 The demonstrators did get into the lobby of the Hilton Hotel. The National Guard was called. For many on the left, especially the more revolutionary left, they thought this was the start of a major transformation in America to the left. And then just four months later, in November, Richard Nixon wins the White House. 1968, that was a year that galvanized the left. And it was also the beginning of more than two decades of nearly unbroken Republican power in the White House.