Countdown 1960 Quotes

“In Texas, people had to pay a poll tax of more than a dollar before they could vote. It was used as a way to stop Black people from voting. But it also could be used as a way to track voter fraud.”
― Chris Wallace, Countdown 1960: The Behind-the-Scenes Story of the 312 Days that Changed America's Politics Forever

“Many expected Nixon to speak up for King. He was the candidate who’d recently touted his civil rights record. Jackie Robinson even visited the vice president and pleaded with him to get King released. But Nixon did the political calculus. Yes, he was opposed to segregation. But if he got the civil rights leader out, he’d lose his chance of possibly taking some southern states from the Democrats. And in a race this tight, that could mean the difference between winning and losing. Nixon remained silent.”
― Chris Wallace, Countdown 1960: The Behind-the-Scenes Story of the 312 Days that Changed America's Politics Forever

“Democracy works when there is a peaceful transition of power after an election—especially from one political party to another. Peaceful transitions require all lawmakers and citizens to uphold democratic institutions and norms, including the rule of law, despite their personal interests. Without that common agreement, democracy dies.”
― Chris Wallace, Countdown 1960: The Behind-the-Scenes Story of the 312 Days that Changed America's Politics Forever

“It didn’t mean that election fraud didn’t happen. All sides agreed that it did. It was a question of the extent of the fraud: Would it have been enough to overturn the results in key states like Texas and Illinois? And if a few select states were lawfully restored to Nixon, could the course of history have gone a different way? To this day, the questions remain unanswered.”
― Chris Wallace, Countdown 1960: The Behind-the-Scenes Story of the 312 Days that Changed America's Politics Forever

“Mazo explained that the election fraud he uncovered would make a difference. He might be elected president. But Nixon said it didn’t matter. The cost was too high. “Our country cannot afford the agony of a constitutional crisis—and I damn well will not be a party to creating one just to become president or anything else,” Nixon said.”
― Chris Wallace, Countdown 1960: The Behind-the-Scenes Story of the 312 Days that Changed America's Politics Forever

“was too young. Too inexperienced. He was a Roman Catholic, no less. But with his younger brother’s brilliant campaign strategy, and his father’s money and unscrupulous connections, Kennedy had captured the Democratic presidential nomination and then the White House.”
― Chris Wallace, Countdown 1960: The Behind-the-Scenes Story of the 312 Days that Changed America's Politics Forever

“the flight back to Washington, D.C., Nixon’s campaign manager, Leonard Hall, told the vice president the Democrats stole the election. They had received reports of voter fraud in a number of key states, including Illinois, Texas, and Missouri. He pressed Nixon to do something about it, maybe even contest the election. Nixon took a deep breath. He wasn’t going to make a hasty decision on something that would divide the nation. No, he’d have to think about that, talk it over with GOP leaders. He didn’t want to be a sore loser.”
― Chris Wallace, Countdown 1960: The Behind-the-Scenes Story of the 312 Days that Changed America's Politics Forever

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― Chris Wallace, Countdown 1960: The Behind-the-Scenes Story of the 312 Days that Changed America's Politics Forever