July 31, 1960: Close Election Seen

"The Vice President [Richard Nixon, the Republican nominee for president] told a press conference here [Chicago] yesterday that he expects this to be one of the closest elections in this century. Most observers agree that this is probably true. And many add that it may well turn into one of the most bitter. For two men [Nixon and Sen. John F. Kennedy] so evenly matched and so obsessively driven toward the same goal have rarely faced each other in a national political contest."

-- The New York Times, July 31, 1960