Eugene McCarthy
Overview
 
Eugene Joseph "Gene" McCarthy (March 29, 1916 December 10, 2005) was an American politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

, poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...

, and a long-time member of the United States Congress from Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...

. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 from 1949 to 1959 and the U.S. Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

 from 1959 to 1971.

In the 1968 presidential election, McCarthy was the first candidate to challenge incumbent Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...

 for the Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 nomination for president of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

, running on an anti-Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...

 platform.
Quotations

Have you ever tried to split sawdust?

Response to accusations that he had split the US Democratic Party by campaigning for president. NBC TV (23 October 1969)

The two-party system has given this country the war of Lyndon Johnson, the Watergate of Nixon, and the incompetence of Carter. Saying we should keep the two-party system simply because it is working is like saying the Titanic voyage was a success because a few people survived on life-rafts.

Chicago Tribune (10 September 1978)

The only thing that saves us from the bureaucracy is inefficiency. An efficient bureaucracy is the greatest threat to liberty.

Time magazine (12 February 1979)

We do not need presidents who are bigger than the country, but rather ones who speak for it and support it.

The New York Times (11 December 2005)

The maple tree that nightWithout a wind or rainLet go its leavesBecause its time had come.

"The Maple Tree"

Now it is certain.There is no magic stone.No secret to be found.One must goWith the mind's winnowed learning.

"Courage After Sixty"

The glove has been thrown to the ground,The last choice of weapons made.A book for one thought.A poem for one line.A line for one word.

"Courage After Sixty"

"Broken things are powerful."Things about to break are stronger still.The last shot from the brittle bow is truest.

"Courage After Sixty"

 
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