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after 1960 nominating convention, Kennedy turned to convincing the American people to elect him

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Kennedy was popular with the young

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elderly were interested in his support of a national health insurance for the aged

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picked Lyndon Johnson as running mate

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over objections from his brother Bobby

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but without Texas and a "good chunk of the South", Kennedy could not possible defeat Nixon

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LBJ wanted to be president, and history had shown that being vice president was one of the best pathways to the White House

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LBJ was put in charge of JFK's strategy in the South

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the two toured the South, but LBJ made most of the speeches

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Nixon was unopposed

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first poll showed Nixon leading by 6%

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JFK's youth bothered some voters

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but Nixon was only 47 while Kennedy 43

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religion loomed largest

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nation was overwhelmingly Protestant

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Kennedy "went into lion's den" and accepted invitation to speak at the Greater Houston Ministerial Association

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Nixon was also invited by declined

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September 12, 1960 gave speech

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visibly tense

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300 skeptical Protestant ministers glared at him

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Kennedy knew that this speech could make or break his campaign

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delivered a memorable plea for religious tolerance

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played down his connection to the Catholic church

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he used this speech to win the public relations battle

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in election, religion played a tremendous role

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in the end

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Kennedy received 80% of the Catholic vote

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Nixon got 69% of the Protestant vote

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more than race or region, religion explained the 1960 election results

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Catholics were traditionally Democratic

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even Elenore Roosevelt wondered aloud whether Kennedy could make decisions without the approval of the Pope in the Vatican

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in 1928, Catholic Al Smith was swamped by Herbert Hoover, Democrats didn't want to repeat this

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Kennedy came out against ties with the Vatican

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attacked the Eisenhower administration for being insufficiently tough on the Soviets

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argued to strength military forces to face the Soviets

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asked: if elected President, if he would be torn between two loyalties, church and state

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I would not, I has sworn to uphold the Constitution, the first amendment states that one cannot make laws which favor a religion

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Article 6 of the Constitution states that no religious test should be required to qualify for office

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it turned out that introducing JFK as Irish Catholic instead of Roman Catholic made a difference with voters

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61% in West Virginia

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Democratic Convention in Los Angeles

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name of JFK's program and administration: "The New Frontier"

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after election, Kennedy's Catholicism wore off, became less important

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everyone understood that the Pope was not calling the shots

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to this day, Kennedy has been the only Catholic president

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in June 1963, Kennedy met in Rome with Pope Paul VI succeeding Pope John XXIII

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when Catholics meet the Pope, they are supposed to kneel and kiss his ring, Kennedy did not, he simply shook his hand