Even though Wallace had siphoned off a significant percentage of Republican voters, Richard Nixon’s shrewd exploitation of what McAdam and Kloos call “the politics of racial reaction” made possible his 1968 presidential victory. His “much-ballyhooed ‘southern strategy,’ ” they write, “is more accurately seen as a reflection of the emerging dynamic than a bold new direction on his part.” They go on to argue that Wallace’s surprising success was “nothing short of a revelation to political strategists in both parties,” who thenceforth understood that grasping the critical balance of power meant
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