Richard Nixon would have captured the 1960 presidential election but for five states he lost by 5,000 votes or fewer – Missouri, Illinois, Nevada, New Mexico and Hawaii.Interesting to note that the hated Richard Nixon chose not to contest even though part of the problem was the Daley machine with corruption as deep as the Marianas trench. And Ohio hardly has a Snow White reputation in Ford's case.
Gerald Ford would have retained the presidency in 1976 but for two states he lost by no more than 5,600 votes – Ohio and Hawaii.
Though the 1960 and 1976 elections were close, though they turned on a few thousand votes in a handful of states, the outcomes were faithfully accepted by the American people, by Republicans and Democrats alike.
That's because neither Nixon or Ford demanded that the votes be recounted in the states in which they lost by narrow margins. And neither Nixon or Ford insisted they were denied election because of voting irregularities in some state or another.
Then there was the 2000 election.
[Al] Gore refused to accept that he lost Florida, that he lost the presidency, by so small a margin. He refused to put the national interest before his own selfish interest.
I pray this election is not close. But I have serious doubts my prayers will be fulfilled on this one. (With humble apologies to the Lord, of course.)
Thanks, Al.
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