Presidential Transitions: 1960
As the election of 1960 approached, the Cold War was heating up. The nation's most experienced cold warrior, former General and current President Dwight Eisenhower, was precluded from seeking a third term in office because he was the first to hold the office of President since the 22nd amendment to the Constitution came into effect.
Relations with the Russians, the world's only other nation with the atomic bomb at the time, had soured after a US spy plane was shot down over Russia on May 1, 1960 and American pilot Gary Powers was captured. At first Eisenhower tried to lie to the Soviets about his nation spying, unaware that Powers was alive and a prisoner of the Soviets. The Russians refused to attend a four-powers summit (with Great Britain and France) after the incident because of Eisenhower's refusal to apologize. The incident thwarted Eisenhower's efforts at negotiating a nuclear arms reduction treaty.
As the 1960 election approached, Eisenhower said that he was vehemently opposed to the election of the inexperienced John F. Kennedy as president. He said "I will do almost anything to avoid turning my chair and country over to Kennedy." But he didn't help his Vice-President Richard Nixon in the campaign. When asked by reporters at the end of a televised press conference to list one of Nixon's policy ideas he had adopted, Eisenhower joked, "If you give me a week, I might think of one. I don't remember." Kennedy's campaign used the quote in one of its campaign commercials.
Nixon narrowly lost the election to Kennedy, who was able to get the electorate to get past his being a Roman Catholic, something that was a political impediment in 1960. In the election campaign, Kennedy took advantage of increased Cold War tension by telling voters that there was a "missile gap" between the United States and Soviet Union. He said that under the Republicans the Soviets had developed a major advantage in the numbers of nuclear missiles. This wasn't accurate, but many voters believed him. He also said that several senior US military officers had long criticized the Eisenhower Administration's defense spending policies.
On election day, Kennedy received 112,827 (0.17%) more votes than Nixon and won a 303 to 219 Electoral College victory.
During the transition between the two administrations, Eisenhower remained concerned both about cold war tensions, but also about those in his military with hawkish tendencies who wanted to build up military arsenals and to increase military spending. Eisenhower had believed in decreasing the size of the military, preferring to rely on the threat of the more powerful nuclear weapons. On January 17, 1961, Eisenhower gave his final televised Address to the Nation from the Oval Office. In his farewell speech, Eisenhower raised the issue of the Cold War and role of the U.S. armed forces. He told the nation: "We face a hostile ideology global in scope, atheistic in character, ruthless in purpose and insidious in method." He then warned Americans about what he viewed as unjustified government spending proposals. He told his audience: "we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex."
Eisenhower cautioned Americans: "We recognize the imperative need for this development. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together."
John F. Kennedy was sworn in as the 35th president at noon on January 20, 1961. In his inaugural address he called on all Americans to become active citizens, famously saying: "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country."
Kennedy changed White House organization from that of his predecessor. He selected a mixture of experienced and inexperienced people to serve in his cabinet. This included the selection of Ford Motor Company President Robert McNamara as Secretary of Defense and most controversially, the selection of his 35 year old brother Robert as Attorney-General.
The contrast between the more experienced Eisenhower and his younger successor became apparent during Kennedy's first year in office. He approved a poorly planned scheme for the invasion of Cuba in which over a thousand Cuban exiles were captured in the Bay of Pigs invasion in April. Then in June of 1961 he performed poorly at a summit meeting with Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev in Vienna. In subsequent crises, Kennedy would call upon Eisenhower for advice and counsel, learning to critically analyze the advice he was given by his military advisers.