Eugene McCarthy (1916 - 2005): The Legacy of the Former Senator and Anti-War Presidential

We look at the lives of two individuals whose actions in the late 1960s shaped how this country viewed the Vietnam War.

One was named Hugh Thompson. He was an Army helicopter pilot who helped stop the My Lai Massacre when U.S. troops slaughtered hundreds of innocent Vietnamese villagers. He died earlier this month at the age of 62. Later in the show we will speak with former Army Specialist Lawrence Colburn who helped Thompson end the massacre.

But first we are going to look at the life of Eugene McCarthy, the former Minnesota Senator and presidential candidate. He died in December at the age of 89. On Saturday some 800 people filled the National Cathedral in Washington for a memorial service.

McCarthy and the Vietnam War will be forever linked.

It was in 1968 when the Democratic Senator from Minnesota broke party ranks and decided to challenge President Lyndon Johnson for the party's presidential nomination.

McCarthy ran on a platform opposing the Vietnam War. By 1968 the war had already taken thousands of American lives as U.S. involvement escalated under Johnson.

In March 1968, voters in New Hampshire responded to McCarthy's anti- war sentiments. He shocked the nation by receiving 42 percent of the primary vote. Johnson -- the sitting president - ended up wining the New Hampshire primary but his political future changed overnight.

Within days, Senator Robert Kennedy jumped into the race. And then to the amazement of the country, Johnson announced within weeks that he was dropping out and not seeking re-election.

1968 would prove to be a painful year in many ways.

On April 4, Martin Luther King was assassinated in Memphis Tennessee. Then on June 6, Robert Kennedy was shot dead shortly after delivering a victory speech in Los Angeles after winning the California primary.

For many Eugene McCarthy's run for president marked a bright spot in a tragic year.

But McCarthy's run for the presidency stopped in Chicago during the infamous 1968 Democratic convention when the delegates nominated Vice President Hubert Humphrey who would then go on to lose to Richard Nixon in November.

But the effects of McCarthy's run for office were felt for years.

On Saturday, at McCarthy's memorial service President Clinton gave the eulogy for the late Senator and said McCarthy was instrumental in building opposition to the Vietnam War.

Clinton said, "It all began with Gene McCarthy's willingness to stand alone and turn the tide of history."

We go now back to 1968 to listen to an anti-Vietnam War campaign radio spot that McCarthy ran ahead of the New Hampshire primary.

We speak with are joined by two guests:

* Albert Eisele, co-founder and editor at large of the Hill newspaper in Washington, D.C. He is the author of a dual biography of Hubert Humphrey and former Sen. Eugene McCarthy called "Almost to the Presidency" written in 1979. He was a Washington correspondent for the St. Paul Dispatch and Pioneer Press and Knight-Ridder before becoming press secretary to Vice President Walter Mondale.
* Tom Hayden, former California State Senator. He lead the demonstrations at the 1968 Chicago Democratic Convention. Hayden and others were charged with conspiracy and inciting to riot in the famous trial known as the trial of the "Chicago Seven."

And we play excerpts of Eugene McCarthy in his own words:

* Anti-Vietnam War campaign radio spot.
* Excerpt of 1968 campaign speech.
* Interview on Minnesota Public Radio, March 25, 2003, just after the launch of the Iraq invasion.
* Discussing the corporate media, the war department and on getting old, excerpts of the documentary "I'm Sorry I Was Right," courtesy of the Center for International Education.

LISTEN ONLINE:
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/01/18/1442236