January 6, 1961: Nixon Farewell

In Congress, Vice President Nixon declared John F. Kennedy the next president and made this statement:

"In our campaigns, no matter how hard fought they may be, no matter how close the election may turn out to be, those who lose accept the verdict, and support those who win. And I would like to say that, having served now in government for fourteen years, a period which began in the House just fourteen years ago, almost to the day, which continued with two years in the Senate and eight years as Vice President, as I complete that fourteen-year period it is indeed a very great honor to me to extend to my colleagues in the House and Senate on both sides of the aisle who have been elected; to extend to John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson, who have been elected President and Vice President of the United States, my heartfelt best wishes, and to extend you those best wishes as all of you work in a cause that is bigger than any man's ambition, greater than any party. It is the cause of freedom, of justice, and peace for all mankind. It is in that spirit that I now declare that John F. Kennedy has been elected President of the United States and Lyndon B. Johnson Vice President of the United States."