Tom Tomorrow points to this story which asks where the “peace candidate” is in regards to the possible/pending/inevitable Iraq invasion. Glad as I am to see people talking about alternatives to war, I’m not sure that this article presents the best case for an anti-war candidate:
So far, many people in Iowa, a longtime incubator for peace movements, say they do not see any of the potential 2004 candidates positioning themselves to be the Eugene McCarthy or George McGovern of this era. Those men were anti-war candidates of the Vietnam era, U.S. senators who challenged sitting presidents over their war policies and drew surprisingly large numbers of followers.
Eugene McCarthy and George McGovern. There’s a couple of Presidential candidate role models for you. $DEITY help us all if we get a 2004 version of McGovern. I don’t know who this article was meant to inspire, but it sure didn’t work on me.
I worked for both McCarthy and McGovern when I was young. I knew people who knew them both. I met McCarthy briefly. I think they were both, in their way, men of substance and integrity.
They also, at the end of the day, mortally wounded their own campaigns. Thus your point.
Life is too short for any more beautiful losers.
On the other hand, McGovern still received more votes in his campaign than Reagan got when he won his first term.
(Too bad about Cissy Farenthold.)