Cross-Posted from DaleGlading.com
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A total of 112,827 votes out of more than 64 million cast, a winning margin of just 0.17 percent.
That is all that separated John F. Kennedy from Richard Nixon in the 1960 presidential election. And although the 303-219 Electoral College vote wasn’t nearly as close, just a few thousand votes in a few key states could have swung the election in favor of Nixon.
For instance, in seven states – Delaware (3,217); Hawaii (115); Illinois (8,858); Missouri (9,980); Nevada (2,493); New Mexico (2,294); and South Carolina (9,571) – Kennedy’s margin of victory was less than 10,000 votes. If those seven states had swung Nixon’s way, he would have amassed 270 electoral votes to Kennedy’s 242… and Richard Milhouse Nixon would have been inaugurated as the 35th President of the United States.
Throw in a few more close calls such as New Jersey (22,091); Minnesota (22,018); Arkansas (30,541); West Virginia (45,791); and Texas (46,257) and the 1960 presidential election could have been a Nixon landslide. Add two more states where the difference was less than 100,000 votes – North Carolina (57,716) and Michigan (66,841) – and we’re talking FDR-Landon in 1936; Johnson-Goldwater in 1964; Nixon-McGovern in 1972; Reagan-Carter in 1980; and Reagan-Mondale in 1984. Or if you want to go way back, Jefferson-Pinckney in 1804; and Lincoln-McClellan in 1864 (for the record, George Washington ran unopposed in 1788 and 1792, as did James Monroe in 1820).
Yeah, it was that close!
And so, we are left wondering what would have happened if it had been Richard Nixon who had placed his hand on the Bible on January 20, 1961, and recited the presidential oath of office instead of JFK. Here are a few definites… and a few wildly speculative maybes.
- John F. Kennedy would not have been assassinated in Dallas TX on November 22, 1963. That is pretty much a given. It is also very possible that Robert F. Kennedy would not have been assassinated either… and that Lee Harvey Oswald might have lived out his life in total obscurity in Leningrad after defecting to the USSR.
- Americans would never have been challenged to “ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country.” It is also doubtful whether we would have beaten the Soviet Union to the moon without Kennedy setting that goal for us.
- There would not have been a Peace Corps, which since its inception has sent more than 240,000 Americans to serve in 142 different countries. And without a Peace Corps, Sargent Shriver never becomes anyone’s vice presidential running mate (see George McGovern, 1972).
- Chances are that Nikita Khrushchev may not have tested a more experienced President Nixon the way he did President Kennedy by placing missiles in Cuba. It is also conceivable that the more hawkish Nixon may have launched a larger covert invasion of Cuba instead of the poorly planned and undermanned Bay of Pigs fiasco.
- Lyndon Johnson may never have become president, because it’s hard to imagine him winning the Democratic nomination in 1964 as a non-incumbent. Instead, Hubert Humphrey may have been named the Democratic standard bearer that year, facing off against Richard Nixon four years earlier than he eventually did. Or we could have had a Nixon-Kennedy rematch.
- The 1968 election might have featured Barry Goldwater, Nelson Rockefeller, George Romney, or yes, Ronald Reagan at the top of the GOP ticket. However, Vice President Henry Cabot Lodge would still have had the inside track for the nomination.
- U.S. involvement in Vietnam may have been avoided or accelerated. That call is too tough to make. The same goes for the success of the Civil Rights Movement.
- Watergate would probably have remained the name of an obscure office building in Washington… and nothing more.
- America would have been spared having Spiro Agnew as our vice president and Agnew would have been spared the embarrassment and ignominy of becoming only the second VP to resign from office.
- No Watergate and no Agnew would probably mean no President Gerald Ford, and possibly no President Jimmy Carter.
And a bonus one…
- Ted Kennedy might have been prosecuted for the death of Mary Jo Kopechne in Chappaquiddick.
On Monday, we will consider the Top 10 Lies My Government Has Told Me. Have a great weekend!
