Editing George McGovern (section)

===1972 presidential campaign===
{{Main|George McGovern 1972 presidential campaign}}
{{Further|1972 Democratic Party presidential primaries|1972 United States presidential election}}
McGovern announced his candidacy on January 18, 1971, during a televised speech from the studios of [[KELO-TV]] in [[Sioux Falls, South Dakota]].<ref name="anson-267">Anson, ''McGovern'', pp. 267–268.</ref> At the time of his announcement, McGovern ranked fifth among Democrats in a presidential preference [[Gallup Poll]].<ref>Weil, ''The Long Shot'', p. 33.</ref> The earliest such entry since [[Andrew Jackson]],<ref>Miroff, ''The Liberals' Moment'', p. 45.</ref> it was designed to give him time to overcome the large lead of the frontrunner, Maine senator [[Edmund Muskie]].<ref>{{cite news |url= http://select.nytimes.com/mem/archive/pdf?res=F30C11F7345C107B93CBA8178AD85F458785F9 |title=McGovern Enters '72 Race, Pledging Troop Withdrawal |author=Apple Jr., R. W. |newspaper=The New York Times |date=January 19, 1971 |page=1|author-link=R. W. Apple, Jr }}</ref> By January 1972, McGovern had only 3&nbsp;percent national support among Democrats in the Gallup Poll and had not attracted significant press coverage.<ref>White, ''The Making of the President 1972'', p. 211.</ref> McGovern's campaign manager [[Gary Hart]] decided on a guerrilla-like insurgency strategy of battling Muskie in only selected primaries, not everywhere, so as to focus the campaign's organizational strength and resources.<ref>White, ''The Making of the President 1972'', pp. 101–102.</ref>

[[Image:George McGovern, c 1972.jpg|thumb|left|McGovern speaking on June 30, 1972]]

Muskie fell victim to inferior organizing, an over-reliance on party endorsements, and Nixon's "[[ratfucking|dirty tricks]]" operatives,<ref name="witcover-579">Witcover, ''Party of the People'', pp. 578–580.</ref><ref>Miroff, ''The Liberals' Moment'', pp. 54–55.</ref><ref>Reichley, ''The Life of the Parties'', pp. 287–288.</ref> and in the March 7, 1972, [[New Hampshire primary]], did worse than expected with McGovern coming in a close second.<ref>White, ''The Making of the President 1972'', pp. 80–82.</ref> As Muskie's campaign funding and support dried up, Hubert Humphrey, who had rejoined the Senate, became McGovern's primary rival for the nomination,<ref name="nyt-071372-nom"/> with Alabama governor [[George Wallace]] also in the mix after dominating the March 14 primary in Florida.<!-- <ref name="witcover-579"/> --> McGovern won a key breakthrough victory over Humphrey and Wallace on April 4 in Wisconsin,<ref name="witcover-579"/> where he added blue-collar economic populism to his appeal.<ref>Miroff, ''The Liberals' Moment'', pp. 57–59.</ref> He followed that by dominating the April 25 primary in Massachusetts.<ref name="white-1972-106">White, ''The Making of the President 1972'', pp. 106–107, 110–112.</ref> At that point, McGovern had become the frontrunner.<ref name="white-1972-106"/> A late decision to enter the May 2 Ohio primary, considered a Humphrey stronghold, paid dividends when McGovern managed a very close second there amid charges of election fraud by pro-Humphrey forces.<ref name="nyt-mitn-72"/><ref>Miroff, ''The Liberals' Moment'', pp. 61–62.</ref> The other two leading candidates for the nomination also won primaries, but Wallace's campaign in effect ended when he was seriously wounded in a May assassination attempt,<ref name="witcover-581"/> and McGovern's operation was effective in garnering delegates in caucus states.<ref>Miroff, ''The Liberals' Moment'', pp. 62–63.</ref>

The climactic contest took place in California, with Humphrey attacking McGovern in several televised debates; in the June 6 vote, McGovern defeated him by five percentage points and claimed all the delegates due to the state's winner-take-all rules.<ref>White, ''The Making of the President 1972'', pp. 121–122, 127–129.</ref> He then appeared to clinch the nomination with delegates won in the New York primary on June 20.<ref name="witcover-581">Witcover, ''Party of the People'', pp. 580–582.</ref> Humphrey's attacks on McGovern as being too radical began a downward slide in the latter's poll standing against Nixon.<ref>Miroff, ''The Liberals' Moment'', pp. 68–69.</ref> McGovern became tagged with the label "amnesty, abortion, and acid", supposedly reflecting his positions.{{refn|The label's origins later turned out to come from Thomas Eagleton, several months before he became the vice presidential nominee.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna19694666 |title='Meet the Press' transcript for July 15, 2007 | publisher=[[NBC News]] | date=July 15, 2007}}</ref><ref>Giglio, "The Eagleton Affair", p. 650.<!--approx--></ref>|group="nb"}} During his primary victories, McGovern used an approach that stressed [[grassroots]]-level organization while bypassing conventional campaign techniques and traditional party power centers.<ref name="nyt-mitn-72"/><ref name="nyt-071372-nom">{{cite news | url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1972/07/13/90717133.pdf | title=A Stunning Sweep: Senator Seeks Unity – McGovern wins Party's Presidential Nomination on the First Ballot | author=Frankel, Max | date=July 13, 1972 | page=1 | work=The New York Times| author-link=Max Frankel }}</ref> He capitalized on support from antiwar activists and reform liberals;<ref name="witcover-579"/> thousands of students engaged in door-to-door campaigning for him.<ref>Wayne, ''The Road to the White House 2008'', p. 148.</ref> He benefited by the eight primaries he won being those the press focused on the most; he showed electoral weakness in the South and industrial Midwest, and actually received fewer primary votes overall than Humphrey and had only a modest edge over Wallace.<ref name="cook-51">Cook, ''The Presidential Nominating Process'', pp. 51, 53.</ref>

[[Image:GeorgeMcGovern.png|thumb|right|upright|McGovern as seen in a 1972 campaign poster]]

McGovern ran on a [[political platform|platform]] that advocated withdrawal from the Vietnam War in exchange for the return of American [[prisoners of war]]<ref>White, ''The Making of the President 1972'', p. 116.</ref> and amnesty for draft evaders who had left the country.<ref>White, ''The Making of the President 1972'', p. 337.</ref> McGovern's platform also included an across-the-board 37-percent reduction in defense spending over three years.<ref>White, ''The Making of the President 1972'', p. 117.</ref> He proposed a "demogrant" program that would give a $1,000&nbsp;payment to every citizen in the United States.<ref name="white-1972-119">White, ''The Making of the President 1972'', pp. 119–120.</ref> Based around existing ideas such as the [[negative income tax]] and intended to replace the welfare bureaucracy and complicated maze of existing public-assistance programs, it nonetheless garnered considerable derision as a poorly thought-out "liberal giveaway" and was dropped from the platform in August.<ref name="witcover-579"/><ref name="white-1972-119"/><ref name="time-issues">{{cite news | url=http://www.time.com/time/subscriber/printout/0,8816,906634,00.html | archive-url=https://archive.today/20130204202302/http://www.time.com/time/subscriber/printout/0,8816,906634,00.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=February 4, 2013 | title=Issues '72: Nixon v. McGovern on Taxes, Prices, Jobs | magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] | date=October 30, 1972}}</ref>{{refn|The concept behind the demogrant was in part a conservative one, was similar to the [[negative income tax]] long advocated by economist [[Milton Friedman]], and by the Nixon Administration in the form of the Family Assistance Program, which called for a minimum family grant of $1,600 per year, later raised to $2,400. McGovern had previously sponsored a bill, submitted by the [[National Welfare Rights Organization]], for $6,500 [[guaranteed minimum income]] per year to families. But the demogrant differed from all these other plans by going to everyone and not being needs-based.<ref name="white-1972-119"/>|group="nb"}}

An "Anybody But McGovern" coalition, led by southern Democrats and organized labor, formed in the weeks following the final primaries.<ref>Miroff, ''The Liberals' Moment'', pp. 74–78.</ref> McGovern's nomination did not become ensured until the first night of the [[1972 Democratic National Convention]] in [[Miami Beach, Florida]], where, following intricate parliamentary maneuverings led by campaign staffer [[Rick Stearns]], a Humphrey credentials challenge regarding the California winner-take-all rules was defeated.<ref>White, ''The Making of the President 1972'', p. 174–175.</ref><ref>Thompson, ''Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72'', pp. 276–310.</ref> Divisive arguments over the party platform then followed; what resulted was arguably the most liberal one of any major U.S. party.<ref name="nyt-obit"/> On July 12, 1972, McGovern officially won the Democratic nomination. In doing so and in taking over the party's processes and platform, McGovern produced what ''The New York Times'' termed "a stunning sweep."<ref name="nyt-071372-nom"/> The convention distractions led to a hurried process to pick a vice presidential running mate.<ref>Witcover, ''Party of the People'', pp. 583–584.</ref> Turned down by his first choice, Ted Kennedy, as well as by several others, McGovern selected – with virtually no vetting – Missouri senator [[Thomas Eagleton]].<ref>Giglio, "The Eagleton Affair", pp. 648–649.<!--approx--></ref> On the final night of the convention, procedural arguments over matters such as a new party charter, and a prolonged vice presidential nomination process that descended into farce, delayed the nominee's acceptance speech.<ref>White, ''The Making of the President 1972'', pp. 184–186.</ref> As a result, McGovern delivered his speech, "Come home America!", at three o'clock in the morning, reducing his television audience from about 70&nbsp;million people to about 15&nbsp;million.<ref>Miroff, ''The Liberals' Moment'', p. 87.</ref>

Just over two weeks after the convention, it was revealed that Eagleton had been hospitalized and received [[electroshock therapy]] for "nervous exhaustion" and "depression" several times during the early to mid-1960s.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1972/07/26/80798105.pdf | title=Eagleton Tells of Shock Therapy on Two Occasions | author=Lydon, Christopher | newspaper=[[The New York Times]] | date=July 26, 1972 | page=1| author-link=Christopher Lydon }}</ref> Years later, Eagleton's diagnosis was refined to [[bipolar II disorder]].<ref>Giglio, "The Eagleton Affair", p. 657.<!--approx--></ref> McGovern initially supported Eagleton, in part because he saw parallels with his daughter Terry's battles with mental illness.<ref name="terry-review"/><ref name="wapo-might"/> He was additionally sympathetic due to his wife Eleanor having experienced depression; and he was also harboring a secret about his own past, that being an undisclosed child.<ref>Glasser, ''The Eighteen-Day Running Mate'', pp. 172, 342n15.</ref> On the following day, July 26, McGovern stated publicly, "I am 1,000&nbsp;percent for Tom Eagleton and have no intention of dropping him from the ticket."<ref>{{cite news | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Fm9kAAAAIBAJ&pg=3529,2580768&dq=percent+eagleton+no-intention+dropping&hl=en | title=Eagleton May Still Withdraw | author=Lydon, Christopher | newspaper=[[The Calgary Herald]] | date=July 27, 1972 | pages=1, 2| author-link=Christopher Lydon }}</ref> Though many people still supported Eagleton's candidacy, an increasing number of influential politicians and newspapers questioned his ability to handle the office of vice president and, potentially, president<ref name="miroff-93"/> or questioned the McGovern campaign's ability to survive the distraction.<ref name="giglio-withdraw">Giglio, "The Eagleton Affair", pp. 662-665.<!--approx--></ref> The resulting negative attention – combined with McGovern's consultation with preeminent psychiatrists, including [[Karl Menninger]], as well as doctors who had treated Eagleton – prompted McGovern to accept, and announce on August 1, Eagleton's offer to withdraw from the ticket.<ref name="giglio-withdraw"/><ref>Miroff, ''The Liberals' Moment'', pp. 94–95.</ref> It remains the only time a major party vice presidential nominee has been forced off the ticket.<ref>Giglio, "The Eagleton Affair", p. 647.<!--should be--></ref> Five prominent Democrats then publicly turned down McGovern's offer of the vice presidential slot: in sequence, Kennedy again, [[Abraham Ribicoff]], Humphrey, [[Reubin Askew]], and Muskie. ([[Larry O'Brien]] was also approached but no offer made).<ref name="white-1972-207"/> Finally, he named U.S. ambassador to France [[Sargent Shriver]], a brother-in-law of John F. Kennedy.<ref name="white-1972-207">White, ''The Making of the President 1972'', p. 207–210.</ref> McGovern's [[1000 percent|1,000 percent]] statement and subsequent reneging made him look both indecisive and an opportunist, and has since been considered one of the worst gaffes in presidential campaign history.<ref name="miroff-93">Miroff, ''The Liberals' Moment'', pp. 89, 93.</ref> McGovern himself would long view the Eagleton affair as having been "catastrophic" for his campaign.<ref name="wapo-might"/>

[[File:George McGovern UH.jpeg|thumb|right|upright|McGovern speaking at an October 1972 rally in Houston during the final weeks of the campaign]]

The general election campaign did not go well for McGovern. Nixon did little campaigning;<ref>Reeves, ''President Nixon'', pp.&nbsp;524–525.</ref> he was buoyed by the success of [[1972 Nixon visit to China|his visit to China]] and [[Moscow Summit (1972)|arms-control-signing summit meeting in the Soviet Union]] earlier that year, and shortly before the election [[Henry Kissinger]]'s somewhat premature statement that "peace is at hand" in Vietnam.<ref>Witcover, ''Party of the People'', pp. 587–588.</ref> Top Republican figures attacked McGovern for being weak on defense issues and "encouraging the enemy";<ref>{{cite news |url= https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1972/08/22/93417749.pdf |title= Criticism Harsh: Democrat Is Assailed As Extremist Periling Nixon Peace Bid |author=Frankel, Max |newspaper=The New York Times |date=August 22, 1972 |page=1|author-link= Max Frankel }}</ref> Nixon asserted that McGovern was for "peace at any price" in Vietnam rather than the "[[peace with honor]]" that Nixon said he would bring about.<ref name="autogenerated252">Wayne, ''The Road to the White House 2008'', pp. 252–253.</ref> McGovern chose to not emphasize his own war record during the campaign.{{refn|McGovern would later say of not emphasizing his war record more during the campaign: "I think it was a political error, but I always felt kind of foolish talking about my war record – what a hero I was. How do you do that?&nbsp;... [I]t was not in my nature to turn the campaign into a constant exercise in self-congratulatory autobiography."<ref name=Kauffman>{{cite news|author=Kauffman, Bill |date=January 30, 2006 |url=http://www.amconmag.com/article/2006/jan/30/00012/ |title=Come Home, America |magazine=[[The American Conservative]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514005534/http://www.amconmag.com/article/2006/jan/30/00012/ |archive-date=May 14, 2011 |author-link=Bill Kauffman }}</ref> Such disinclination was common among World War II veterans.<ref name="nyt-obit"/>|group="nb"}} The McGovern Commission changes to the convention rules marginalized the influence of establishment Democratic Party figures, and McGovern struggled to get endorsements from figures such as former President Johnson and Chicago mayor [[Richard J. Daley]].<ref>Miroff, ''The Liberals' Moment'', p. 102.</ref> The [[AFL–CIO]] remained neutral, after having always endorsed the Democratic presidential candidate in the past.<ref>Reeves, ''President Nixon'', pp. 516–517.</ref> Some southern Democrats, led by former Texas governor [[John Connally]], switched their support to the Republican incumbent through a campaign effort called [[Democrats for Nixon]].<ref>Miroff, ''The Liberals' Moment'', pp. 228–229.</ref> Nixon outspent McGovern by more than two-to-one.<ref>Wayne, ''The Road to the White House 2008'', p. 66.</ref>

Nixon directly requested that his aides use government records to try to dig up dirt on McGovern and his top contributors.<ref>Reeves, ''President Nixon'', pp.&nbsp;520–521.</ref> McGovern was publicly attacked by Nixon surrogates<ref>Miroff, ''The Liberals' Moment'', pp. 239–241.</ref> and was the target of various operations of the Nixon "dirty tricks" campaign.<ref name="miroff-243">Miroff, ''The Liberals' Moment'', pp. 241–243.</ref> The infamous [[Watergate burglaries|Watergate break-in]] of the Democratic National Committee headquarters in June 1972 was an alternate target after bugging McGovern's headquarters was explored.<ref name="miroff-243"/> The full dimensions of the subsequent [[Watergate scandal]] did not emerge during the election;<ref name="miroff-243"/> the vast majority of the press focused on McGovern's difficulties and other news rather than the break-in or who was behind it, and a majority of voters were unaware of Watergate.<ref>Reeves, ''President Nixon'', pp. 503, 507, 519, 569.</ref>  In the end, Nixon's covert operations had little effect in either direction on the election outcome.<ref name="miroff-243"/><ref>White, ''The Making of the President 1972'', pp. 296–297.</ref>

[[File:1972 United States presidential election results map by county.svg|thumb|left|alt=Colored map|County-by-county results of the election, shaded by percentage won: Nixon in red, McGovern in blue]]

By the final week of the campaign, McGovern knew he was going to lose.<ref>Thompson, ''Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72'', pp. 402–404.</ref> While he was appearing in [[Battle Creek, Michigan]], on November 2, a Nixon admirer heckled him. McGovern told the heckler, "I've got a secret for you", then said softly into his ear, "Kiss my ass."<ref>{{cite news | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=DXksAAAAIBAJ&pg=2998,472856&dq=mcgovern+kiss-my-ass&hl=en | title=George, Heckler Exchange Words | agency=[[Associated Press]] | newspaper=[[The Spartanburg Herald]] | date=November 3, 1972 | page=B8}}</ref> The incident was overheard and reported in the press, and became part of the tale of the campaign.{{refn|By McGovern's later telling, "KMA" buttons were being worn by people in the crowds at McGovern rallies by the following night.<ref>McGovern, ''Grassroots'', p. 246.</ref> Some observers felt it showed a forcefulness that his campaign had theretofore lacked.<ref name="autogenerated252"/> Several years later, McGovern observed [[Mississippi]] Senator [[James Eastland]], not a big supporter of his, looking at him from across the Senate floor and chuckling to himself. He subsequently approached McGovern and asked, "Did you really tell that guy in '72 to kiss your ass?" When McGovern smiled and nodded, Eastland replied, "That was the best line in the campaign."<ref>{{cite book|title=Presidential Campaigns|first=Paul|last=Boller|year=2004|page=340|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fZ_fSmFIabQC| isbn=0-19-516716-3 | publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York}}</ref> |group="nb"}}

In the general election on November 7, 1972, the McGovern–Shriver ticket suffered a 61 percent to 37 percent defeat to Nixon – at the time, the second biggest landslide in American history, with an [[U.S. Electoral College|Electoral College]] total of 520 to 17. McGovern's two electoral vote victories came in Massachusetts and the District of Columbia, and he failed to win his home state of South Dakota, which had gone Democratic in only three of the previous eighteen presidential elections and would continue to go Republican in presidential elections to come.<ref>{{cite web|author=David Leip |url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/compare.php?year=2016&fips=46&f=1&off=0&elect=0&type=state |title=Presidential General Election Results Comparison – South Dakota |website=Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections |access-date=April 25, 2017}}</ref> Over the nation as a whole he carried a mere 135&nbsp;counties.{{refn|Overall McGovern carried 130 counties in the contiguous U.S., the District of Columbia, and four county-equivalents <!-- changed from three by some IP editor who says 'H actually also carried Hoonah-Angoon Census Area according to precinct data' -->[[United States presidential election in Alaska, 1972|in Alaska]].|group="nb"}} At just over four percent of the nation's counties, McGovern's county wins remain the fewest by almost a factor of three for any major-party nominee.<ref>{{cite book | last=Menendez | first= Albert J. | title=The Geography of Presidential Elections in the United States, 1868–2004 | page=98 | isbn=0-7864-2217-3 | publisher=McFarland | date=2005}}</ref>
{{clear}}