Senator John F. Kennedy campaigning in San Diego, 1960

November 2, 1960 There were an estimated two thousand persons at Lindbergh Field when the special Kennedy plane arrived shortly before noon. Kennedy spoke briefly at the airport, then boarded a convertible for the motorcade through town to Horton Plaza. There, police estimated over 20 thousand persons were waiting to hear him speak. At the airport, he told Harold Keen that his contest with Nixon will be a close race right down to the wire. Kennedy also had this to say about his visit to California. In his speech at Horton Plaza, Kennedy charged the GOP administration with trying to gain votes by a last-minute release of funds for the B-70 Super bomber program. He also claimed that President Eisenhower is now leading the rescue squad to try to save Nixon at the last minute. He said that unemployment in San Diego has doubled in the past year and home construction has dropped 30 percent. He also charged that Nixon has been coming out for democratic housing, social security and aid to education programs which republicans had formerly opposed. He added that the democrats have made a progressive out of Mr. Nixon. Kennedy also discussed President Eisenhower’s participation in the campaign. After his speech, the crowd chanted “we want Kennedy,” while the campaigner tried to shake as many hands as possible.