The election of 1968, between Robert F Kennedy and Richard Nixon, is held on November 5. The count is very close, with media outlets calling it for first one, then the other. In the end, by the end of the day on November 6 it is called for RFK.
However, remembering his dubious defeat to JFK 8 years earlier, Nixon refuses to concede. And he has good reason: on November 4, the FBI, under J Edgar Hoover, had delivered to Nixon a series of files and audiotapes recorded in the weeks immediately preceding the election. These detail a number of meetings between RFK and other higher Democrat Party officials with various corrupt major city mayors and state governors… all aimed at using whatever means necessary, fair or foul, to assure RFK’s win. Nixon had not released the files to the public due to early polling that showed that he would squeak out a narrow win; releasing the files might look like dirty tricks, so it was decided to risk it. However, with the loss, the reasons for not going public were removed. So late in the day on November 6, the files and audio tapes are released to the media. Most damning was a meeting held the week before between RFK and other officials at the Watergate Hotel, where RFK is heard clearly demanding that the votes go his way in certain vital districts… whether or not the voters in those districts actually vote for him.
On November 7, with Nixon still refusing to concede, the “Watergate Scandal” breaks on radio, TV and newspapers. This immediately throws the system into chaos. Recounts and closer examination show widespread voter fraud, throwing the actual results into disarray. Over the next week, a Constitutional crisis ensues, with the RFK win being held in abeyance. Finally, it is determined that Nixon did, in fact, win both the popular and electoral college votes. RFK concedes on November 16 and Nixon is declared the winner.
In January, 1969, Nixon takes office. While generally acknowledged as the legitimate winner, he does so under a cloud; the political system is held is very low regard, on top of the racial strife of the past decade and the ongoing trouble in Viet Nam. Just about the only thing that seems to being going in the right direction is the Apollo program… and even that has issues. Two years earlier the Apollo 1 fire had killed crew and caused delays; just as bad, NASA – due to budget cuts imposed by the Johnson administration – had cancelled production of the Saturn V in August of 1968. So even though the glory days of Apollo were still ahead, it was clear to the new Nixon administration that this would only provide a rallying point for the public for a relatively brief time. So, changes must be made…
To be continued