50 Years & Counting

Fifty years ago today - Thursday October 28, 2010 - I was counting the final days until the Presidential election between Dick Nixon and John F. Kennedy was to take place on November 8th, 1960. I was just 34 years old and it was my first foray into national politics. Prior to that campaign all my efforts had been at the local level such as Congressional contests or just plain grass roots politicking, and I had thrown myself into my job as assistant to Jack Styles who headed the Nixon/Lodge Registration and Get-out-the-vote project. My work was just about done and my teeth were on edge since I was convinced that that election might be considered the most important in my lifetime and that the fate of the nation hung in the balance.