Word: mcgoverns
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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Just as he said he did in the Mundt campaign, McGovern has gotten rattled. A prime example was his reaction to the announcement of a possible settlement of the war in Vietnam. In the course of one day's campaigning last week. McGovern gave reporters three different comments on whether he felt the settlement would help his chances to get elected...
...morning he told a CBS radio news reporter that he thought a settlement would "destroy" President Nixon's chances for-re-election. McGovern said that people would realize Nixon was only settling the war to gain political advantage and would thus support his candidacy. Later in the afternoon, McGovern said in another interview that he felt a "settlement of the war might give Nixon some political advantage." Finally, in the evening, McGovern changed his position again and said he "didn't give a damn who a settlement in the war helped, as long as the war was ended...
...McGovern's failure to take a single position has hurt his candidacy greatly. It was not until a day after reports of the settlement that McGovern did what a smart politician would have done as soon as he heard of the news: take credit for the action. McGovern should have immediately said that any settlement was due to his efforts and the antiwar movement...
...When McGovern finally came around to this position, it was not given the attention in the press that it would have had McGovern originally articulated that line...
...McGovern's staffers recognize that a settlement of the war in Vietnam and their candidate's weak response will probably close out their chance to win the election. By the end of last week, almost all of the people connected with the campaign had lost much of their energy and appeared to be getting ready to suffer a smashing defeat...