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Nixon won in 1968 because the anti-war fight in the Democratic Party divided the party bitterly. Johnson was forced not to seek another term (which he constitutionally could have), and Gene McCarthy, McGovern, Humphrey and Bobby Kennedy fought it out on the left, with Humphrey the "establishment" liberal and the rest stridently anti-war. Then there was the mess of the Democratic convention and the riots and the Yippies, the infamous Chicago Seven which included Jerry Rubin, Abie Hoffman, Dave Dellinger, etc. Ya' had to be there, believe me. But, the bottom line is with the more conservative elements in the Democratic party disaffected, some Dixiecrats going for Wallace, and the leftish elements among the Democrats sitting out the election, Nixon was able to win. Nixon promised to end the war. His election was NOT a vote of confidence in America's conduct of the Vietnam War. His landlide reelection had far less to do with anyone loving Tricky Dick than it did with people being absolutely terrified of the prospect of George McGovern actually being elected. Nixon had withdrawn most US troops before the Watergate scandal came to a head, and had pretty much ended the draft. The decision to let the Vietnamese do the fighting had been taken before that. Watergate only made the final ignominious retreat from the embassy in '75 inevitable.