I have always had a soft spot in my heart for McGovern ever since reading Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail by Hunter S. Thompson. It is a great snapshot in time, gonzo style, of a dynamically changing Democratic party. While the book is laden with antics by Señor Thompson, the insight into McGovern and his vision of America have always left me wondering what America would be like today if he had somehow beaten Tricky Dick Nixon.
Most among my generation thought McGovern was dead, having long since stepped out of the spotlight of public life. But seems he was just waiting for that one moment, that last chance to let loose his parting shots of logic and reasoned rhetoric.
And if you think he was gun ho about Nixon, wait till you see the words he reserved for Bush Jr.
An Impartial Interrogation of George W. Bush
George McGovern at the National Press Club
http://www.thenation.com/...
Skipping right to the best part due to the four paragraph rule:
Mr. President, Sir, when reporter Bob Woodward asked you if you had consulted with your father before ordering our army into Iraq you said, "No, he's not the father you call on a decision like this. I talked to my heavenly Father above." My question, Mr. President: If God asked you to bombard, invade and occupy Iraq for four years, why did he send an opposite message to the Pope? Did you not know that your father, George Bush, Sr., his Secretary of State James Baker and his National Security Advisor General Scowcroft were all opposed to your invasion? Wouldn't you, our troops, the American people and the Iraqis all be much better off if you had listened to your more experienced elders including your earthly father? Instead of blaming God for the awful catastrophe you have unleashed in Iraq, wouldn't it have been less self-righteous if you had fallen back on the oft-quoted explanation of wrongdoing, "The devil made me do it?"
-- snip ---
And Mr. President, after the 9/11 hit against the Twin Towers in New York, which gained us the sympathy and support of the entire world, why did you then order the invasion of Iraq, which had nothing to do with 9/11? Are you aware that your actions destroyed the international reservoir of good will towards the United States? What is the cost to America of shattering the standing and influence of our country in the eyes of the world?
-- snip ---
And Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney, while neither of you has ever been in combat (Mr. Cheney asking and receiving five deferments from the Vietnam War), have you not at least read or been briefed on the terrible costs of that ill-advised and seemingly endless American war in tiny Vietnam? Do you realize that another Texas President, Lyndon Baines Johnson, declined to seek a second term in part because he had lost his credibility over the disastrous war in Vietnam? Are you aware that one of the chief architects of that war, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, resigned his office and years later published a book declaring that the war was all a tragic mistake? Do you know this recent history in which 58,000 young Americans died in the process of killing 2 million Vietnamese men, women and children? If you do not know about this terrible blunder in Vietnam, are you not ignoring the conclusion of one of our great philosophers: "Those who are ignorant of history are condemned to repeat it." And, Mr. President, in your ignorance of the lessons of Vietnam, are you not condemning our troops and our people to repeat the same tragedy in Iraq?
-- snip ---
Finally, Mr. President, I ask have you kept your oath of office to uphold the Constitution when you use what you call the war on terrorism to undermine the Bill of Rights? On what constitutional theory do you seize and imprison suspects without charge, sometimes torturing them in foreign jails? On what constitutional or legal basis have you tapped the phones of Americans without approval of the courts as required by law? Are you above the Constitution, above the law, and above the Geneva accords? If we are fighting for freedom in Iraq as you say, why are you so indifferent to protecting liberty here in America?
Seriously, go read the whole thing. Some might argue McGovern can be so forthright because he has nothing to lose. But if I hear any 2008 candidate grabbing the banner, and standing firm with this banner, I will sing their praise and pull the lever in their name.
Thanks to McGovern, we are all reminded that once, long ago, the Democratic Party had spit and fire, and a spine to back it all up.
Thanks to Bumblebums for the video link:
rtsp://video.c-span.org/project/iraq/iraq011207_mcgovern.rm