My first political hero was George McGovern. I was 15 when he lost to Nixon. I cried myself to sleep Election Night, got up the next morning and put my McGovern button safely away. (Before you all go thinking I am just another white wine/brie/Volvo/East Coast namby pamby liberal; I am not. I come from a long line of Detroit autoworkers, farmers, carpenters, and small businessmen. Even did a tour of duty on Mr. Ford's assembly line myself.)
There are many similarities between the Obama campaign and the McGovern campaign:
- The wars
- The new young voters
- The grassroots organization
- The grassroots fundraising
- The energy and the sense of hope
I also liked Hubert Humphrey, one of the founding fathers of Midwestern liberalism. But I never forgave him for destroying McGovern. Like Clinton he was overwhelmed by a grassroots campaign and had no real chance to win the nomination after losing the California primary - and its winner-take-all delegates. That is unless he changed the rules in midstream and/or got his insider pals to pull a fast one. (They tried, but failed)
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