RIP George McGovern 1922-2012

[H.E. VOLODYMYR ZELENKSYY]

He was a good man. RIP.

[Oakvale]

RIP. A genuinely decent man who had a good, long life.  I think I should re-read Fear and Loathing On The Campaign Trail '72.

EDIT: On which note, I don't think there's ever been a wider moral decency chasm between two major party candidates than in the 1972 election.

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

RIP.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

We will never have another presidential nominee as honest as George McGovern. RIP. America has lost one of the great ones. McGovern’s views on war transcend any particular ideology, and people from Progressives, to Libertarians, to Paleoconservatives. He was the serious voice of the antiwar movement in the 1960’s.

[Tetro Kornbluth]

RIP. A genuinely decent man who had a good, long life.  I think I should re-read Fear and Loathing On The Campaign Trail '72.

EDIT: On which note, I don't think there's ever been a wider moral decency chasm between two major party candidates than in the 1972 election.

It's always a good time to re-read that book.

RIP.

This is worth reading: http://us-intellectual-history.blogspot.nl/2012/10/the-chamber-reeks-of-blood.html

[CountryRoads]

RIP George McGovern.

[Oswald Acted Alone, You Kook]

Poor guy was doomed from the start, not even Jesus could have beat Nixon in 1972. Too bad he didn't try again once his ideas were accepted.

Can someone change the title?

[Svensson]

RIP.

[Comrade Funk]

RIP.

[Vote UKIP!]

RIP.

[LiberalJunkie]

RIP.

[Simfan34]

A great American who never got his due.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

So how does he compare to other contenders by age? (Limiting it only to the two major parties. I know Thurmond lived to 100, but he was 3rd Party.)

Alf Landon lived 100 years.

[J. J.]

John Adams, Hoover, Ford, and Reagan all were older when they died.  The latter three were obviously major contenders as they were party nominees.

In a little over a year, Dole will be older.

[Joe Biden is your president. Deal with it.]

RIP. I was able to meet him awhile back he was speaking at a college in eastern SD. I talked with him and shook his hand.

[philly09]

Just wondering, how are Mondale, Dukakis, Dole, Gore, and Kerry doing, heath-wise?

Dukakis is in seemingly pretty good health. He's in his late seventies now and still making occasional public appearances, albeit mostly of the TV talking head variety. Gore and Kerry are as far as I know both fine. Not sure about Mondale or Dole.

Perhaps you missed Mondale at the Al Smith dinner on Thursday, he was visible on the top right when Obama and Romney were giving their speeches.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

So how does he compare to other contenders by age? (Limiting it only to the two major parties. I know Thurmond lived to 100, but he was 3rd Party.)

Alf Landon also lived to 100. While not as long as Thurmond, he did love 50 years after he was first nominated. I can't think of anyone else who beat McGovern's 40 years alive from first being nominated.  Carter narrow beats Hoover for 36 years at longest lived since first inaugurated.

What's amazing is that right before McGovern died, the Democratic Presidential nominees of all 11 Democratic conventions since the rules were changed to be more democratic (which McGovern was behind) were still alive. This is the first time a Democratic nominee for President chosen by a national primary system has died.

The reforms were really needed. If you look at the 1968 map here, most states didn't have a primary, and Humphrey didn't even run in the primaries. McCarthy got the most votes, and with RFK assassinated, had almost half of the votes for living candidates.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Party_presidential_primaries,_1968

[J. J.]

Those same reforms lead to choosing candidates that were disasters, electorally.  It did make it more democratic, small "d," but at a price no one expected. 

[Kaine for Senate '18]

While I maintain someone who holds Richard Nixon in high regard, McGovern was a great man, in every sense of the word.  He will be missed.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

While I maintain someone who holds Richard Nixon in high regard

Is it costly to maintain such a person?

[Tetro Kornbluth]

While I maintain someone who holds Richard Nixon in high regard, McGovern was a great man, in every sense of the word.  He will be missed.

Oh lord, it's time for that thread again, isn't it? Look people and you can see who McGovern was against...

[Linus Van Pelt]

I never realized this until now, but there are some interesting similarities between Walter Mondale and George McGovern in addition to the obvious.

Both Mondale and McGovern had fathers who were small-town Methodist ministers. Both had mothers whose families were Methodists from Southwestern Ontario: McGovern's mother was born Frances Myrtle McLean in Dundas, ON, and Mondale's mother was born Claribel Hope Cowan and was the daughter of an immigrant from Seaforth, ON - the small town in Huron County where my great-grandfather went to high school from the farm. Quite the coincidence, really, but not a random one - there was significant emigration to the upper plains by the old southwestern Ontario Methodist Clear Grits in the late 19th Century, who at the time were the most radical element in Anglo-Canadian politics.

The founding leader of the federal CCF, J. S. Woodsworth, meanwhile, was a Methodist minister from Etobicoke (then a rural township west of Toronto), and the first leader of the Ontario provincial party, Ted Joliffe, was the son of Methodist missionaries to China from Rockwood, outside Guelph. In some respects all these men were influenced by something of the same tradition.

[Kaine for Senate '18]

I was surprised to discover that McGovern held a doctorate in history - the only other major party candidate to have one was Wilson; ironically, McGovern's adviser was the editor of Wilson's papers.

[RIP Robert H Bork]

That's unfortunate. He was a great man, with a nice sense of humor--although I wouldn't have voted for him, in 1972 or elsewhere. Rest in peace.

I had certain...plans...for November 7th, the 40th anniversary of his loss to Richard Nixon--but out of respect for McGovern, they shall not be carried out.

Also, what King said.

[Eraserhead]

Definitely one of the people who greatly inspired my interest in politics (check out Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72 if you haven't already).

He genuinely seemed like a decent, honorable man. He will be greatly missed. RIP.