The fourth and final
Nixon-
Kennedy debate took place on
October 21, 1960 at
ABC studios in
New York, NY.
The Third Nixon-Kennedy Debate
Mr. Howe. I am
Quincy Howe of CB--of
ABC News saying good evening from New York where the two major
candidates for
President of the
United States are about to engage in their fourth radio-television discussion of the present campaign.
Tonight these men will confine that discussion to
foreign policy. Good evening,
Vice President Nixon.
Mr. Nixon. Good evening,
Mr. Howe.
Mr. Howe. And good evening,
Senator Kennedy.
Mr. Kennedy. Good evening,
Mr. Howe.
Mr. Howe. Now let me read the rules and conditions under which the
candidates themselves have agreed to proceed. As they did in their first meeting, both men will make opening statements of about 8 minutes each, and closing statements of equal time, running 3 to 5 minutes each. During the half
hour between the opening and closing statements the
candidates will answer and comment upon questions from a panel of four correspondents chosen by the nationwide networks that carry the
program.
Each candidate will be questioned in turn with opportunity for comment by the other. Each answer will be limited to 2 1/2 minutes. Each comment to 1 1/2 minutes.
The correspondents are free to ask any questions they choose in the field of foreign affairs. Neither candidate knows what questions will be asked.
Time alone will determine the final question.
Reversing the order in their first meeting,
Senator Kennedy will make the second opening statement and the first closing statement.
For the first opening statement, here is
Vice President Nixon.
Mr. Nixon.
Mr. Howe,
Senator Kennedy, my fellow
Americans. Since this campaign began I have had a very rare privilege. I have traveled to 48 of the 50 states and in my travels I have learned what the people of the
United States are thinking about.
There is one issue that stands out above all the rest; one in which every
American is concerned, regardless of what group he may be a member and regardless of where he may live. And that issue, very simply stated, is this: How can we keep the peace; keep it without surrender? How can we extend
freedom; extend it without war?
Now, in determining how we deal with this issue, we must find the answer to a very important but simple question: Who threatens the peace? Who threatens
freedom in the world?
There is only one threat to peace and one threat to
freedom: that that is presented by the international
Communist movement; and therefore, if we are to have peace, if we are to keep our own
freedom and extend it to others without war, we must know how to deal with the
Communists and their leaders.
I know Mr. Khrushchev. I also have had the opportunity of knowing and meeting other
Communist leaders in the world. I believe there are certain principles we must find in dealing with him and his colleagues, principles if followed, that will keep the peace and that also can extend
freedom.
First, we have to learn from the past, because we cannot afford to make the mistakes of the past. In the 7 years before this administration came into power in Washington, we found that 600 million people went behind the Iron Curtain, and at the end of that 7 years we were engaged in a war in Korea which
cost of over 30,000
American lives.
In the past 7 years, in
President Eisenhower's administration, this situation has been reversed. We ended the Korean War by strong, firm leadership. We have kept out of other wars and we have avoided surrender of principle or territory at the conference table.
Now, why were we successful as our predecessors were not successful? I think there're several reasons. In the first place, they made a fatal error in misjudging the
Communists in trying to apply to them the same rules of conduct that you would apply to the leaders of the free world.
One of the major errors they made was the one that led to the Korean War. In ruling out the defense of Korea, they invited aggression in that area. They thought they were going to have peace. It brought war. We learned from their mistakes. And so, in our 7 years, we find that we have been firm in our diplomacy.
We have never made concessions without getting concessions in return. We have always been willing to go the extra mile to negotiate for disarmament or in any other area, but we have never been willing to do anything that, in effect, surrendered
freedom any place in the world. That is why
President Eisenhower was correct in not apologizing or expressing regrets to Mr. Khrushchev at the Paris Conference, as
Senator Kennedy suggested he could have done. That is why
Senator--
President Eisenhower was also correct in his policy in the
Formosa Straits where he declined and refused to follow the recommendations, recommendations which
Senator Kennedy voted for in 1955, again made in 1959, again repeated in his
debates, that you have heard, recommendations with regard to again slicing off a piece of free territory, and abandoning it effect, to the
Communists.
Why did the
President feel this was wrong and why was the
President right and his critics wrong? Because again, this showed a lack of understanding of dictators, a lack of understanding particularly of
Communists because every time you make such a concession it does not lead to peace. It only encourages them to blackmail you. It encourages them to begin a war.
And so I say that the record shows that we know how to keep the peace, to keep it without surrender. Let us move now to the future.
It is not enough to stand on this record because we are dealing with the most ruthless, fanatical leaders that the world has ever seen. That is why I say that in this period of the
sixties America must move forward in every area. First of all, although we are today, as
Senator Kennedy has admitted, the strongest nation in the world militarily, we must increase our strength, increase it so that we will always have enough strength that regardless of what our potential opponents have, if they should launch a surprise attack we will be able to destroy their war-making capabilities.
They must know, in other words, that it is national suicide if they begin anything. We need this kind of strength because we're the guardians of the peace.
In addition to military strength we need to see that the economy of this
country continues to grow. It has grown in the past 7 years. It can and will grow even more in the next 4. And the reason that it must grow even more is because we have things to do at home, and also because we're in a race for survival; a race in which it isn't enough to be ahead; it isn't enough simply to be complacent. We have to move ahead in order to stay ahead. And that is why, in this field I have made recommendations which I am confident will move the
American economy ahead, move it firmly and soundly so that there will never be a time when the
Soviet Union will be able to challenge our superiority in this field.
And so we need military strength. We need economic strength. We also need the right diplomatic policies. What are they? Again we turn to the past. Firmness but no belligerence, and by "no belligerence" I mean that we do not answer insult by insult.
When you are proud and confident of your strength, you do not get down to the level of Mr. Khrushchev and his colleagues.
And that example that
President Eisenhower has set we will continue to follow.
But all this by itself, is not enough. It is not enough for us simply to be the strongest nation militarily, the strongest economically and also to have firm diplomacy.
We must have a great goal, and that is: Not just to keep
freedom for ourselves but to extend it to all the world. To extend it to all the world because that is America's destiny. To extend it to all the world because the
Communist aim is not to hold their own but to extend communism. And you cannot fight a victory for communism or a strategy of victory for communism with a strategy simply of holding the line.
And so I say that we believe that our policies of military strength, of economic strength, of diplomatic firmness first will keep the peace and keep it without surrender.
We also believe that in the great field of ideals that we can lead
America to the victory for
freedom, victory in the newly developing countries, victory also in the captive countries, provided we have faith in ourselves and faith in our principles.
Mr. Howe. Now the opening statement of
Senator Kennedy.
Mr. Kennedy.
Mr. Howe, Mr.
Vice President, first let me again try to correct the record on the matter of Quemoy and
Matsu. I
voted for the
Formosa resolution in 1955. I have sustained it since then. I have said that I agree with the administration policy.
Mr. Nixon earlier indicated that he would defend Quemoy and
Matsu even if the attack on these islands, 2 miles off the coast of
China, were not part of a general attack an
Formosa and the Pescadores. I indicated that I would defend those islands if the attack were directed against Pescadores and
Formosa, which is part of the
Eisenhower policy. I have supported that policy.
In the last week, as a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, I reread the testimony of General Twining representing the administration in 1959, and the Assistant Secretary of State before the Foreign Relations Committee in 1958, and I have accurately described the administration policy, and I support it wholeheartedly. So that really isn't an issue in this campaign. It isn't an issue with
Mr. Nixon, who now says that he also supports the
Eisenhower policy.
Nor is the question that all
Americans want peace and security an issue in this campaign. The question is: Are we moving in the direction of peace and security? Is our relative strength growing? Is--as
Mr. Nixon says--our prestige at an alltime high, as he said a week ago, and that of the
Communists at an alltime low? I don't believe it is. I don't believe that our relative strength is increasing, and I say that not as a Democratic standard bearer, but as a citizen of the
United States who is concerned about the
United States.
I look at
Cuba, 90 miles off the coast of the
United States. In 1957 I was in Havana. I talked to the
American Ambassador there. He said that he was the second most powerful man in
Cuba, and yet even though Ambassador Smith and Ambassador Gardner, both Republican Ambassadors, both warned of
Castro, the Marxist influences around
Castro, the
Communist influences around
Castro, both of them have testified in the last 6 weeks, that in spite of their warnings to the
American Government, nothing was done.
Our security depends upon
Latin America. Can any
American, looking at the situation in
Latin America, feel contented with what's happening today, when a candidate for the Presidency of Brazil feels it necessary to call, not on Washington during the campaign, but on
Castro in Havana, in order to pick up the support of the
Castro supporters in Brazil?
At the
American Conference--Inter-
American Conference this summer, when we wanted them to join together in the denunciation of
Castro and the
Cuban
Communists, we couldn't even get the Inter-
American group to join together in denouncing
Castro. It was rather a vague statement that they finally made.
Do you know today that the Comm--the Russians broadcast 10 times as many
programs in Spanish to Latin
America as we do?
Do you know we don't have a single
program sponsored by our
Government to
Cuba, to tell them our story, to tell them that we are their friends, that we want them to be free again?
Africa is now the emerging area of the world. It contains 25 percent of all the members of the General Assembly. We didn't even have a Bureau of
African Affairs until 1957. In the
Africa, south of the Sahara, which is the major new section, we have less students from all of
Africa in that area studying under
Government auspices today than from the
country of Thailand. If there's one thing
Africa needs, it's technical assistance, and yet last year we gave them less than 5 percent of all the technical assistance funds that we distributed around the world. We relied in the Middle East on the Baghdad Pact, and yet when the Iraqi
Government was changed, the Baghdad Pact broke down.
We relied on the
Eisenhower Doctrine for the Middle East which passed the Senate. There isn't one
country in the Middle East that now endorses the
Eisenhower Doctrine.
We look to Euro--to
Asia, because the struggle is in the underdeveloped world. Which system, communism or
freedom, will triumph in the next 5 or 10 years? That's what should concern us, not the history of 10 or 15 or 20 years ago. But are we doing enough in these areas? What are
freedom's chances in those areas?
By 1965 or 1970 will there be other
Cubas in
Latin America? Will Guinea and Ghana, which have now
voted with the
Communists frequently as newly independent countries of
Africa, will there be others? Will the Congo go
Communist? Will other countries? Are we doing enough in that area?
And what about
Asia? Is India going to win the economic struggle or is
China going to win it? Who will dominate
Asia in the next 5 or 10 years? Communism? The Chinese? Or will
freedom?
The question which we have to decide as
Americans: Are we doing enough today? Is our strength and prestige rising? Do people want to be identified with us? Do they want to follow the
United States leadership? I don't think they do enough. And that's what concerns me.
In
Africa these countries that have newly joined the
United Nations, on the question of admission of
Red China, only two countries in all of
Africa voted with us: Liberia and the Union of South
Africa. The rest either abstained or
voted against us. More countries in
Asia voted against us on that question than
voted with us.
I believe that this struggle is going to go on and it may be well decided in the next decade.
I have seen
Cuba go to the
Communists. I have seen
Communist influence and
Castro influence rise in
Latin America. I have seen us ignore
Africa. There are six countries in
Africa that are members of the
United Nations. There isn't a single
American diplomatic representative in any of those six.
When Guinea became independent, the Soviet Ambassador showed up that very day. We didn't recognize them for 2 months; the
American Ambassador didn't show up for nearly 8 months. I believe that the world is changing fast, and I don't think this administration has shown the foresight, has shown the knowledge, has been identified with the great fight which these people are waging to be free, to get a better standard of living, to live better.
The average income in some of those countries is $25 a year. The
Communists say, "Come with us; look what we've done." And we've been, on the whole, uninterested.
I think we're going to have to do better.
Mr. Nixon talks about our being the strongest
country in the world. I think we are today, but we were far stronger relative to the
Communists 5 years ago, and what is of great concern is that the balance of power is in danger of moving with them.
They made a breakthrough in missiles, and by 1961, '2, and '3, they will be outnumbering us in missiles.
I'm not as confident as he is that we will be the strongest military power by 1963.
He talks about economic growth as a great indicator of
freedom. I agree with him. What we do in this
country, the kind of society that we build: That will tell whether
freedom will be sustained around the world and yet in the last 9 months of this year we've had a drop in our economic growth rather than a gain.
We've had the lowest rate of increase of economic growth in the last 9 months of any major industrialized society in the world.
I look up and see the Soviet flag on the moon. The fact is that the State Department polls on our prestige and influence around the world have shown such a sharp drop that up till now the State Department has been unwilling to release them and yet they were polled by the USIA.
The point of all this is: This is a struggle in which we're engaged. We want peace. We want
freedom. We want security. We want to be stronger. We want
freedom to gain. But I don't believe, in these changing and revolutionary times, this administration has known that the world is changing, has identified itself with that change.
I think the
Communists have been moving with vigor. Laos,
Africa,
Cuba--all around the world they're on the move. I think we have to revita1ize our society. I think we have to demonstrate to the people of the world that we're determined in this free
country of ours to be first--not first "if" and not first "but" and not first "when" but first.
And when we are strong and when we are first, then
freedom gains. Then the prospects for peace increase. Then the prospects for our society gain.
Mr. Howe. That completes the opening statements. Now the
candidates will answer and comment upon questions put by these four correspondents: Frank Singiser of Mutual News, John Edwards of
ABC News,
Walter Cronkite of
CBS News, John Chancellor of
NBC News.
Frank Singiser has the first question for
Vice President Nixon.
MR. SINGISER. Mr.
Vice President, I'd like to pin down the difference between the way you would handle
Castro's regime and prevent the establishment of
Communist Governments in the Western Hemisphere and the way that t
Senator Kennedy would proceed.
Vice President Nixon, in what important respects do you feel there are differences between you, and why do you believe your policy is better for the peace and security of the
United States and the Western Hemisphere?
Mr. Nixon. Our policies are very different. I think that
Senator Kennedy's policies and recommendations for the handling of the
Castro regime are probably the most dangerously irresponsible recommendations that he's made during the course of this campaign. In effect, what
Senator Kennedy recommends is that the
United States Government should give help to the exiles and to those within
Cuba who oppose the
Castro regime, provided they are anti-Batista.
Now let's just see what this means. We have five treaties with
Latin America, including the one setting up the Organization of
American States in Bogota in 1948, in which we have agreed not to intervene in the internal affairs of any other
American country, and they as well have agreed to do likewise.
The charter of the
United Nations, its preamble, Article I and Article II also provide that there shall be no intervention by one nation in the internal affairs of another. Now I don't know what
Senator Kennedy suggests when he says that we should help those who oppose the
Castro regime both in
Cuba and without. But I do know this, that if we were to follow that recommendation that we would lose all of our friends in
Latin America, we would probably be condemned in the
United Nations, and we would not accomplish our objective. I know something else. It would be an open invitation for Mr. Khrushchev to come in, to come into Latin
America and to engage us in what would be a civil war, and possibly even worse than that.
This is the major recommendation that he's made. Now, what can we do? We can do what we did with Guatemala. There was a
Communist dictator that we inherited from the previous administration. We quarantined Mr. Arbenz. The result was that the Guatemalan people themselves eventually rose up and they threw him out. We are quarantining Mr.
Castro today. We are quarantining him diplomatically by bringing back our Ambassador; economically by cutting off trade--and
Senator Kennedy's suggestion that the trade that we cut off is not significant is just 100 percent wrong. We are cutting off the significant items that the
Cuban regime needs in order to survive. By cutting off trade, by cutting off our diplomatic relations as we have, we will quarantine this regime so that the people of
Cuba themselves will take care of Mr.
Castro. But for us to do what
Senator Kennedy has suggested, would bring results which I know he would not want and certainly which the
American people would not want.
Mr. Kennedy.
Mr. Nixon shows himself misinformed. He surely must be aware that most of the equipment and arms and resources for
Castro came from the
United States, flowed out of Florida and other parts of the
United States to
Castro in the mountains. There isn't any doubt about that, No. 1.
No. 2, I believe that if any economic sanctions against Latin
America are going to be successful, they have to be multilateral, they have to include the other countries of
Latin America. The very minute effect of the action which has been taken this week on
Cuba's economy, I believe
Castro can replace those markets very easily through
Latin America, through Europe, and through Eastern Europe. If the
United States had stronger prestige and influence in Latin
America it could persuade, as Franklin Roosevelt did in 1940, the countries of Latin
America to join in an economic quarantine of
Castro. That's the only way you can bring real economic pressure on the
Castro regime and also the countries of Western Europe, Canada, Japan, and the others.
No. 3,
Castro is only the beginning of our difficulties throughout
Latin America. The big struggle will be to prevent the influence of
Castro spreading to other countries--Mexico, Panama, Bolivia, Colombia. We're going to have to try to provide closer ties to associate ourselves with the great desire of these people for a better life if we're going to prevent
Castro's influence from spreading throughout all of
Latin America. His influence is strong enough today to prevent us from getting the other countries of Latin
America to join with us in economic quarantine. His influence is growing, mostly because this administration has ignored
Latin America. You yourself said, Mr.
Vice President, a month ago, that if we had provided the kind of economic aid 5 years ago that we are now providing, we might never have had
Castro. Why didn't we?
Mr. Howe. John Edwards has his first question for
Senator Kennedy.
MR. EDWARDS.
Senator Kennedy, one test of a new
President's leadership will be the caliber of his appointments. It's a matter of interest here and overseas as to who will be the new Secretary of State. Now under our rules I must ask this question of you but I would hope that the
Vice President also would answer it.
Will you give us the names of three or four
Americans, each of whom, if appointed, would serve with distinction in your judgment as Secretary of State?
Mr. Kennedy. Mr. Edwards, I don't think it's a wise idea for
Presidential
candidates to appoint the members of his cabinet prospectively or suggest four people and indicate that one of them surely will be appointed. This is a decision that the
President of the
United States must make. The last candidate who indicated that--who his Cabinet was going to be, was Mr. Dewey in 1948. This is a race between the
Vice President and myself for the Presidency of the
United States. There are a good many able men who could be Secretary of State. I have made no judgment about who should be the Secretary of State. I think that judgment could be made after election if I am successful. The people have to make a choice between
Mr. Nixon and myself, between the Republican Party and the Democratic Party, between our approach to the problems which now disturb us as a nation and disturb us as a world power. The
President bears the constitutional responsibility, not the Secretary of State, for the conduct of foreign affairs.
Some
Presidents have been strong in
foreign policy. Others have relied heavily on the Secretary of State. I have been a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, I have run for the Presidency with full knowledge that his great responsibility really given to him by the Constitution and by the force of events is in the field of foreign affairs. I'm asking the people's support as
President; we will select the best man we can get, but I have not made a judgment and I have not narrowed down a list of three or four people among whom would be the candidate.
Mr. Howe. Mr.
Vice President, do you have a comment?
Mr. Nixon. Well Mr. Edwards, as you probably know, I have consistently answered all questions with regard to who will be in the next Cabinet by saying that that is the responsibility of the next
President and it would be inappropriate to make any decisions on that or to announce any prior to the time that I had the right to do so. So that is my answer to this question.
If you don't mind, I would like to use the balance of the time to respond to one of the comments that
Senator Kennedy made on the previous question. He was talking about the
Castro regime and what we had been doing in
Latin America. I would like to point out that when we look at our
programs in
Latin America, we find that we have appropriated five times as much for Latin
America as was appropriated by the previous administration. We find that we have $2 billion more for the Export-Import Bank. We have a new bank for Latin
America alone of a billion dollars. We have the new
program which was submitted at the Bogota Conference, this new
program that
President Eisenhower submitted, approved by the last Congress for $500 million. We have moved in Latin
America very effectively, and I'd also like to point this out.
Senator Kennedy complains very appropriately about our inadequate radio broadcasts for
Latin America. Let me point out again that his Congress, the Democratic Congress, has cut $80 million off of the Voice of
America appropriations. Now, he has to get a better job out of his Congress if he's going to get us the money that we need to conduct the foreign affairs of this
country in Latin
America or any place else.
Mr. Howe.
Walter Cronkite, you have your first question for
Vice President Nixon.
Mr. Cronkite. Thank you
Quincy. Mr.
Vice President,
Senator Fulbright and now tonight
Senator Kennedy maintain that the administration is suppressing a report by the
United States Information Agency that shows a decline in
United States prestige overseas. Are you aware of such a report, and if you are aware of the existence of such a report, should not that report because of the great importance this issue has been given in this campaign, be released to the public?
Mr. Nixon.
Mr. Cronkite, I naturally am aware of it because I, of course, pay attention to everything
Senator Kennedy says, as well as
Senator Fulbright.
Now, in this connection I want to point out that the facts simply aren't as stated. First of all, the report to which
Senator Kennedy refers is one that was made many, many months ago and related particularly to the period immediately after Sputnik.
Second, as far as this report is concerned, I would have no objection to having it made public.
Third, I would say this with regard to this report, with regard to Gallup Polls of prestige abroad and everything else that we've been hearing about "what about
American prestige abroad?"
America's prestige abroad will be just as high as the spokesmen for
America allow it to be.
Now, when we have a
Presidential candidate--for example,
Senator Kennedy--stating over and over again that the
United States is second in space, and the fact of the matter is that the space score today is 28 to 8; we've had 28 successful shots; they've had 8. When he states that we are second in
education, and I have seen Soviet
education and I've seen ours, and we're not. That we're second in science because they may be ahead in one area or another, when overall we're way ahead of the
Soviet Union and all other countries in science. When he says, as he did in January of this year, that we have the worst slums, that we have the most crowded schools, when he says that 17 million people go to bed hungry every night--when he makes statements like this, what does this do to
American prestige? Well, it can only have the effect, certainly, of reducing it.
Now, let me make one thing clear.
Senator Kennedy has a responsibility to criticize those things that are wrong but he has also a responsibility to be right in his criticisms.
Every one of these items that I have mentioned he's been wrong--dead wrong. And for that reason he has contributed to any lack of prestige.
Finally, let me say this: As far as prestige is concerned, the first place it would show up would be in the
United Nations. Now
Senator Kennedy has referred to the
voted on
Communist China. Let's look at the
voted on Hungary. There we got more
voteds for condemning Hungary and looking into that situation than we got the last year.
Let's look at the reaction to Khrushchev and
Eisenhower at the last U.N. session. Did Khrushchev gain because he took his shoe off and pounded the table and shouted and insulted? Not at all. The
President gained.
America gained by continuing the dignity, the decency that has characterized us and it's that that keeps the prestige of
America up--not running down
America the way
Senator Kennedy has been running her down.
Mr. Howe. Comment,
Senator Kennedy?
Mr. Kennedy. I really don't need
Mr. Nixon to tell me about what my responsibilities are as a citizen. I've served this
country for 14 years in the Congress and before that in the service. I have just as high a devotion, and just as high an opinion. What I downgrade,
Mr. Nixon, is the leadership the
country is getting, not the
country. Now, I didn't make most of the statements that you said I made. I believe the
Soviet Union is first in
outer space. We may have made more shots, but the size of their rocket thrust and all the rest--you, yourself, said to Khrushchev, "You may be ahead of us in rocket thrust but we're ahead of you in color television" in your famous discussion in the kitchen.
I think that color television is not as important as rocket thrust.
Secondly, I didn't say we had the worst slums in the world. I said we had too many slums, that they are bad and we ought to do something about them and we ought to support housing legislation which this administration has opposed. I didn't say we had the worst
education in the world. What I said was that 10 years ago, we were producing twice as many scientists and engineers as the
Soviet Union, and today they're producing twice as many as we are and that this affects our security around the world.
And fourth, I believe that the polls and other studies and
voteds in the
United Nations and anyone reading the paper and any citizen of the
United States must come to the conclusion that the
United States no longer carries the same image of a vital society, on the move, with its brightest days ahead as it carried a decade or two decades ago.
Part of that is because we've stood still here at home. Because we haven't met our problems in the
United States. Because we haven't had a moving economy. Part of that, as the Gallup Poll showed, is because the
Soviet Union made a breakthrough in
outer space. Mr. George Allen, head of your Information Services, said that that made the people of the world begin to wonder whether we were first in science. We are first in other areas of science but in space, which is the new science, we're not first.
Mr. Howe. John Chancellor, your first question for
Senator Kennedy.
MR. CHANCELLOR.
Senator, another question in connection with our relations with the Russians. There have been stories from Washington from the Atomic Energy Commission hinting that the Russians may have resumed the testing of nuclear devices. Now sir, if this is true, should the
United States resume nuclear testing? And if the Russians do not start testing, can you foresee any circumstances in 1961 in which the
United States might resume its own series of tests?
Mr. Kennedy. Yes, I think the next
President of the
United States should make one last effort to secure an agreement on the cessation of tests--No. 1. I think we should go back to Geneva--whoever's elected
President,
Mr. Nixon or myself, and try once again. If we fail then, if we're unable to come to an agreement, and I hope we can come to an agreement because it does not merely involve now the
United States, Britain, France, and the
Soviet Union as atomic
powers. Because new breakthroughs in atomic energy technology, there's some indications that by the time the next
President's term of office has come to an end, there may be 10, 15, or 20 countries with an atomic capacity, perhaps that many testing bombs with all the effect that it could have on the atmosphere and with all the chances that more and more countries will have an atomic capacity, with more and more chance of war.
So, one more effort should be made. I don't think that even if that effort fails that it will be necessary to carry on tests in the atmosphere which pollute the atmosphere.
They can be carried out underground, they could be carried on in
outer space. But I believe the effort should be made once more by whoever's elected
President of the
United States. If we fail, it's been a great serious failure for everyone, for the human race. I hope we can succeed. But then if we fail responsibility will be clearly on the Russians and then we'll have to meet our responsibilities to the security of the
United States, and there may have to be testing underground, if the Atomic Energy Committee is prepared for it. There may be testing in
outer space. I hope it will not be necessary for any power to resume testing in the atmosphere. It's possible to detect those kind of tests. The kind of tests which you can't detect are underground or in--perhaps in
outer space.
So that I'm hopeful we can try once more. If we fail, then we must meet our responsibilities to ourselves.
But I'm most concerned about the whole problem of the spread of atomic weapons.
China may have it by 1963--Egypt--war has been the constant companion of mankind. So, to have these weapons disseminated around the world, I believe, means that we're going to move through a period of hazard in the next few years. We ought to make one last effort.
Mr. Howe. Any comment, Mr.
Vice President?
Mr. Nixon. Yes. I would say, first of all, that we must have in mind the fact that we have been negotiating to get tests inspected and to get an agreement for many, many months. As a matter of fact, there's been a moratorium on testing as a result of the fact that we have been negotiating. I've reached the conclusion that the
Soviet Union is actually filibustering. I've reached the conclusion, too, based on the reports that have been made that they may be cheating. I don't think we can wait until the next
President is inaugurated and then selects a new team and then all the months of negotiating that will take place before we reach a decision. I think that immediately after this election we should set a timetable--the next
President, working with the present
President,
President Eisenhower--a timetable to break the Soviet filibuster.
There should be no tests in the atmosphere. That rules out any fallout. But as far as underground tests for developing peaceful uses of atomic energy, we should not allow this Soviet filibuster to continue. I think it's time for them to fish or cut bait.
I think that the next
President, immediately after his election should sit down with the
President, work out a timetable, and get a decision on this before January of next year.
Mr. Howe. Our second round of questions begins with one from Mr. Edwards for the
Vice President.
MR. EDWARDS.
Mr. Nixon, carrying forward this business about a timetable, as you know, the pressures are increasing for a summit conference. Now, both you and
Senator Kennedy have said that there are certain conditions which must be met before you would meet with Khrushchev. Will you be more specific about these conditions?
Mr. Nixon. Well, the conditions I laid out in one of our previous television
debates, and it's rather difficult to be much more specific than that.
First of all, we have to have adequate preparation for a summit conference. This means at the Secretary of State level and at the ambassadorial level. By adequate preparation I mean that at that level we must prepare an agenda, an agenda agreed upon with the approval of the heads of state involved. Now, this agenda should delineate those issues on which there is a possibility of some agreement or negotiation. I don't believe we should go to a summit conference unless we have such an agenda, unless we have some reasonable assurance from Mr. Khrushchev that he intends seriously to negotiate on those points.
Now this may seem like a rigid, inflexible position. But let's look at the other side of the coin. If we build up the hopes of the world by having a summit conference that is not adequately prepared, and then, if Mr. Khrushchev finds some excuse for breaking it up, as he did this one, because he isn't going to get his way, we set back the cause of peace. We do not help it.
We can, in other words, negotiate many of these items of difference between us without going to the summit. I think we have to make a greater effort than we have been making at the Secretary of State level, at the ambassadorial level, to work out the differences that we have.
And so far as the summit conference is concerned, it should only be entered in upon, it should only be agreed upon, if the negotiations have reached a point that we have some reasonable assurance that something is going to come out of it, other than some "phony spirit," a spirit of Geneva, or Camp David, or whatever it is. When I say "phony spirit," I mean phony, not because the spirit is not good on our side, but because the
Soviet Union simply doesn't intend to carry out what they say.
Now, these are the conditions that I can lay out. I could not be more precise than that, because until we see what Mr. Khrushchev does and what he says, we cannot indicate what our plans will be.
Mr. Howe. Any comments,
Senator Kennedy?
Mr. Kennedy. Well, I think the
President of the
United States last winter indicated that before he'd go to the summit in May, as he did last fall, he indicated that there should be some agenda, that there should be some prior agreement. He hoped that there would be uh - b- be an agreement in part in disarmament. He also expressed the hope that there should be some understanding of the general situation in
Berlin. The
Soviet Union refused to agree to that, and we went to the summit and it was disastrous.
I believe we should not go to the summit until there is some reason to believe that a meeting of minds can be obtained on either
Berlin,
outer space, or general disarmament, including nuclear testing. In addition, I believe the next
President in January and February should go to work in building the strength of the
United States. The
Soviet Union does understand strength. "We arm to parley,"
Winston Churchill said 10 years ago. If we are strong, particularly as we face a crisis over
Berlin, which we may in the spring or in the winter, it's important that we maintain our determination here, that we indicate that we're building our strength, that we are determined to protect our position, that we're determined to protect our commitments, and then I believe we should indicate our desire to live at peace with the world.
But until we're strong here, until we're moving here, I believe a summit could not be successful. I hope that before we do meet, there will be preliminary agreements on those four questions, or at least two of them, or even one of them, which would warrant such a meeting.
I think if we had stuck by that position last winter, we would have been in a better position in May.
Mr. Howe. We have time for only one or two more questions before the closing statements. Now
Walter Cronkite's question for
Senator Kennedy.
Mr. Cronkite.
Senator, the charge has been made frequently that the
United States for many years has been on the defensive around the world, that our policy has been one of reaction to the
Soviet Union rather than positive action on our own. What areas do you see where the
United States might take the offensive in a challenge to Communism over the next 4 to 8 years?
Mr. Kennedy. One of the areas, and, of course, the most vulnerable area, I have felt, has been Eastern Europe. I've been critical of the administration's failure to suggest policies which would make it possible for us to establish, for example, closer relations with Poland, particularly after the '55-'56 period and the Hungarian revolution. We indicated at that time that we were not going to intervene militarily, but there was a period there when Poland demonstrated a national independence, and even the Polish
Government moved some diff--distance away from the
Soviet Union. I suggested that we amend our legislation so that we could enjoy closer economic ties. We received the support first of the administration, and then not, and were defeated by one
voted in the Senate. We passed a bill in the Senate this year, but it didn't pass the House. I would say Eastern Europe is the area of vulnerability of the
Soviet Union.
Secondly, the relations between Russia and
China. They are now engaged in a
debate over whether war is the means of Communizing the world or whether they should use subversion, infiltration, economic struggles and all the rest. No one can say what that course of action will be, but I think the next
President of the
United States should watch it carefully. If those two
powers should split, it could have great effects throughout the entire world.
Thirdly, I believe that India represents a great area for affirmative action by the free world. India started from about the same place that
China did. Chinese
Communists have been moving ahead the last 10 years. India, under a free society, has been making some progress, but if India does not succeed with her 450 million people she can't make
freedom work, then people around the world are going to determine, particularly in the underdeveloped world, that the only way that they can develop their resources is through the
Communist system.
Fourth, let me say that in
Africa,
Asia,
Latin America, Eastern Europe, the great force on our side is the desire of people to be free. This has expressed itself in the revolts in Eastern Europe; it's expressed itself in the desire of the people of
Africa to be independent of Western Europe. They want to be free.
And my judgment is that they don't want to give their
freedom up to become
Communists. They want to stay free, independent perhaps of us, but certainly independent of the
Communists. And I believe if we identify ourselves with that force, if we identify ourselves with it as Lincoln--as Wilson did, as Franklin Roosevelt did, if we become known as the friend of
freedom, sustaining
freedom, helping
freedom, helping these people in the fight against poverty and ignorance and disease, helping them build their lives. I believe in
Latin America,
Africa, and
Asia, eventually in Eastern Europe and the Middle East, certainly in Western Europe, we can strengthen
freedom, we can make it move, we can put the
Communists on the defensive.
Mr. Howe. Your comment, Mr.
Vice President?
Mr. Nixon. First, with regard to Poland, when I talked to Mr. Gomulka, the present leader of Poland, for 6
hours in Warsaw last year, I learned something about their problems and particularly his. Right under the Soviet gun, with Soviet troops there, he is in a very difficult position in taking anything independent--a position which would be independent of the
Soviet Union. And yet, let's just see what we've done for Poland. A half a billion dollars worth of aid has gone to Poland, primarily economic, primarily to go to the people of Poland.
This should continue, and it can be stepped up, to give them hope and to keep alive the hope for
freedom that I can testify they have so deeply within them.
In addition we can have more exchange with Poland or with any other of the Iron Curtain countries, which show some desire to take a different path than the path that has been taken by the ones that are complete satellites of the
Soviet Union.
Now, as far as the balance of the world is concerned, I, of course don't have as much time as
Senator Kennedy had, I would just like to add this one point. If we are going to have the initiative in the world, we must remember that the people of
Africa and
Asia and Latin
America don't want to be pawns simply in a struggle between two great
powers, the
Soviet Union and the
United States. We have to let them know that we want to help them, not because we're simply trying to save our own skins, not because we're simply trying to fight communism, but because we care for them, because we stand for
freedom, because if there were no communism in the world we would still fight poverty, and misery, and disease, and tyranny. If we can get that across to the people of these countries in this decade of the
sixties the struggle for
freedom will be won.
Mr. Howe. John Chancellor's question for
Vice President Nixon.
MR. CHANCELLOR. Sir, I'd like to ask you another question about Quemoy and
Matsu. Both you and
Senator Kennedy say you agree with the
President on this subject and with our treaty obligations, but the subject remains in the campaign as an issue. Now, sir, is this because each of you feels obliged to respond to the other when he talks about Quemoy and
Matsu? And if that's true, do you think an end should be called to this discussion, or will it stay with us as a campaign issue?
Mr. Nixon. I would say that the issue will stay with us as a campaign issue just as long as
Senator Kennedy persists in what I think is a fundamental error. He says he supports the
President's position. He says that he
voted for the resolution. Well, just let me point this out; he
voted for the resolution in 1955 which gave the
President the power to use the forces of the
United States to defend
Formosa and the offshore islands. But he also
voted then for an amendment, which was lost, fortunately, an amendment which would have drawn a line and left out those islands and denied right to the
President to defend those islands if he thought that it was an attack on
Formosa.
He repeated that error in 1959 in the speech that he made. He repeated it again in a television
debate that we had.
Now, my point is this:
Senator Kennedy has got to be consistent here. Either he's for the
President and he's against the position that those who opposed the
President in '55 and '59-- and the
Senator's position itself stated the other day in our
debate-- either he is for the
President and against that position, or we simply have a disagreement here that must continue to be
debated.
Now, if the
Senator in his answer to this question will say "I now will depart, or retract my previous views; I think I was wrong in I 955; I think I was wrong in 1959; and I think I was wrong in our television
debate, to say that we should draw a line, leaving out Quemoy and
Matsu, draw a line in effect abandoning these islands to the
Communists," then this will be right out of the campaign, because there will be no issue between us.
I support the
President's position. I have always opposed drawing a line. I have opposed drawing a line because I know that the moment you draw a line, that is an encouragement for the
Communists to attack, to step up their blackmail and to force you into the war that none of us want.
And so I would hope that
Senator Kennedy in his answer today would clear it up. It isn't enough for him to say "I support the
President's position, that I
voted for the resolution." Of course he
voted for the resolution. It was virtually unanimous. But the point is, what about his error in voting for the amendment, which was not adopted? And then persisting in it in '59, persisting in it in the
debate?
It's very simple for him to clear it up. He can say now that he no longer believes that a line should be drawn leaving these islands out of the perimeter of defense. If he says that, this issue will not be discussed in the campaign.
Mr. Howe.
Senator Kennedy, your comment?
Mr. Kennedy. Well,
Mr. Nixon, to go back to 1955, the resolution commits the
President and the
United States, which I supported, to defend
Formosa, the Pescadores, and if it was his military judgment, these islands. Then the
President sent a mission composed of Admiral Radford and Mr. Robertson to persuade
Chiang Kai-shek in the spring of '55 to withdraw from the two islands because they were exposed. The
President was unsuccessful;
Chiang Kai-shek would not withdraw.
I referred to the fact that in 1958, as a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, I am very familiar with the position that the
United States took in negotiating with the Chinese
Communists on these two islands. General Twining in January '59 described the position of the
United States. The position of the
United States has been that this buildup, in the words of the
President has been foolish. Mr. Herter has said these islands are indefensible.
Chiang Kai-shek will not withdraw. Because he will not withdraw, because he's committed to these islands, because we've been unable to persuade him to withdraw, we are in a very difficult position, and therefore the
President's judgment has been that we should defend the islands if in his military judgment and the judgment of the commander in the field, the attack on these islands should be part of an overall attack on
Formosa.
I support that, in view of the difficulties we've had with the islands, in view of the difficulties and disputes we've had with
Chiang Kai-shek. That's the only position we can take. That's not the position you took, however. The first position you took, when this matter first came up was that we should draw the line and commit ourselves as a matter of principle to defend these islands, not as part of the defense of
Formosa and the Pescadores. You showed no recognition of the administration
program to try to persuade
Chiang Kai-shek for the last 5 years to withdraw from the islands. And I challenge you tonight to deny that the administration has sent at least several missions to persuade
Chiang Kai-shek's withdrawal from these islands.
Mr. Howe. Under the agreed--
Mr. Kennedy. (continuing). . . and that's the testimony of General Twining and the Assistant Secretary of State in '58t.
Mr. Howe. Under the agreed rules, gentlemen, we've exhausted the time for questions. Each candidate will now have 4 minutes and 30 seconds for his closing statement.
Senator Kennedy will make the first final closing statement.
Mr. Kennedy. I said that I've served this
country for 14 years. I served it in the war. I am devoted to it. If I lose this election, I will continue in the Senate to try to build a stronger
country. But I run because I believe this year the
United States has a great opportunity to make a move forward, to make a determination here at home and around the world, that it's going to reestablish itself as a vigorous society.
My judgment is that the Republican party has stood still here in the
United States, and it's also stood still around the world. We're using about 50 percent of our steel capacity today. We had a recession in '58. We had a recession in '54. We're not moving ahead in
education the way we should. We didn't make a judgment in '57, in '56, in '55, in '54 that
outer space would be important. If we stand still here, if we appoint people to ambassadorships and positions in Washington who have a status quo outlook, who don't recognize that this is a revolutionary time, then the
United States does not maintain its influence. And if we fail, the cause of
freedom fails. I believe it incumbent upon the next
President of the
United States to get this
country moving again, to get our economy moving ahead, to set before the
American people its goals, its unfinished business, and then throughout the world appoint the best people we can get, ambassadors who can speak the language, not merely people who made a political contribution, but who can speak the language, bring students here; let them see what kind of a
country we have.
Mr. Nixon said that we should not regard them as pawns in the cold war, we should identify ourselves with them. If that were true why didn't we identify ourselves with the people of
Africa? Why didn't we bring students over here? Why did we suddenly offer Congo 300 students last June when they had the tremendous revolt? That was more than we had offered to all of
Africa before from the Federal
Government. I believe that this party, Republican party, has stood still really for 25 years; its leadership has. It opposed all of the
programs of
President Roosevelt and other, for minimum wage, and for housing, and economic growth, and development of our natural resources, the Tennessee Valley and all the rest. And, I believe that if we can get a party which believes in movement, which believes in going ahead, then we can reestablish our position in the world, strong in defense, strong in economic growth, justice for our people, guarantee of constitutional rights, so that people will believe that we practice what we preach. And then around the world, particularly to try to reestablish the atmosphere which existed in Latin
America at the time of Franklin Roosevelt. He was a good neighbor in Latin
America because he was a good neighbor in the
United States, because they saw us as a society that was compassionate, that cared about people, that was moving this
country ahead.
I believe it my responsibility as the leader of the Democratic party in 1960 to try to warn the
American people that in this crucial time we can no longer afford to stand still. We can no longer afford to be second best.
I want people all over the world to look to the
United States again, to feel that we're on the move, to feel that our high noon is in the future. I want Mr. Khrushchev to know that a new generation of
Americans who fought in Europe and Italy and the Pacific for
freedom in
World War II have now taken over in the
United States, and that they're going to put this
country back to work again. I don't believe that there is anything this
country cannot do. I don't believe there's any burden, or any responsibility, that any
American would not assume to protect his
country, to protect our security, to advance the cause of
freedom. And I believe it incumbent upon us now to do that.
Franklin Roosevelt said in 1936 that that generation of
Americans had a "rendezvous with destiny." I believe in 1960 and '61e and '2 and '3 we have a "rendezvous with destiny." And I believe it incumbent upon us to be the defenders of the
United States and the defenders of
freedom; and to do that, we must give this
country leadership and we must get
America moving again.
Mr. Howe. Now,
Vice President Nixon, your closing statement.
Mr. Nixon. Well,
Senator Kennedy has said tonight again what he has said several times in the course of these
debates and in the campaig: that
America is standing still.
America is not standing still; it has not been standing still. And let's set the record straight right now by looking at the record, as Al Smith used to say. He talks about housing. We built more houses in the last 7 years than in any administration, and 30 percent more than in the previous administration. We talk about schools. Three times as many classrooms built in the past administration in
Eisenhower than under the Truman administration.
Let's talk about civil rights; more progress in the past 8 years than in the whole 80 years before.
He talks about the progress in the field of slum clearance and the like. We find four times as many projects undertaken and completed in this administration than in the previous one.
Anybody that says
America has been standing still for the last 7 1/2 years hasn't been traveling in America. He's been in some other
country. Let's get that straight right away.
Now, the second point we have to understand is this, however,
America has not been standing still. But
America cannot stand pat. We can't stand pat for the reason that we're in a race, as I have indicated.
We can't stand pat because it is essential with the conflict that we have around the world, that we not just hold our own; that we not keep just
freedom for ourselves. It is essential that we extend
freedom--extend it to all the world. And this means more than what we've been doing. It means keeping
America even stronger militarily than she is. It means seeing that our economy moves forward even faster than it has. It means making more progress in civil rights than we have so that we can be a splendid example for all the world to see of democracy in action at its best.
Now, looking at the other parts of the world: South America, talking about our record and the previous one; we had a good neighbor policy, yes. It sounded fine. But let's look at it. There were 11 dictators when we came into power in 1953 in
Latin America. There are only three left.
Let's look at
Africa. Twenty new countries in
Africa during the course of this administration. Not one of them selected a
Communist Government. All of them
voted for
freedom--a free type of
Government.
Does this show that communism has the bigger pull, or
freedom has the bigger pull? Am I trying to indicate that we have no problems in
Africa or Latin
America or
Asia? Of course not.
What I am trying to indicate is that the tide of history is on our side and that we can keep it on our side because we're on the right side. We're on the side of
freedom. We're on the side of justice, against the forces of slavery, against the forces of injustice.
But we aren't going to move
America forward and we aren't going to be able to lead the world to win this struggle for
freedom if we have a permanent inferiority complex about
American achievements. Because we are first in the world in space, as I have indicated. We are first in science. We are first in
education and we're going to move even further ahead with the kind of leadership that we can provide in these years ahead.
One other point I would make. What could you do?
Senator Kennedy and I are
candidates for the Presidency of the
United States. And in the years to come it will be written that one or the other of us was elected and that he was or was not a great
President. What will determine whether
Senator Kennedy or I, if I am elected, was a great
President? It will not be our ambition that will determine it, because greatness is not something that is written on a campaign poster. It will be determined to the extent that we represent the deepest ideals, the highest feelings and faith of the
American people. In other words, the next
President, as he leads
America in the free world, can be only as great as the
American people are great.
And so I say, in conclusion, keep America's faith strong. See that the young people of
America particularly have faith in the ideals of
freedom and faith in God which distinguishes us from the atheistic materialists who oppose us.
Mr. Howe. Thank you gentlemen. Both
candidates have asked me to express their thanks to the networks for this opportunity to appear on this discussion.
May I repeat that all those concerned in tonight's discussion have sometimes reluctantly followed the rules and conditions read at the outset and agreed to in advance by the
candidates and the networks.
The opening statements ran 8 minutes each. The closing statements ran 4 minutes 30 seconds. The order of speaking was reversed from their first joint appearance, when they followed the same procedure. The panel of newsmen questioned each candidate alternately. Each had 2 1/2 minutes to reply. The other had a minute and a half to comment. But the first discussion dealt only with domestic policy. This one dealt only with
foreign policy.
One last word, as members of a new political generation,
Vice President Nixon and
Senator Kennedy have used new means of communication to pioneer a new type of political
debate.
The character and courage with which these two men have spoken sets a high standard for generations to come. Surely, they have set a new precedent. Perhaps they have established a new tradition.
This is
Quincy Howe. Good night from New York.