Posted on 01/14/2006 11:07:41 PM PST by NormsRevenge
WASHINGTON - Former President Clinton eulogized the late Minnesota Sen. Eugene J. McCarthy on Saturday for helping to shift momentum against the Vietnam War with his 1968 presidential campaign.
"It all started when Gene McCarthy was willing to stand alone and turn the tide of history," Clinton said at a memorial service at the Washington National Cathedral.
McCarthy, who died last month at 89, mounted an anti-war challenge to President Johnson for the 1968 Democratic nomination, leading to Johnson's withdrawal from the race after the New Hampshire presidential primary.
About 800 people, some wearing McCarthy campaign buttons, attended the memorial. A bagpipe procession started the service, and Peter Yarrow of the folk group Peter, Paul and Mary sang "This Land Is Your Land" and other songs.
The audience was filled with friends, family members and lawmakers, including Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (news, bio, voting record), D-Mass. Kennedy's brother, the late New York Sen. Robert Kennedy, rankled McCarthy by jumping in the '68 race after McCarthy's strong showing in New Hampshire. Vice President Hubert Humphrey won the nomination that year and then lost to Republican Richard Nixon.
Clinton recalled meeting McCarthy as a young man in the early 1970s. The future president was having trouble locating a pair of large shoes to wear to a black-tie Washington dinner, and a friend said he knew someone with even bigger shoes.
A couple of days later, Clinton said, McCarthy came by with a pair of shoes to lend.
"That night, I stood in Gene McCarthy's shoes," Clinton said to laughter. At the dinner, he decided to pass up a receiving line for President Nixon.
"It just didn't seem the right thing to do wearing McCarthy's shoes," Clinton said to more laughter and applause.
Decades later, Clinton found himself at a 1992 Democratic presidential debate with McCarthy. Even though McCarthy was not a serious candidate, Clinton said, "It was seriously uncomfortable to be on the wrong end of his wit."
Clinton was willing to overlook a far more serious challenge by speaking at the memorial service. In 1998, at the height of Clinton's impeachment scandal, McCarthy called for the president to resign or be impeached.
"He's been running a pretty messy presidency in terms of constitutionality and tradition," McCarthy said.
It was that contrarian streak that won McCarthy both admirers and detractors.
Rep. Jim Oberstar, D-Minn., said that McCarthy's critique of the Vietnam War has echoes in the debate today over Iraq.
"Gene McCarthy showed us the moral force of politics without preaching," Oberstar said.
Two of McCarthy's children, Michael McCarthy and Ellen McCarthy, also gave tributes at the service, as did journalist Mary Alice Williams, a family friend.
Yeah, I think he has been taking lessons from Little Dickie Gephardt with all his imaginary friends and stories.
The US never supported Pol Pot.
It's good that McCarthy has passed on to his special reward. I am sure he is no longer going to return to the wheel of life (and that's not because he was a good man ~ he wasn't).
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.