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Since his loss in the 1972 United States presidential election, there have been numerous allusions to George McGovern in American popular culture.
In 2006, the film One Bright Shining Moment – The Forgotten Summer of George McGovern [1] was released in the United States. Directed by Stephen Vittoria and narrated by Amy Goodman, the documentary chronicles the life and times of George McGovern, focusing on his 1972 bid for the presidency. The film features McGovern, Gloria Steinem, Gore Vidal, Warren Beatty, Howard Zinn and Dick Gregory.
McGovern is also prominently featured in the documentary films The U.S. vs. John Lennon (2006), Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson (2007), and Rush to War: Between Iraq and a Hard Place (2004), among other documentaries.
The films Nixon (1995), Dick (1999), All the President's Men (1976), Some Kind of Hero (1982), and The Seventies (2000 TV miniseries) reference McGovern and his 1972 presidential campaign.
In director Oliver Stone's Nixon , McGovern is repeatedly cited, including President Nixon (played by Anthony Hopkins) responding to southern conservatives and a right wing special interest group who threaten Nixon by taking away his campaign funds for the 1972 presidential campaign due to Nixon's policies on Cuba, the Environmental Protection Agency and détente with Communists. Nixon rebuts this by saying that if they don't like it then they can give their money to George Wallace. "Is that what you want John... to hand this country over to some pansy poet Socialist like George McGovern?" Nixon exclaims. The film also includes television footage of McGovern campaigning and his defeat by Nixon.
In producer Robert Redford's All the President's Men , McGovern is described as "self-destructing" (along with Ed Muskie and Hubert Humphrey), [2] and as offering the vice presidential spot to "everybody" following the Thomas Eagleton controversy. The Nixon campaign's covert activities against the presidential campaigns of Muskie and Humphrey are attributed to Nixon's desire to run against McGovern. The film is seasoned with television and newspaper coverage of McGovern's nomination and his handling of the Eagleton affair. Both Nixon and All the President's Men make reference to an attempt by Nixon's campaign to plant McGovern literature on presidential candidate George Wallace's attempted assassin.
In The Seventies, one of the lead characters, as a staff member of the Committee to Re-elect the President (CREEP), executes its "dirty tricks" by sabotaging a McGovern press conference and infiltrating the McGovern-Shriver campaign's national headquarters as a "volunteer", where he sabotages their phone banking efforts and discloses information to CREEP. He also complains to his friends, "McGovern writes poetry, for chrissake!" The film includes television footage from McGovern's concession speech.
In Some Kind of Hero , prisoner-of-war Eddie Keller (played by Richard Pryor) is seen in his North Vietnamese cell reading the July 7, 1972, issue of Life magazine, with the cover story and photograph "An Outspoken Self-Portrait: George McGovern Talks" (even though the scene actually takes place in 1968.)
McGovern guest hosted and acted in several self-deprecating skits on Saturday Night Live on April 14, 1984, and guest starred as himself in an episode of the television series Newhart (original airdate February 5, 1990). He played a dull caricature of himself in that Newhart episode. He also briefly appeared as himself in the film The Candidate (1972).
The television series All in the Family's third season episode 'Mike Comes Into Money', originally broadcast on November 4, 1972, is devoted to Mike and Gloria Stivic's volunteer work for, and donation to, McGovern's presidential campaign over Archie Bunker's strenuous objection. The earlier episode 'Archie's Fraud', broadcast on September 23, addresses McGovern's tax reform proposal and features supporters of his presidential campaign.
Comedian George Carlin said he voted for McGovern in 1972 and never voted again afterward. [3]
In satirist-activist Dick Gregory's final nightclub performance album, Caught in the Act (recorded 8/2-8/4/73), he tells his Massachusetts audience, "Do you realize you were the only state that voted for McGovern? You have the distinction of being able to tell the other forty-nine states, 'We told you'. And I guess black folks are pretty cool too, because he also won Washington, D.C. And when you can't win where you sleep, you are really in trouble."
In impersonator David Frye's album satirizing Watergate, Richard Nixon: A Fantasy (1973), he impersonates McGovern's response to capital punishment for casualties during an attempt by Nixon to escape from prison: "This is George McGovern, and I believe that killing is wrong. But in this case, I'm willing to make an exception."
Charlie Daniels, in his 1973 country music song narrative, "Uneasy Rider", makes mention of George McGovern as an example of anti-establishment and leftist liberal groups of that era. It contained the lyric, "Would you believe this guy has gone as far as tearing Wallace stickers from the bumpers of cars and he voted for George McGovern for president."
In the Burns and Schriever comedy album "The Watergate Comedy Hour" a Nixon campaign aide is told that the blame for the Watergate break-in will be taken "by a group of Cubans that we've convinced that McGovern is a Castro-loving commie pervert".
The alternate history short story collection Alternate Presidents contains two stories "Suppose They Gave a Peace..." by Susan Shwartz and "Paper Trail" by Brian M. Thomsen, both where McGovern wins the 1972 election against Nixon.
The 1968 United States presidential election was the 46th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 5, 1968. The Republican nominee, former vice president Richard Nixon, defeated both the Democratic nominee, incumbent vice president Hubert Humphrey, and the American Independent Party nominee, former Alabama governor George Wallace. This was the last election until 1988 in which the incumbent president was not on the ballot.
The 1972 United States presidential election was the 47th quadrennial presidential election held on Tuesday, November 7, 1972. Incumbent Republican president Richard Nixon defeated Democratic U.S. senator George McGovern in a historic-level landslide.
George Stanley McGovern was an American historian and South Dakota politician who was a U.S. representative and three-term U.S. senator, and the Democratic Party presidential nominee in the 1972 presidential election.
Thomas Francis Eagleton was an American lawyer serving as a United States senator from Missouri, from 1968 to 1987. He was briefly the Democratic vice presidential nominee under George McGovern in 1972. He suffered from bouts of depression throughout his life, resulting in several hospitalizations, which were kept secret from the public. When they were revealed, it humiliated the McGovern campaign and Eagleton was forced to quit the race. He later became adjunct professor of public affairs at Washington University in St. Louis.
Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail '72 is a 1973 book that recounts and analyzes the 1972 presidential campaign in which Richard Nixon was re-elected President of the United States. Written by Hunter S. Thompson and illustrated by Ralph Steadman, the book was largely derived from articles serialized in Rolling Stone throughout 1972.
Ken Wade Clawson was an American journalist, best known as a spokesman for U.S. President Richard Nixon at the time of the Watergate scandal. He was promoted from Nixon's deputy director of communications to director in early 1974 as the scandal continued to unfold, and following Nixon's resignation in August 1974, Clawson continued in the same role for three months under President Gerald Ford.
The 1972 Democratic National Convention was the presidential nominating convention of the Democratic Party for the 1972 presidential election. It was held at Miami Beach Convention Center in Miami Beach, Florida, also the host city of the Republican National Convention that year, on July 10–13 1972. Lawrence F. O'Brien served as permanent chairman of the convention, while Yvonne Braithwaite Burke served as vice-chair, becoming the first African American and the first woman of color to hold that position. On the last day of the convention, Lawrence F. O'Brien departed and Burke was left to preside for about fourteen hours.
One Bright Shining Moment: The Forgotten Summer of George McGovern is a 2005 documentary film directed by Stephen Vittoria.
Richard Nixon's tenure as the 37th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1969, and ended when he resigned on August 9, 1974, in the face of almost certain impeachment and removal from office, the only U.S. president ever to do so. He was succeeded by Gerald Ford, whom he had appointed vice president after Spiro Agnew became embroiled in a separate corruption scandal and was forced to resign. Nixon, a prominent member of the Republican Party from California who previously served as vice president under Dwight D. Eisenhower, took office following the 1968 presidential election, in which he defeated Hubert Humphrey, the then-incumbent vice president. Although he had built his reputation as a very active Republican campaigner, Nixon downplayed partisanship in his 1972 landslide reelection.
From January 24 to June 20, 1972, voters of the Democratic Party chose its nominee for president in the 1972 United States presidential election. Senator George McGovern of South Dakota was selected as the nominee through a series of primary elections, caucuses, and state party conventions, culminating in the 1972 Democratic National Convention held from July 10 to July 13, 1972, in Miami, Florida.
The 1972 United States presidential election in Massachusetts took place on November 7, 1972, as part of the 1972 United States presidential election, which was held throughout all 50 states and D.C. Voters chose 14 representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
Electoral history of Eugene McCarthy, United States Senator (1959–1971) and Representative (1949–1959) from Minnesota. He was a member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party.
George McGovern, a Democratic Party politician from South Dakota, was first elected to the United States House of Representatives to represent South Dakota's 1st congressional district in 1956. He was re-elected in 1958, before making an unsuccessful run for the United States Senate in 1960 against Republican incumbent Karl Earl Mundt. After serving in the John F. Kennedy administration as director of the Food for Peace program, McGovern ran again for the Senate and narrowly prevailed over appointed Senator Joseph H. Bottum. In 1968, McGovern unsuccessfully sought the Democratic Party's presidential nomination at the Democratic National Convention and was re-elected to the Senate over former Governor of South Dakota Archie M. Gubbrud. In 1972, McGovern was successful in his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, but lost the election in a landslide to incumbent President Richard Nixon. McGovern was re-elected to the Senate in 1974 over Vietnam War veteran Leo K. Thorsness, but lost re-election in 1980 to then-U.S. Representative James Abdnor. McGovern made a final unsuccessful run for president in 1984 United States presidential election.
The 1968 presidential campaign of Hubert Humphrey began when Vice President of the United States Hubert Humphrey of Minnesota decided to seek the Democratic Party nomination for President of the United States following President Lyndon B. Johnson's announcement ending his own bid for the nomination. Johnson withdrew after an unexpectedly strong challenge from anti-Vietnam War presidential candidate, Senator Eugene McCarthy of Minnesota, in the early Democratic primaries. McCarthy, along with Senator Robert F. Kennedy of New York, became Humphrey's main opponents for the nomination. Their "new politics" contrasted with Humphrey's "old politics" as the increasingly unpopular Vietnam War intensified.
The George McGovern 1972 presidential campaign began when United States Senator George McGovern from South Dakota launched his second candidacy for the Presidency of the United States in an ultimately unsuccessful bid to win the 1972 presidential election against incumbent president Richard Nixon, winning only in the District of Columbia and the state of Massachusetts. McGovern vied to become the first South Dakota native to become president.
The expression "1000 percent" or "1000%" in a literal sense means one thousand in every hundred, and is used as a deliberate hyperbolism for effect. In American English it is used as a metaphor meaning very high emphasis, or enthusiastic support. It was used in the 1972 U.S. presidential election by presidential candidate George McGovern, who endorsed his running mate, Thomas Eagleton, "1000 percent" following a scandal, then soon after dropped him. Communication experts Judith Trent and Jimmy Trent agree with journalist Theodore H. White, who called it "possibly the most damaging single faux pas ever made by a presidential candidate".
The 1968 United States presidential election in New York took place on November 5, 1968. All 50 states and the District of Columbia, were part of the 1968 United States presidential election. Voters chose 43 electors to the Electoral College, which selected the president and vice president.
The 1968 United States presidential election in Massachusetts took place on November 5, 1968, as part of the 1968 United States presidential election, which was held throughout all 50 states and D.C. Voters chose 14 representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
This article lists those who were potential candidates for the Democratic nomination for Vice President of the United States in the 1972 election. Coming into the 1972 Democratic National Convention, South Dakota Senator George McGovern had the delegate lead, but did not have the presidential nomination locked up. After winning the Democratic nomination for president on July 13, McGovern looked for a running mate. McGovern's first choice for vice president was Ted Kennedy, but Kennedy refused to join the ticket; Minnesota Senator Walter Mondale, Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson, and Connecticut Senator Abraham A. Ribicoff also declined. McGovern offered the position to Missouri Senator Thomas Eagleton, who appealed to labor groups and Catholics, two groups that McGovern had alienated during the primary campaign. The ticket of McGovern and Eagleton was nominated by the 1972 Democratic National Convention. Following the convention, it was revealed that Eagleton had received treatment for depression in the 1960s. Though McGovern considered keeping Eagleton on the ticket, he ultimately chose to replace Eagleton with former ambassador Sargent Shriver. The McGovern–Shriver ticket lost the presidential election to the Nixon–Agnew ticket. After the controversy surrounding Eagleton, future campaigns spent much more time vetting vice presidential candidates.
The 1972 United States Senate election in Georgia took place on November 7, 1972, as one of that year's United States Senate elections. It was held concurrently with the 1972 presidential election. This seat had opened up following the death of Richard B. Russell in 1971. Shortly thereafter, Governor of Georgia Jimmy Carter appointed David H. Gambrell to fill Russell's vacant seat. The Democratic Party nominee was Sam Nunn, a conservative Democrat and member of the Georgia House of Representatives, and the Republican Party nominated Fletcher Thompson, the Representative from the Atlanta-area 5th congressional district of Georgia. In the primary, Nunn emerged victorious from a crowded field of Democratic candidates, including Gambrell and former Georgia Governor Ernest Vandiver. Despite President Richard Nixon defeating George McGovern in Georgia in the presidential election on the same day, Nunn defeated Thompson in the general election 54% to 46%.
