Down to the Nut-Cutting

Chapter Nine chronicles the final stages of the general election. It features the October comeback of Hubert Humphrey, who finally cast off Johnson’s shadow and articulated his own policy on Vietnam. His exuberant spirit now seemed appealing next to Nixon’s calculated style. Johnson’s last-minute announcement of a bombing halt in Vietnam further stoked liberals’ hopes of a Humphrey victory. But Nixon won for a variety of reasons: a shrewd positioning to exploit resentments against the liberal state, a groundbreaking use of television, and a win-at-all-costs mentality. The chapter ends with the “Chennault Affair,” the Nixon campaign’s diplomatic intrigue that derailed the peace negotiations for Vietnam.