George McGovern

In 1972 I worked on the McGovern campaign.  I registered so many Democrats in Alameda, California, that the Registrar added a third precinct to the existing two.  Unfortunately, in November all three precincts went for Nixon.  McGovern only won Massachusetts and the District of Columbia.

I was already a McGovern supporter in the spring of ’72.  The front runners were Hubert Humphrey, Ed Muskie, and “Scoop” Jackson.  I was just amazed at how well McGovern did, winning the Democratic nomination while the other candidates floundered.  I realized later that he knew the rules and used them to his advantage, much like Obama did years later against Hillary Clinton.  Perhaps more importantly, Nixon’s campaign committee carried out “dirty tricks” against the three front runners, correctly judging McGovern, the most radical candidate, to also be the weakest.

When someone like Nixon fiddles with the process, the legitimacy of the government is called into question.  Nixon and his henchmen manipulated the whole election.  Luckily the Watergate investigation and subsequent resignation removed that cancer from the American system.

I am proud that I worked so hard for McGovern.  I am sorry that he was denied his place in American history because of a dirty campaign and misrepresentation of his positions.  One effect of his loss was the unnecessary deaths of thousands of young Americans in Vietnam because of Nixon administration policies.

Even so, I don’t think Nixon ever tried to suppress the vote.  The amounts spent by Nixon’s committee pale in comparison to the billions spent by the Superpacs.  The “dirty tricks” were almost silly compared to the distortions in the current crop of political ads.  If Obama loses this election, the whole legitimacy of this political system will be called into question, just like it was in 1972.  I hope the country can survive the travesty of this election, and I am hoping Obama can win in spite of an electoral system stacked against his candidacy.