Nixon lost to JFK in 1960. Two Kennedy murders later, in 1968, he won.

[hedda_foil]

28. And it was certainly fortuitous for Nixon that Wallace was removed from contention.

His Southern Strategy would never have been successful with a died in the wool racist Dixiecrat running as a third party candidate.

Wallace ran for President in the 1968 election as the American Independent Party candidate, with Curtis LeMay as his candidate for Vice President. Wallace hoped to force the House of Representatives to decide the election with one vote per state if he could obtain sufficient electoral votes to make him a power broker. Wallace hoped that southern states could use their clout to end federal efforts at desegregation. His platform contained generous increases for beneficiaries of Social Security and Medicare. Wallace's foreign policy positions set him apart from the other candidates in the field. "If the Vietnam War was not winnable within 90 days of his taking office, Wallace pledged an immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops ... Wallace described foreign aid as money 'poured down a rat hole' and demanded that European and Asian allies pay more for their defense."[35]

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Wallace#1968_third_party_presidential_run