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Kennedy won the general election, narrowly defeating the Republican candidate,
Vice President Richard M. Nixon, by a margin of 118,550 out of some 70 million
votes cast. Many observers, then and since, believed vote fraud contributed
to Kennedy's victory, especially in the critical state of Illinois, where
Joe Kennedy enlisted the help of the ever-powerful Richard J. Daley, mayor
of Chicago. Nixon had defended the Eisenhower record; Kennedy, whose slogan
had been "Let's get this country moving again," had deplored unemployment,
the sluggish economy, the so-called missile gap (a presumed Soviet superiority
over the United States in the number of nuclear-armed missiles), and the
new communist government in Havana. A major factor in the campaign was a
unique series of four televised debates between the two men; an estimated
85 million120 million Americans watched one or more of the debates. Both
men showed a firm grasp of the issues, but Kennedy's poise in front of the
camera, his tony Harvard accent, and good looks (in contrast to Nixon's five
o'clock shadow) convinced many viewers that he had won the debate. As president,
Kennedy continued to exploit the new medium, sparkling in precedent-setting
televised weekly press conferences.
He was the youngest man and the first Roman Catholic ever elected to the presidency of the United States. His administration lasted 1,037 days. From the onset he was concerned with foreign affairs. In his memorable inaugural address he called upon Americans "to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle1Ú4against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itself." He declared:
In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibilityI welcome it.1Ú4The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve itand the glow from that fire can truly light the world. And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for youask what you can do for your country.
He was the youngest man and the first Roman Catholic ever elected to the presidency of the United States. His administration lasted 1,037 days. From the onset he was concerned with foreign affairs. In his memorable inaugural address he called upon Americans "to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle1Ú4against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itself." He declared:
In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibilityI welcome it.1Ú4The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve itand the glow from that fire can truly light the world. And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for youask what you can do for your country.
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Sharani Robins