George McGovern died early this morning at the age of
90. It is only fitting that this blog site,
dedicated to promoting the cause of peace and social justice, should take a
moment to honor the life and legacy of this American hero.
George McGovern dedicated his life to the service of his
country. At the age of 22 he became a bomber pilot in World War II, flying 35
missions and receiving the Distinguished Flying Cross. In 1958 he was elected to serve in the U.S.
House of Representatives and in 1962 he was elected U.S. Senator from South
Dakota, where he served three terms. He
became a tireless critic of the War in Vietnam and eventually launched an
unsuccessful bid for the Democratic Presidential nomination in 1968.
McGovern continued to express opposition toward the U.S.
policies in Vietnam and finally won the nomination for President in 1972. His opponent was the incumbent Richard
Nixon. McGovern's campaign began on a
rocky note when it was learned that his Vice Presidential running mate, Thomas
Eagleton, had been hospitalized for depression and on one occasion had even
received electroshock therapy. This was
enough of a concern in 1972 that Eagleton eventually resigned as the VP
Candidate. He was replaced by Sargent
Shriver, the former Director of the Peace Corps.
From there the McGovern campaign went downhill. Several key events worked against him,
including lackluster support from his Democratic rivals Hubert Humphrey and
Edward Kennedy. Also worth noting was
McGovern's inability to gain the endorsement of organized Labor. Even though McGovern had a consistently
strong voting record with Labor in Congress his anti-war views were opposed by
AFL-CIO President George Meany, who was a strong supporter of the War in
Vietnam. As expected the Nixon camp
successfully portrayed McGovern as a liberal extremist who could not be taken
seriously. Nixon even refused to debate
his opponent during the entire campaign.
Of course, a contributing factor in the election of 1972 was
the strategy of the Republican Party.
This included the break-in of Democratic headquarters at the now famous
Watergate Hotel. Though its effect on
the election results of '72 may have been minor, it was yet another factor that
worked against the McGovern campaign.
Ironically, this rather obscure event went on to bring Nixon down by
resulting in his humiliating resignation as President only 2 years later.
When all was said and done the Election of 1972 was a total
landslide in favor of Nixon. The
Incumbent went on to win an amazing 520 electoral votes, including McGovern's
home State of South Dakota. George
McGovern received a mere 17 electoral votes.
It was one of the most lopsided elections in American history.
Following his defeat George McGovern returned to his Senate
post where he served until 1980. He went
on to become the U. S. Ambassador to the United Nations and working tirelessly
to overcome hunger in the world. Along
with Republican Senator Bob Dole he cosponsored the bill that created the Food
Stamp program in the 1960's. President
John F. Kennedy named McGovern Director of Food for Peace in 1961. His influence in the fight against hunger led
to the International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program, a program
of the U. S. Department of Agriculture, which supports education and nutritional needs
for some of the world's poorest and most needy children. Together with Republican Senator Bob Dole,
McGovern received the World Food Prize in 2008 in recognition of his lifelong
efforts to eliminate hunger.
These two themes of hunger and peace advocacy characterized the
life of George McGovern. He has earned
the respect of the American people and the world. The causes he stood for and fought for will
live on because of men and women like him.
I heard Columnist Mark Shields on Friday quote Steven Ambrose, whom
Shields labeled the poet laureate of American military heroes, who said that
George McGovern was as great a patriot as he ever knew. Ambrose goes on to say, according to Shields,
that McGovern proved one "does not have to be a hawk to be a great patriot. And George McGovern was that. He was a great patriot."
G. D. Gehr
10/21/2012
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