Politics: The Issue at Issue

"John Kennedy can be beaten," a top Democratic Party strategist said recently. "But in my opinion he can be beaten only on one issue—civil rights."

At the opposite extreme of judgment was the statement made in Cleveland last week by Republican Richard Nixon, who said that civil rights should not be a presidential campaign issue in 1964. In fact, he added that if the Republicans did make it an issue, "I don't think they could win."

The fact is that Kennedy could lose —or win—for any of several reasons, including civil rights. And Nixon to the contrary, civil rights will and...