|
The Eugene McCarthy presidential campaign of 1968 was launched by Senator Eugene McCarthy of Minnesota in the latter part of 1967 to vie for 1968 Democratic Party nomination for President of the United States. The focus of his campaign was his support for a swift end to the Vietnam War through a withdrawal of American forces. The campaign appealed to youths who were tired of the establishment and dissatisfied with government. Early on, McCarthy was vocal in his intent to unseat the incumbent Democratic President Lyndon B. Johnson. Following McCarthy's 42% showing in New Hampshire, Senator Robert F. Kennedy (D-N.Y.) entered the race. Kennedy's entrance forced President Johnson to withdraw. After Johnson's withdrawal, Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey entered the contest but avoided the primaries. Kennedy fought it out with McCarthy in the primaries, as Humphrey used favorite son stand-ins to help him win delegates to the Democratic National Convention. Kennedy was assassinated, leaving Humphrey as McCarthy's main challenger. But Humphrey's organization was too strong for McCarthy to overcome, and his anti-war campaign was split after the late entrance of Senator George McGovern of South Dakota just ahead of the Democratic National Convention. Despite winning the popular vote, McCarthy lost to Humphrey at the convention amidst protests and riots. ==Background== Eugene McCarthy was first elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1948 as a member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party. He served five terms before winning a seat in the United States Senate in 1958. His speech at the 1960 Democratic National Convention in support of Adlai Stevenson placed him on the national stage. President Johnson considered selecting him as his running mate in 1964, but instead chose fellow Senator Hubert Humphrey of Minnesota. McCarthy vehemently opposed the Vietnam War. Months prior to his announcement, McCarthy hinted that he would challenge President Johnson for the Democratic nomination due to his contrasting views with the president on the Vietnam War. The Americans for Democratic Action announced that they would support McCarthy's campaign if he decided to run. Johnson took these mentions seriously, privately confiding to Democratic congressional leaders that McCarthy could gain the support of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Dr. Benjamin Spock, splintering the party. It was rumored that McCarthy had $100,000 pledged to use on the New Hampshire and Wisconsin primaries in the upcoming year. One politician explained to Johnson that McCarthy's run could be reminiscent of Estes Kefauver, whose 1952 campaign in the early primaries is speculated to have caused President Harry S. Truman to not seek re-election. McCarthy privately explained his intentions to Vice President Hubert Humphrey with whom he had served Minnesota in the Senate for nearly two decades. He commented that he did not believe he could win, but that he had "lost interest" in the Senate and felt "very strongly about the war," believing that the best way to express himself was to "go on out and enter the primaries." Humphrey stated that McCarthy was "more vain and arrogant than his supporters wanted to admit", but that he did not decide to run for president because of his personal feelings for Johnson, but his genuine feelings about the Vietnam War. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Eugene McCarthy presidential campaign, 1968」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|