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Barry also went out of his way to allay fears that his itchy trigger finger might set off nuclear war. "A major concern of ours," he said, "has been the military security of this nation. Some distort this proper concern to make it appear that we are preoccupied with war. There is no greater political lie. We are preoccupied with peace. We seek a strong America because only a strong nation can keep the peace. I do not intend to be a wartime President."
The Theme. But once again it was upon the subject of law and order in U.S. cities and morality in the country that Goldwater struck his main theme. "If the tone of America is not set by men in public service," he said, "it will be set, as unfortunately it is being set too often today, by the standards of the sick joke, the slick slogan, the off-color drama, and the pornographic book. It is on our streets that we see the final, terrible proof of a sickness which not all the social theories of a thousand social experiments has even begun to touch. Crime grows faster than population, while those who break the law are accorded more consideration than those who try to enforce the law. Law enforcement agencies—the police, the sheriffs, the FBI—are attacked for doing their jobs. Lawbreakers are defended. Our wives, all women, feel unsafe on our streets."
Then, in obvious reference to eruptions of racial strife, he added: "When men will seek political advantage by turning their eyes away from riots and violence, we can well understand why lawlessness grows even while we pass more laws . . . It is a responsibility of the national leadership, regardless of political gain, political faction or political popularity, to encourage every community in this nation to enforce the law, not let it be abused and ignored."