1972 Election question...

[Bush loves Jiang]

Weren't McGovern and Shriver both military men?

[snyttri]

1. Mcgovern was the principal figure in a book by Stephen Ambrose but the

campaign chose to play it down. Damn.

[pacifictiger]

2. If what you're getting at

does military experience count with republicans - McCain was far more qualified than georgie porgie - "when the boys came out to play, georgie porgie ran away"

[Kathleen04]

4. Who said anything about Republicans?

:shrug:

[Bush loves Jiang]

5. Well that too...

But I mainly posted this to warn people not to get over-confident if Kerry or Clark win the nomination.

[pacifictiger]

11. I agree that

the military record thing is being overemphasized. It didn't do McCain any good - "its the economy stupid." The war has been important up until now, but Bush is determined to pull out of Iraq before the elections - July 1 if he can - because he considers it a looming vote liability and it will effectively quash the anti war thing. I think the bigger real issue is how the war has affected the deficit and projected continual drain on resources that could be used for domestic social issues. Dean is speaking to this in a common sense kind of way, and is getting beat up because he does not do it in the run of the mill fillibuster style policitospeak. I wish people could begin to see through the smoke and mirrors to the real issues.

[Kathleen04]

3. I believe Shriver

was Director of the Peace Corps.

[Jerseycoa]

6. McGovern certainly was

I don't remember about Shriver.

[ma4t]

13. of course he was

Shriver was a Sargent. (Sorry, I just couldn't resist that one.)

[andym]

7. McGovern was a war hero

McGovern was a war hero in WWII, but decided to completely deemphasize his military background in 1972. One of his many campaign errors, I believe. If he talked more about how "war is hell" from actual experience it would have helped. Ironically, Nixon was a Quaker, who was a noncombatant officer in WWII.

[rwenos]

8. McGovern Flew B-17's

1972 was the first election I voted in. If memory serves, George McGovern flew missions in B17's over Europe. Dont' know how many. Real man's ballsey stuff, if you know anything about the history.

It is one of the sad ironies of the Democratic Party in the last thirty years that McGovern, a courageous warrior, got tagged with the "wimp" image. Nixon, a Navy veteran, never made a big deal about his service in the Pacific (afraid of unflattering comparisons with JFK's heroics), but most all of those WW2 generation guys served.

But, then, look what Rove/Iago's kneecappers did to Max Cleland in Georgia.

Shameful. Shameful.

[jsw_81]

9. Nixon played poker in the Navy and never saw action

I think his base was strafed once or twice, but that's about it. McGovern, on the other hand, flew B-17's over the Third Reich. But in 1972 Nixon was portrayed as the American hero and McGovern was the commie pinko leftist wimp.

[hey2370]

10. Was that before or after Custer and Little Big Horn?

This reminds of Dean talking about McKinley, Coolidge, the Roosevelts and Hoover in his stump speech.

The crowd always gets really quiet, like everyone is hoping Professor Dean doesn't call on them.

"Damn, I knew I should have studied last night! Pssst! Who is Coolidge? I didn't know there was gonna be a pop quiz!"

[dolstein]

12. McGovern was an anti-war candidate with a distinguished war record

So are John Kerry and Wes Clark. Frankly, I don't think Kerry's military record will help him expand his base all that much, especially since he was so closely identified with the anti-war movement, having been a leader of Vietnam veterans against the war.

I'm beginning to have my doubts about Wes Clark too. I really don't know why he's surrounding himself with people like George McGovern and Michael Moore. Perhaps he's just trying to prove his Democratic bona fides. But frankly I think things may have gone too far.

In any event, if a charismatic draft dodger from the South like Bill Clinton can beat war heroes like George Bush Sr. and Bob Dole, then I think John Edwards, a son of a mill worker, can beat the son of a president.

[sandnsea]

14. It's 2004,

Not 1972.