THE NATION 1968: Assassinations: An Hour of Need Martin Luther King

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Polled and analyzed as never before, accused of indifference toward the candidates and alarm over the issues, the nation's electorate finally got its turn. It spoke quietly. It expressed no overwhelming preference for a personality or a party. But it acted coolly, picking and choosing among candidates. And it laid to rest some phantoms that had threatened to haunt the Republic and the two-party system for years. Yet the nation denied Richard Nixon the really massive "mandate to govern" he had pleaded for. In fact, the vote was in many ways a reflection of the divisions that have been tormenting the country all year.

Ironically, in a record turnout of more than 72 million, Nixon's victory was painfully narrow—though a triumph in personal terms. With 93% of the count in, Nixon had 29,565,052 (43%); Hubert Humphrey, 29,539,500 (43%); and George Wallace, 9,181,466 (13%). Contrary to many predictions, the voters showed no inclination to boycott the election.

The electorate's biggest message to Washington: Americans want a change. The trend was obviously conservative, away from the omniscient federalism of the Great Society, toward the decentralized approach of the Republicans.