| − | President [[Eisenhower]] was leaving office and his Vice President, [[Richard Nixon]], decided to run for President. He was able to effectively win the Republican nomination. However the Democrats were divided between young Massachusetts Senator, [[John Kennedy]], and Texan Senator, [[Lyndon B. Johnson]]. When Kennedy won the Democratic primary he offered Johnson the position as his running mate. Nixon and Kennedy both campaigned long and hard. Nixon had experience as the Vice President and was expected to win. Several things were in Kennedy's way, such as his youth and Catholicism. Kennedy was able to answer most of the complaints successfully. However what probably helped Kennedy the most were the live televised [[Presidential debates]]. In the debates Kennedy looked confident and handsome, while Nixon looked pale and out of place. The election was still very close, but in the end Kennedy claimed the victory. <ref> [[Encyclopedia of Presidents, John F. Kennedy]], by Zachary Kent, Children's Press, 1987, pp. 59-63. </ref> | + | President [[Eisenhower]] was leaving office and his Vice President, [[Richard Nixon]], decided to run for President. He was able to effectively win the Republican nomination. However the Democrats were divided between young Massachusetts Senator, [[John Kennedy]], and Texan Senator, [[Lyndon B. Johnson]]. When Kennedy won the Democratic primary he offered Johnson the position as his running mate. Nixon and Kennedy both campaigned long and hard. Nixon had experience as the Vice President and was expected to win. Several things were in Kennedy's way, such as his youth and Catholicism. Kennedy was able to answer most of the complaints successfully. However what probably helped Kennedy the most were the live televised [[Presidential Debates]]. In the debates Kennedy looked confident and handsome, while Nixon looked pale and out of place. The election was still very close, but in the end Kennedy claimed the victory. <ref> [[Encyclopedia of Presidents, John F. Kennedy]], by Zachary Kent, Children's Press, 1987, pp. 59-63. </ref> |