McCarthy's 1968 presidential bid a turning point

WASHINGTON — Former U.S. Sen. Eugene J. McCarthy, D-Minn., 89, whose insurgent campaign toppled a sitting president in 1968 and forced the Democratic Party to take seriously his message against the Vietnam War, died Saturday.

Sen. McCarthy died in his sleep at an assisted-living facility in the Georgetown section of Washington, D.C., where he had lived for several years.

His son, Michael McCarthy, of Seattle said the cause was complications of Parkinson's disease.

The former college professor, who ran for president five times, was in some ways an atypical politician, a man with a witty, erudite speaking style who wrote poetry in his spare time and was the author of several books.

"He was thoughtful and he was principled and he was compassionate and he had a good sense of humor," his son said.

Former Sen. George McGovern, D-S.D., said Sen. McCarthy's presidential run in 1968 dramatically changed the anti-war movement.

"It was no longer a movement of concerned citizens, but became a national political movement," McGovern said Saturday. "He was an inspiration to me in all of my life in politics." McGovern won the 1972 Democratic presidential nomination, when Sen. McCarthy ran a second time.

A relatively obscure senator who turned sour on the war as the United States escalated its troop buildup in the mid-1960s, Sen. McCarthy entered the New Hampshire primary partly to fill a vacuum: More prominent anti-war politicians, assuming that incumbent President Lyndon B. Johnson was unbeatable, had decided not to run against him.

Sen. McCarthy's candidacy initially was dismissed as hopelessly quixotic. Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, in a biography of Johnson, wrote that the challenge "was regarded by official Washington as a somewhat baffling exercise begun by a hitherto stable member of the Senate liberal establishment."

But his campaign caught fire with young people — the vanguard of opposition to the Vietnam War — and hordes of them traveled to New Hampshire to help his cause. They stuffed envelopes and passed out leaflets in what became dubbed "the children's crusade." Many cut their hair and put on fresh clothes to help impress older voters. Be "Clean for Gene," their watchwords urged.

Johnson had not declared his candidacy formally yet, so his name was not on the primary ballot. But it was assumed he would seek re-election, and New Hampshire Democratic leaders organized a write-in campaign for him, expecting a win.

Johnson did win, but not easily. He garnered 49 percent of the vote; Sen. McCarthy, 42 percent. The results shocked analysts, showed that LBJ was vulnerable and jolted other politicians into action.

Four days later, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, D-N.Y., who earlier had decided against seeking the nomination, jumped into the race. Two weeks after that, Johnson stunned the nation by announcing he would not seek a second term.

Sen. McCarthy's glory was short-lived. Kennedy captured much of the momentum, and the Minnesotan proved unable to expand his base of support.

Some people placed part of the blame on his diffident campaign style. His friend, the poet Robert Lowell, said of Sen. McCarthy, "The last thing he wanted to do was to be charismatic. He was a mixture of proud contempt and modest distaste ... Usually the cheers were greater when he came in than when he finished speaking."

Kennedy scored a major triumph when he won the California primary in early June, but that night he was fatally wounded at a Los Angeles hotel after delivering his victory speech.

Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey — a fellow Minnesotan who had served in the Senate with Sen. McCarthy — went on to claim the Democratic nomination. Humphrey, in turn, narrowly lost the November election to Republican Richard M. Nixon.

Sen. McCarthy ran for president several more times but never came close to recapturing the constituency he had forged in New Hampshire.

Historians have come to regard his 1968 candidacy as a turning point: a campaign that galvanized Americans' previously fractured opposition to the war and pushed successive administrations into desperately trying to extricate U.S. forces from Southeast Asia. It also stands as one of the most vivid examples of successful grass-roots activism in U.S. politics.

Additionally, it helped trigger an overhaul of the political process, particularly within the Democratic Party. After anti-war demonstrations disrupted the 1968 Democratic National Convention, damaging the party politically, Democratic leaders revamped party rules to pare the power of political professionals in deciding on candidates and platforms.

"It was a tragic year for the Democratic Party and for responsible politics, in a way," Sen. McCarthy said in a 1988 interview.

Although he insisted in his latter years that he no longer paid much attention to politics, he remained knowledgeable and keen-witted, turning out a steady flow of books and magazine articles and making occasional speeches. He also continued to write poetry, a talent — and avocation — that had set him apart from almost all other politicians.

Some years ago his dry wit was on display when interviewer David Frost asked him: How would you like the first line of your obituary to read?" Sen. McCarthy replied: " 'He died,' I suppose. That would be most reassuring."

Sen. McCarthy remained active until the last few months; in January, he published a 173-page paperback collection of essays and poems, "Parting Shots From My Brittle Bow: Reflections on American Politics and Life."

"He was actually planning to do a book tour, amazing at his age," Michael McCarthy said, but his health deteriorated early this year and kept him from traveling.

Sen. McCarthy's wife, Abigail, from whom he had been separated since after the 1968 campaign, died in 2001, and a daughter, Mary, died in 1990. In addition to Michael, he is survived by two daughters, Ellen and Margaret; and six grandchildren.

Los Angeles Times reporters Claudia Luther and Myrna Oliver contributed to this report.

Material from The Associated Press and The New York Times also is included.