been strong and 1960 will see a very high rate of growth in this 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?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 campaign up and down New York and the Eastern Seaboard.