Former Minnesota Sen. Eugene J. McCarthy, 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. He was 89.
McCarthy died in his sleep at assisted living home in the Georgetown neighborhood where he had lived for the past few years, said his son, Michael.
Eugene McCarthy challenged President Lyndon B. Johnson for the 1968 Democratic nomination during growing debate over the Vietnam War. The challenge led to Johnson’s withdrawal from the race.
The former college professor, who ran for president five times in all, 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.
IT’S SAD TO REALIZE THAT THE QUALITY OF OUR POLITICIANS HAS FALLEN FROM THE LEVEL OF GENE MCCARTHY TO THE CURRENT GROUP OF CROOKS AND SWINDLERS. I’M NOT SURE TOM DELAY COULD CARRY ON A CONVERSATION WITH SENATOR MCCARTHY, EXCEPT IN THE CONTEXT OF DELAY SPRAYING FOR BUGS AROUND MCCARTHY’S HOME. IT SEEMS LIKE OUR POLITICS HAS BEEN REDUCED TO THE LOWEST COMMON, MEAN-SPIRITED DENOMINATOR.