Pat Brown had just defeated Richard Nixon for the governorship of California in November 1962 when he spoke on the phone with a previously victorious Nixon opponent, President John F. Kennedy. Both men voiced the opinion of many: that Nixon was finished politically. In fact, Nixon himself seemed to agree with the sentiment after loosing the race rather handily considering his stature as a former vice president and Republican party presidential candidate. He memorably told the press, “Just think how much you're going to be missing. You don't have Nixon to kick around any more.” Brown and Kennedy added their own unflattering assessment of the man who would win the 1968 presidential election six years later.