Not surprisingly, as Ford tried to move away from the former . At the convention, Richard Nixon won the nomination for president on the first ballot with 692 delegates. They noted that in the other critical state of Oregon, Ronald Reagan would have an advantage due to the proximity of his home state. Americans did, re-electing him by a landslide as America enjoyed a post-war economic boom, despite growing Cold War tensions. Political slogans have a long history in the US, dating back at least to the 1840 election campaign for President William Henry Harrison. They analyzed video of Nixon, determining that he was at his best when speaking spontaneously. [99][100], At the beginning of November, President Johnson announced that a bombing had been halted in Vietnam; observers noted that the development significantly helped Humphrey, although Nixon had endorsed such talks. He went on to trounce Republican Thomas E. Dewey in the election. In hindsight, the magnitude of Richard Nixon's reelection victory in 1972the largest Republican landslide of the Cold Warleads some to ask why the President ever got involved in the Watergate cover-up. The Vietnam War had split the Democratic party. Richard M. Nixon. Republicans in the Midwest pushed for Mayor John Lindsay of New York City. The tactic for choosing Eisenhower's 1956 re-election campaign slogan was to stick with what works: "I still Like Ike.". In his speech, he remarked: Tonight I do not promise the millennium in the morning. McGovern, on the other hand, stumbled early. The results were very close, and not until early the following morning could news organizations call the election. Richard Nixon: For the Future: 1964: Lyndon B. Johnson: The Stakes are too High for You to Stay at Home: 1964: Barry Goldwater: In your Heart you Know he's Right: 1968: Richard Nixon: Nixon's the One: 1976: Gerald Ford: . [114][115] Though he presided over Apollo 11 and the subsequent lunar landings, he later scaled back manned space exploration. The tactic for choosing Eisenhower's 1956 re-election campaign slogan was to stick with what works: "I still Like Ike.". [81] The President made it clear to Nixon that he did not want the war to be politicized, to which Nixon agreed, although questioning Humphrey's eventual compliance. One commentator examined that he was not "the drawn, tired figure who debated Jack Kennedy or the angry politician who conceded his California [gubernatorial] defeat with such ill grace. The same analysis applied to the general campaign, as commentators noted that Nixon would stand to the right of the still undecided Democratic nominee but would fall to the left of American Independent Party candidate George Wallace. An effective slogan will sum up a candidate's pitch to the country in a few words, and be powerful enough to cut through the endless onslaught of information in people's lives. Advancement." Henry Clay and running mate, "We Polked you in '44, We shall Pierce you in '52" 1852 U.S. presidential campaign slogan of, "Free Soil, Free Labor, Free Speech, Free Men, Fremont" 1856 U.S. presidential campaign slogan of, "The Union must and shall be preserved!" Publicly, Nixon supported the bombing halt and the negotiations; privately, however, his campaign urged South Vietnam's government to refuse to take part in the talks. Nixon edged Humphrey in the popular vote by a margin of 43.42% to 42.72%, with Wallace gaining 13.53%. At the candidate, and the phrase was adopted as the slogan of the plain-speaking former general's supporters. However perhaps more famous is Frank Sinatra's special version of his song "High Hopes", which he recorded for the candidate with the new lyrics. Only 43 percent of voters supported Nixon, hardly a mandate. But in. Here, Business Insider looks at the slogans of every winning campaign since World War II, and asks what makes them successful. When in 1966 Australian premier Harold Holt declared that Australia would be "all the way with LBJ" in Vietnam, he was derided as an an American lackey. Riding high on an America's economic boom during his first four years in the White House, Reagan won a second term in 1984 under the slogan "It's Morning Again in America" broadcast into American households in an iconic campaign ad. "Change We Can Believe In," was Barack Obama's slogan when he successfully campaigned to become America's first black president in 2008. Winning a close election on November 5, 1968, Nixon and Agnew were inaugurated as the 37th president of the United States and 39th vice president of the United States, respectively, on January 20, 1969. PapasGoodOleDays. It looked like the end of conservatism, the triumph of liberalism. The presidential hopeful then tapped Maryland's governor Spiro Agnew as his running mate. John T. Woolley and Gerhard Peters, The American Presidency Project [online] Santa Barbara, CA. "[87] Nixon campaigned in San Francisco in front of 10,000 supporters, amidst an array of protests. [96] Nixon went on a whistle-stop train tour of Ohio near the end of October. [3], Nixon was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1946, representing California's 12th congressional district from 1947 until his election to the Senate in 1950. ", It was back to the future for Donald Trump when he dusted off a slogan used not just by Reagan, but also by the anti-immigration Populist Warren G Harding in 1920: "Make America Great Again.". Researcher While campaigning on a whistle stop tour of the country, a supporter yelled "Give em' hell, Harry!" "Experience Counts" - Richard Nixon slogan boasting the experience of the Nixon Lodge ticket. Political slogans are often derided but if you want to be President of the United States, you'd better have a good one. [10] In March he gained the support of the 1964 Republican nominee, Senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona. [47] New Harris polls found that Rockefeller fared better against Democratic candidates than Nixon,[48] but the outlook started to appear better for Nixon after he won the Indiana primary over Rockefeller. Presidentsusa lists slogans for Nixon in 1960 and 1968. [70] Nixon also discussed economics, articulating his opposition to social welfare, advocating programs designed to help African Americans start their own small businesses. Clinton's campaign chief James Carville coined the phrase as a reminder for campaign staff to focus on selling Clinton as the candidate to haul America out of its early '90s recession. These victories, along with pledged delegate support from states not holding primaries, secured Nixon the nomination on the first ballot of the Republican National Convention, where he named Governor Spiro Agnew of Maryland as his running mate. "[27] At this time, reports suggested that Nixon would formally announce his bid in February. [101] In response, Nixon had employed operative Anna Chennault to tell the South Vietnamese that they could receive a better deal under Nixon. During that time, he joined a prestigious law firm in New York City, became financially well off, and argued a case before the U.S. Supreme Court. "I like Ike," is one of the most celebrated political slogans in US history. The slogan was also used by Abraham Lincoln in the 1864 election. It featured cartoon elephants drumming a beat to the the catchy campaign slogan. The Watergate scandal, which would consume the greater part of his second term, resulted in his ultimate resignation on August 9, 1974.[117]. "[71], Following the speech, Nixon formally selected Governor Spiro Agnew of Maryland as his running mate, who received 1119 delegate votes, with the distant second being Governor Romney with 186. The tapes were sent to the swing states of Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio, giving Nixon the advantage of advertising long before the Democratic Party settled on a candidate. Millions of unique designs by independent artists. [27], On February 1 in New Hampshire, Nixon announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination, commenting that problems "beyond politics" needed to be addressed. Nixon Rides the Backlash to Victory: Racial Politics in the 1968 Presidential Campaign Jeremy D. Mayer The 1968 presidential campaign between Richard Nixon, Hubert Humphrey, and George Wallace was suffused with the politics of race. Two days later, his campaign manager, Gaylord Parkinson, left his position to care for his ailing wife. However his pledge at the 1988 Republican convention "Read my lips, no new taxes," came back to haunt him, with Democrat Bill Clinton hammering him about the broken pledge during the 1992 election. His diplomatic opening to China reached fruition with a widely televised trip to Beijing. When in 1966 Australian premier Harold Holt declared that Australia would be "all the way with LBJ" in Vietnam, he was derided as an an American lackey. "Peace, Experience, Prosperity" Richard Nixon's slogan showing his expertise over Kennedy. It was used by former Allied Supreme Commander Dwight E. Eisenhower nicknamed "Ike" in his successful 1952 presidential campaign. Another classic, "Don't change Dicks in the midst of a screw, vote for Nixon in '72," was also part of the election vernacular. "[36] Polling by Gallup at this time revealed that Nixon led President Johnson 41% to 39% in a three-way race with American Independent Party candidate and former Governor George Wallace of Alabama. Richard Nixon 1968 Button US Presidential Candidate Collectibles, Richard M. Nixon 1969-74 Term in Office US President & First Lady Collectibles, The slogan has become a flashpoint in an America divided by Trump's policies, with some supporters sporting clothing emblazoned with MAGA slogans confronted in public by opponents of Trump. [21] Meanwhile, Nixon and his staff discussed handling the topic of the Vietnam War. Riding high on an America's economic boom during his first four years in the White House, Reagan won a second term in 1984 under the slogan "It's Morning Again in America" broadcast into American households in an iconic campaign ad. Although it was an extremely close race with respect to the popular vote, Nixon won the electoral college by a 3 to 2 margin. List What exactly was Watergate? Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913 - April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974.A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was the 36th vice president from 1953 to 1961 under President Dwight D. Eisenhower.His five years in the White House saw reduction of U.S. involvement in the . [57] Upon returning to the trail, Nixon found that Rockefeller had begun attacking him. While the campaign's official slogan was "I'm Just Wild About Harry" a reference to the lyrics of a popular 1921 song another more famed slogan associated with the 33rd president is "The Buck Stops Here," which Truman had written on a sign he kept on his desk. Kennedy brother-in-law Sargent Shriver, an architect of John F. Kennedy's Peace Corps and Lyndon B. Johnson's War on Poverty, replaced Eagleton, but the damage was already done. Amid the Vietnam War, riots on the streets, and the counterculture, Richard Nixon appealed to the fears of what he termed the "Silent Majority," disturbed by the changes sweeping America. In fact, he defeated Humphrey by a margin of less than 1 percent of the vote. One of the more humorous, historic and unofficial campaign slogans was used on at least four different buttons for Richard Nixon in the early '70s. [98] By October's end, Nixon began to lose his edge over Humphrey; Gallup showing he led 44% to 36%, down five points from a few weeks earlier, a decline observers attributed to Nixon's refusal of a debate with Humphrey. [38] Nixon won the primary with 80%, followed by Reagan with 11% and Stassen with 6%. Nixon had a head start, however, spending 1966 campaigning for Republican candidates and cultivating party conservatives. The slogan has become a flashpoint in an America divided by Trump's policies, with some supporters sporting clothing emblazoned with MAGA slogans confronted in public by opponents of Trump. However, the void also caused problems for Nixon; Time argued that the prospect of soundly defeating second-tier candidates (such as former Governor Harold Stassen of Minnesota) in the primaries would not "electrify the voters". He still faced challenges from Nelson Rockefeller and Ronald Reagan, and was not on the ballot in California, where Reagan won a large slate of delegates. He then dropped him from the ticket. He is the man who, by the action of this convention, is now Mr. Republican. Among other things, he initiated wars on cancer and drugs, imposed wage and price controls, enforced desegregation of Southern schools and established the Environmental Protection Agency. Reagan pitched himself as the candidate to drag America out of its economic malaise under Carter. [53], In early June, Nixon continued to be regarded as the favorite to win the nomination, but observers noted that he had not yet locked up the nomination. And he is the man who, after the greatest campaign in history, will be Mr. PresidentBarry Goldwater." Forward." [20], By mid-September 1967, the Nixon campaign had organized headquarters in four states deemed critical to the Republican primaries. All individuals are members or supporters of the Republican Party, unless otherwise stated. To the Chinese people. [93] As Democratic vice presidential nominee Edmund Muskie criticized Nixon for his connections to Strom Thurmond, Nixon continued to oppose a possible debate with Humphrey and Wallace, as well as between running mates, on the basis that he did not want to give Wallace more exposure. [64] President Eisenhower endorsed Nixon in mid-July, breaking his tradition of waiting until after the primary, due to the election's importance. And, learning from the social media savvy of Obama's campaign, the slogan is reduced to "MAGA," for use as a social media hashtag by the president and his supporters. [66] Sources within Washington reported that Reagan caused greater concern for the Nixon campaign than Rockefeller. Answering the nation's need, Carter's slogan was "A Leader, For A Change."Nine other Democrats were seeking the nomination in 1976, most of them better known than Carter. They cast the candidate as someone who understands the country's woes, and can guide America through them. "[50] He then proposed a plan to tackle crime that included wiretapping, legislation to reverse previous Supreme Court decisions, and the formation of a congressional committee targeting crime and reforms to the criminal justice system. "[56] Nixon refused to respond to the jabs, stating that he would not participate in attacks. Nevertheless, by Election Day, his lead had all but vanished. [5], Nixon ran for Governor of California against incumbent Pat Brown, and was defeated handily, leading the media to label him as a "loser". En route to the Republican Party's presidential nomination, Nixon faced challenges from Governor George Romney of Michigan, Governor Nelson Rockefeller of New York, Governor Ronald Reagan of California, and Senator Charles Percy of Illinois. [32], Due to Romney's exit, Nixon declared in early March that he would "greatly expand [his] efforts in the non-primary states",[33] with Time observing that Nixon could now focus his political attacks solely on President Johnson. Four years later Bush successfully campaigned for a second term. Copyright 2023. ", But it was the unofficial slogan, initially first used by Clinton's advisers, that caught the imagination: "It's the economy, stupid.". And Nixon's decision to bomb North Vietnam and mine Haiphong Harbor to stop a Communist offensive proved highly popular. In the first presidential election since the end of World War II, incumbent Harry S. Truman, a Democrat, was widely expected to lose. "[36] Reports suggested that the decision caused "Nixon's political stock [to] skyrocket.