Imagine you have a time machine to carrie you back into the United States of “the sixties,” 1954-1974, and you can vote as a Democrat or Republican in the Presidential elections of 1956, 1960, 1964, 1968 and 1972. Unlike real voters, you know how things turn out! Do you vote on each occasion; how do you vote, if you do; and why?
There is no downside to aligning yourself with a loser. You should support whomever you believe is the better choice. Given the domination of politics by the Democrats and Republicans, people often hold their noses and vote for the lesser of two evils or boycott elections altogether. You can do that in any election, or you can embrace your candidate, but explain why you are behaving as you do. Discuss who was running and what the candidates stood for, insofar as they stood for anything; indicate Presidential accomplishments and failures with respect to foreign and domestic policy; evaluate, where relevant, why voters at the time should have been satisfied and dissatisfied with the Presidential records; and indicate why you come out as you do. Feel free to inject your own politics into your answer, but be as fair as you can be.
