From the Archives…
Regis Picks the Next President—1968 and 2008
By: Jimmy Simmons ‘09
While former Speaker of the House Thomas “Tip” O’Neill once famously quipped that
“all politics is local,” in early November Regians turned their interest far beyond the precincts of
East 84th Street to focus on the recent presidential election. Regians have always had an interest
in politics and those who hold public office. Every January, for example, the student body is
thrust directly into the political arena as the campaigns for the annual Student Council elections
heat up. Because of Regians’ natural interest in politics and current events, the school always
buzzes with excitement every four years when a new President is elected. In the past forty years,
this has been especially true in both the 1968 and 2008 Presidential elections.
The presidential campaigns and elections of 1968 and 2008 are quite similar in that both
took place during particularly difficult times for Americans. The 1968 election occurred during
a very volatile and violent period in the history of the country that affected students and citizens
throughout the entire country: Democratic candidate Robert F. Kennedy and civil rights leader
Dr. Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. were assassinated, race riots plagued communities throughout
the country, and the United States was fully engulfed within a very controversial and violent war
in Vietnam. In addition, the campaign leading up to the election seemed to have been the most
“crowded” in history so far with twelve Republicans and five Democrats seeking the nomination
of their parties. Similarly, the 2008 election featured a nearly two year campaign leading up to
the election and marked the first time that an African American was the nominee of a major
political party and a woman was nominated for Vice President. In addition, students at Regis and
citizens alike were affected by issues of a faltering economy and ongoing wars in Iraq and
Afghanistan, among others. In addition, Regians were also able to voice their opinions through
school-wide polls for both elections.
In a 1968 poll performed by the student newspaper, The Owl, Republican Richard Nixon
was the favored candidate among students and received 52% of the vote while Vice President
and Democratic nominee Hubert H. Humphrey ran a poor second with 28% and third party
candidate George Wallace came in third with 15%. Similarly in the 2008 election with a poll
sponsored by the administration and which also included faculty in its survey, students once
again overwhelmingly picked the ultimate winner of the actual election. With a voter turn-out of
80% of eligible students and faculty member voters (who logged-on on Election Day for the
intranet poll), 59% of students chose Democratic Senator Barack Obama while 33% of students
threw their support behind Republican Senator John McCain and 7% chose to abstain from the
election. (Abstention in this poll meant that the students and faculty actually logged-on and voted
“Abstain”.). Only 23% of the faculty supported McCain while 73% voted for Obama. The
junior year seemed to be a conservative stronghold in both races as Nixon won 70% of their vote
in 1968 while forty years later in 2008, McCain was supported by 42% of the juniors, which in
the recent election was by far the highest approval he had from any grade. Similarly, both senior
classes seemed to slant towards the left as the class of 2009 overwhelmingly selected Barack
Obama with 73% of the vote while the class of 1969 expressed their discontent with Nixon as
71% of those polled felt that “someone else would make a better President” and 75% described
themselves as “liberal.”
Unlike the 2008 student poll, the 1968 Owl poll asked students for their views of specific
policy issues and their opinions of some of the various Presidential candidates. Again, students
seemed to match the sentiments of their fellow countrymen in the results. Nearly 70% of those
polled felt that Nixon was most certainly not “the most sincere” candidate. As one political
observer noted, “Nixon still seems to suffer from his ‘Tricky Dick’ reputation.” Surprisingly,
students felts that the third party candidate, George Wallace, was the “most sincere” of all three
candidates and 54% agreed that he was “most able to handle civil disorders.” In addition, 46% of
the members student body of the 1968-1969 school year polled characterized themselves as
“liberal” while 41% felt they were “conservative.”
The participation of students in the Regis Presidential election polls in 1968 and 2008
ultimately illustrates how successful Regis is in living out its motto of “Deo et Patriae” (“For
God and Country”). The school has proven its commitment to informing and shaping young men
into leaders and active seekers of justice within the Church and civic community. By the time
students leave Regis, they are ready to go out into the world to perform their civic duty as
faithful citizens committed to serving the needs others in need, no matter who they vote for.