Eugene McCarthy 2005 Deaths

Eugene McCarthy

former dovish Senator who shook up politics in 1968 with his opposition to the Vietnam War. In his run for the Democratic presidential nomination, McCarthy challenged President Johnson's Vietnam policy and called the war a “costly exercise in futility.” Many liberals rallied behind McCarthy's antiwar platform and thousands of his long-haired supporters went “Clean for Gene” and campaigned for him across the country. After McCarthy's strong showing in the New Hampshire primary, Bobby Kennedy joined the race and Johnson announced he would not seek reelection. Hubert H. Humphrey was nominated at the tumultuous convention in Chicago. McCarthy retired from the Senate and ran unsuccessful for president in 1976, 1988 and 1992.