Holt received little credit for the Coalition's election victory, even from within his own party. It was generally held that the Labor Party's poor campaign had been the major factor in its defeat. Arthur Calwell, the Leader of the Opposition, was 70 years old and had limited personal popularity – a Gallup poll before the election placed his personal approval rating at 24 percent, compared with Holt's 60 percent. Calwell had suffered a damaging rift with his deputy Gough Whitlam earlier in the year, and the general public still perceived the party as divided. In an election where the Vietnam War was a major campaign issue, he and Whitlam publicly contradicted each other on major policy decisions. Labor ran on an anti-war platform, but struggled to appeal to voters concerned about national security; combined with Calwell's dedication to the White Australia policy, this allowed the party to be portrayed as isolationist and naive about external affairs. Calwell was far less telegenic than his opponent, and was seen as gruff and antagonistic where Holt was suave and easy-going. At a rally in Adelaide a week before the election, Calwell accused Holt of having "chickened out of World War II – just as his three stepsons are chickening out of the war in Vietnam today". His attack on Holt's family – which he refused to withdraw – was viewed as desperate and undignified, and it was pointed out that, unlike Holt, Calwell had performed no military service in World War II.