In 1960, John Fitzgerald Kennedy won the presidential election with 49,7% (against 49,5% for Richard Nixon). It was the closest election since 1916. This could be the introduction of this subject about the critics against Kennedy. Indeed, it means that less than half of the american population gave his faith in the new president. In the future it will be hard to gain the other half of the USA.
The score also created many rumors about the election. The main one was that his father, Joe Kennedy, used his links with the mafia to influence some comities to vote "good".