The first election I paid attention to was the 1972 Nixon-McGovern debacle. I don't think Sen. McGovern could have beaten Pres. Nixon even if he had run an excellent campaign. Turns out, though, that Nixon would eventually do it for him.
I give Sen. McGovern full credit, though, for opposing the Vietnam War. That war was wrong in so many ways, and as it headed toward its third decade, it needed killing. Having the standard bearer a major party - the historic war party - oppose that war help speed its end.
McGovern stood for good causes all of his public life, in office and out. He did not cash in in retirement; in fact, he didn't really even retire.
By opposing the Vietnam War, though, the Democratic Party did acquire a reputation for softness. This was mostly undeserved, but not wholly.
It is fitting, therefore, that the end of George McGovern's honorable life should come during the term of a Democratic president who is clearly not soft. An era has ended; another has begun.
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3 comments:
Nice guy but a very polarizing figure...
Just think what shape the middle east would be in if the president were soft.
I was serving overseas, getting ready for a possible second tour in Vietnam as an infantry officer in the Marine Corps during the '72 campaign. I can assure you that amongst my troops, especially the Vietnam vets, and my peers, McGovern was seen as a back-stabbing coward, who would gladly let us swing in the wind if it could get him elected. Along with LBJ and Jimmy Carter, he is one of the reasons that the Democratic Party has a mostly deserved reputation for softness.
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