Seeking the Presidency
By 1960, enthusiasm for Goldwater had reached the point that several efforts were made to draft him for the Republican presidential nomination. Indeed, his name was placed in nomination at the national convention that year in Chicago, touching off one of the convention hall's liveliest demonstrations.
But Goldwater, realizing that Vice President Richard M. Nixon was assured of the nomination, withdrew his name and pledged his full support to Nixon.
Even then, as Goldwater wrote years later, he had "misgivings" about Nixon's dedication to conservative principles and thought that Nixon and his running mate, Henry Cabot Lodge, "were not the ideal candidates." But he thought they were preferable to the Democratic ticket of Kennedy and Johnson.
Goldwater campaigned for Nixon in 26 states, an exercise that strengthened his base in the party and gained him even more adherents. Thus, when Nixon lost narrowly to Kennedy, Goldwater became the choice for the nomination in 1964.
Although Kennedy and Goldwater were warm friends, dating to their days together in the Senate, they agreed on practically nothing politically. By late 1963, Goldwater had all but decided that he wanted to run against Kennedy in 1964.
Goldwater later told of visiting the White House, and how Kennedy got up from his desk and said with a chuckle, "Barry, if you want this seat, I will give it to you."
Kennedy was assassinated a short time later, and Goldwater said his death "removed much of the zest I had foreseen in a presidential contest."
Despite strong doubts that he could defeat Johnson, Kennedy's successor, Goldwater forged ahead.
The liberal wing of the GOP, or the Eastern Establishment, as the Goldwater forces derisively called it, had dominated GOP conventions since 1940 and confidently expected to do so again.
But times had changed. The liberals were the minority. Three liberal governors sought the nomination: Rockefeller, George Romney of Michigan, and William W. Scranton of Pennsylvania. But Goldwater was the victor.
Triumphant for the first time in more than three decades, GOP conservatives were ecstatic as Goldwater fired back at the liberals who had portrayed him as a right-wing extremist and warmonger.
"Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice," Goldwater said to thunderous applause in accepting the nomination at San Francisco's Cow Palace, adding, "Moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue."
