[Tallguy]

We agree on the main point: that Nixon's activities could not be construed as 'picking' the eventual Democrat nominee. I appreciate the vote tallies from the '72 Democratic Convention, but I would make a couple of observations.

1. Muskie was already out of it. Any votes that he received were purely out of loyalty. His candidacy was dead.

2. Henry "Scoop" Jackson, IIRC, was actually strengthened as the campaign dragged on. He was a lot of peoples' "second-choice", but he was never a threat to actually gain the nomination. His politics were not a good match for his party's leftward shift.

3. Wallace was largely a regional candidate, although he did have enough strength among old-line democrats in my state (Pennsylvania), to throw a monkey wrench into the works for the Democrats.

4. Terry Sanford. Whoah, don't remember him being a factor. Seems like another favorite son type vote tally.

5. Hubert Humphrey. Probably never had a chance, in retrospect. He started the trend -- which I think continues to this day in the Democrat Party -- whereby you only get 1 shot at it. Take note Al Gore & John Kerry. You've both been tagged as 'losers'.

[kabar]

My point was that there was no real consensus Dem candidate except McGovern. Muskie self-destructed. McGovern represented the mainstream thought of the Dem party at the time. He was not a creation of the GOP nor was CREEP surreptitiously pushing his candidacy.

[MeekOneGOP]

Pingin' my General Interest and Texas lists here. :)

This sounds like the article Rush read from on his show today.

Deep Throat and Genocide

Excerpt:

Re: The "news" that former FBI agent Mark Felt broke the law, broke his code of ethics, broke his oath and was the main source for Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward's articles that helped depose Richard Nixon, a few thoughts.

Can anyone even remember now what Nixon did that was so terrible? He ended the war in Vietnam, brought home the POW's, ended the war in the Mideast, opened relations with China, started the first nuclear weapons reduction treaty, saved Eretz Israel's life, started the Environmental Protection Administration. Does anyone remember what he did that was bad?

Oh, now I remember. He lied. He was a politician who lied. How remarkable. He lied to protect his subordinates who were covering up a ridiculous burglary that no one to this date has any clue about its purpose. He lied so he could stay in office and keep his agenda of peace going. That was his crime. He was a peacemaker and he wanted to make a world where there was a generation of peace. And he succeeded.

That is his legacy. He was a peacemaker. He was a lying, conniving, covering up peacemaker. He was not a lying, conniving drug addict like JFK, a lying, conniving war starter like LBJ, a lying conniving seducer like Clinton -- a lying conniving peacemaker. That is Nixon's kharma.

Please let me know if you want ON or OFF my General Interest ping list!. . .don't be shy.