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The Inside Story of How JFK Won Illinois in 1960 by Steve Sailer UPI, November 10, 2000 |
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"If the will of the people is to prevail, Al Gore should be awarded a victory in Florida and should be the next president of the United States," proclaimed Gore's campaign manager William Daley, who is the brother of current Chicago mayor Richard M. Daley and the son of former mayor Richard J. Daley. William Daley's denunciations of imperfections in the Florida voting process bring back ironic memories of his father's famous role in counting the crucial Illinois vote in the last extremely close election, the 1960 John F. Kennedy - Richard Nixon contest. Celebrated political reporter Theodore J. White spent the nervous day after the 1960 election in the Kennedy compound in Hyannisport with his friends in John F. Kennedy's inner circle of professional politicians. Although he left the story out of his bestseller "The Making of the President, 1960," which he later admitted was romanticized, White eventually told the story in his more disillusioned 1978 autobiography, "In Search of History." "Even in the most corrupt states of the Union, one cannot steal more than one or two percent of the vote," White wrote. "But in an election like that of 1960 … miniscule percentages of theft, vote fraud and corruption may carry with them the Presidency of the United States." As the lead in Illinois swayed back and forth as late precincts straggled in, Kennedy's men could only wait. "There was nothing anyone could do in Hyannisport except hope that Boss Daley of Chicago could do it for them." Daley and the Republican bosses downstate were each holding back totals from their loyal precincts, hoping to make the other reveal their hand first. Finally, the wire service ticker chattered out, "With all downstate precincts now reported in, and only Cook County precincts unreported, Richard Nixon has surged into the lead by 3,000 votes." Young Kennedy aide Dick Donahue surprised the heartbroken White by yelping, "He's got them! Daley made them go first! He's still holding back -- watch him play his hand now." "I was baffled, they were elated," wrote White. "But they knew the counting game better than I." Soon the AP ticker announced, "With the last precincts of Cook County now in, Senator Kennedy has won a lead of 8,000 votes to carry Illinois's 27 electoral votes." White reported that, "Later that evening, Kennedy told his friend Ben Bradlee of an early call from Daley, when all seemed in doubt. ' With a little bit of luck and the help of a few close friends,' Daley had assured Kennedy before the AP had pushed out the count, 'you're going to carry Illinois.'" Steve Sailer (www.iSteve.com) is a columnist for VDARE.com and the film critic for The American Conservative.
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