Who do you think had it easier during the space race the Americans or the Russians?

For me I think it was the Russians. NASA had Congress to put up with and the American people as we when looking for funding so that slowed there progress down especially when something like the 3 Astranauts on the manned section test got killed in 67. The Russian state was Communist so had none of that to put up with. It was up to there leaders where to spend there money.
I do think the Russians gave up to soon do after NASA got a man to the moon first. Russia should have done the same for there state and then started to build a settlement on the moon and this might have kept the space race going as the next target would naturally have been Mars.
Just imagine where we would be now if Nasa
Or the Russians had got to Mars. There could be colonies up there now but instead we are only still talking about going there and it will be 2030 at the earliest before a manned trip heads there if it ever happens. In some ways I am kind of happy as it means I might get to see it happen but if it had of happened on the 70s, 80s or even 90s I might not have noticed it as much.