July 29, 1960: Foreign Affairs to be at Center in Fall Campaign; Rockefeller Could be Nixon Pick for State

The lead editorial in the New York Times on this day speculated that the coming presidential campaign would be almost exclusively about foreign affairs.

The editorial cites the "manifold" foreign threats facing the United States, from "the aggressive truculence of [Soviet] Premier [Nikita] Khrushchev" to "the volcano that is Cuba and the threats of eruption elsewhere in Latin America."

"Closely related to the foreign policy issue will be the issue of defense: has the Eisenhower Administration done a good job in establishing a position of unassailable strength for the United States or has it not?"

The editorial gives domestic affairs scant importance by comparison: "Of course, there will be many domestic issues, too, chiefly over economic and social questions and the degree to which the Federal Government should take the initiative in determining the outcome."

The paper concludes: "But it is probable that the problems of foreign policy, in the broadest sense, will take first place."

On the same page, C. L. Sulzberger predicts that Gov. Nelson Rockefeller might be Richard Nixon's choice for secretary of state, should the Republican best Sen. John Kennedy in the fall presidential election.