New Yorker Editor: Shriver 'Was a Magnificent Candidate'
"Postscript: Sargent Shriver" appears on The New Yorker's Web site today. In it, senior editor Hendrik Hertzberg writes:
In 1972, when George McGovern’s original running mate, Senator Thomas Eagleton, had to withdraw, Shriver defied the family pecking order by taking Eagleton’s place on the ticket. The Democrats had their problems that year, but Shriver wasn’t one of them. He was a magnificent candidate.
It's doubtful that the late Speaker of the House, Tip O'Neill (D-MA), who knew a thing or two about campaigning, would have agreed.
Scott Stossel, deputy editor of The Atlantic, wrote the 2004 "Sarge: The Life and Times of Sargent Shriver." Included in the book was this anecdote, as recorded in the April 9, 2004 Atlantic Unbound:
(A) campaign-trail legend from 1972 places Sargent Shriver, the dashing Democratic candidate for the vice presidency and the former director of the Peace Corps and the War on Poverty, in Youngstown, Ohio, chatting up voters in a working-class tavern. Shriver is his usual genial self, and seems to be connecting with the assembled steelworkers, who will form part of a vital voting bloc in the general election. As the merrymakers call for another round, people shout out the names of their favorite beers. Not to be outdone, Shriver eagerly joins the chorus: "Make mine a Courvoisier!" For Congressman Tip O'Neill, who had been traveling with Shriver, this faux pas was the last straw. "That's it," said O'Neill, stepping away from the bar. "I'm getting back on the plane and going back to Boston. There's no hope here."
O'Neill, of course, was right. There was no hope. McGovern and Shriver won only Massachusetts.
Mr. Shriver may well have had many admirable qualities. Being a magnificent campaigner wouldn't seem to have been one of them.
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Comments
If this keeps up, we're headed for a major lipstick shortage
Submitted by Dave. on Thu, 01/20/2011 - 11:03pm.
Good thing Hertzberg isn't a sports writer here in Atlanta, else he would be telling me what a magnificent team the Falcons were five minutes after they were plucked naked in embarrassing fashion by the Packers.
LOL - And no, I haven't quite gotten over that one yet, as there ain't enough lipstick on earth to cover that pig up.
-Dave
Vote for the American in November
And there is the liberal take in a nutshell---
Submitted by matthewdean on Thu, 01/20/2011 - 11:39pm.
Sargent Shriver was a magnificent candidate; for liberals in the extreme northeast.
Accent on 'extreme'.
MD
That's pronounced
Submitted by HockeyKid on Fri, 01/21/2011 - 8:27am.
Haaaavad Yaaaaad.
"Beauty is only skin deep, but liberal's to the bone." - me
Actually, the results of the
Submitted by talkradio55 on Sat, 01/22/2011 - 7:03pm.
Actually, the results of the election that year actually prove that Sargeant Shriver was not even a good enough candidate for the Northeastern limousine liberals (or champagne socialists if you prefer).
I never understood how
Submitted by Chris Norman on Fri, 01/21/2011 - 12:26am.
I never understood how elitist liberals "connected" with the working class. They were/are about as far apart in every which way as you could get - because the elitist liberals look down on everyone except their fellow elitist liberals. I know that the Democrats had "bought off" the union voters by deliverng just about everything the unions wanted, but I just never understood why non-union voters couldn't sense the disdain and contempt in which they were held by the elitist liberals.
In the days
Submitted by HockeyKid on Fri, 01/21/2011 - 8:33am.
before the Internet, libs could talk the talk without being seen walkin' the walk. Whatever they said on radio and TV was taken at face value for the most part. Ask any magician or con artist--the gag is foolproof if the mark can't see the action.
"Beauty is only skin deep, but liberal's to the bone." - me