“The assassination of President Kennedy killed Goldwater’s chances.”
Absolutely correct. AUH2O ran against LBJ AND the ghost of JFK
True.
Also, Goldwater would have run a lot better against Kennedy (from Massachusetts) than Johnson (from Texas).
He would have carried some of the Plains and Mountain States and maybe even Texas itself.
He wouldn't have won, though, as he basically wrote off a very large chunk of the country with his "sometimes I think this country would be better off if we could just saw off the Eastern Seaboard and let it float out to sea" comment.
He was honest, certainly, but his attitude turned a lot of voters off.
As much as I dislike Frum, it would be a mistake to think that we should only speak to those who are already on our side or to mount a highly regional campaign in 2012.