Posted on 01/14/2006 11:07:41 PM PST by NormsRevenge
WASHINGTON - Former President Clinton eulogized the late Minnesota Sen. Eugene J. McCarthy on Saturday for helping to shift momentum against the Vietnam War with his 1968 presidential campaign.
"It all started when Gene McCarthy was willing to stand alone and turn the tide of history," Clinton said at a memorial service at the Washington National Cathedral.
McCarthy, who died last month at 89, mounted an anti-war challenge to President Johnson for the 1968 Democratic nomination, leading to Johnson's withdrawal from the race after the New Hampshire presidential primary.
About 800 people, some wearing McCarthy campaign buttons, attended the memorial. A bagpipe procession started the service, and Peter Yarrow of the folk group Peter, Paul and Mary sang "This Land Is Your Land" and other songs.
The audience was filled with friends, family members and lawmakers, including Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (news, bio, voting record), D-Mass. Kennedy's brother, the late New York Sen. Robert Kennedy, rankled McCarthy by jumping in the '68 race after McCarthy's strong showing in New Hampshire. Vice President Hubert Humphrey won the nomination that year and then lost to Republican Richard Nixon.
Clinton recalled meeting McCarthy as a young man in the early 1970s. The future president was having trouble locating a pair of large shoes to wear to a black-tie Washington dinner, and a friend said he knew someone with even bigger shoes.
A couple of days later, Clinton said, McCarthy came by with a pair of shoes to lend.
"That night, I stood in Gene McCarthy's shoes," Clinton said to laughter. At the dinner, he decided to pass up a receiving line for President Nixon.
"It just didn't seem the right thing to do wearing McCarthy's shoes," Clinton said to more laughter and applause.
Decades later, Clinton found himself at a 1992 Democratic presidential debate with McCarthy. Even though McCarthy was not a serious candidate, Clinton said, "It was seriously uncomfortable to be on the wrong end of his wit."
Clinton was willing to overlook a far more serious challenge by speaking at the memorial service. In 1998, at the height of Clinton's impeachment scandal, McCarthy called for the president to resign or be impeached.
"He's been running a pretty messy presidency in terms of constitutionality and tradition," McCarthy said.
It was that contrarian streak that won McCarthy both admirers and detractors.
Rep. Jim Oberstar, D-Minn., said that McCarthy's critique of the Vietnam War has echoes in the debate today over Iraq.
"Gene McCarthy showed us the moral force of politics without preaching," Oberstar said.
Two of McCarthy's children, Michael McCarthy and Ellen McCarthy, also gave tributes at the service, as did journalist Mary Alice Williams, a family friend.
Former President Clinton delivers a tribute to late Minnesota Sen. Eugene J. McCarthy from the lectern at the National Cathedral on Saturday, Jan. 14, 2006, in Washington. McCarthy, who died last month at 89, mounted an anti-war challenge to President Johnson for the 1968 Democratic nomination, leading to Johnson's withdrawal from the race. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)
Former President Clinton, right, is greeted by Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., before a memorial service for the late Minnesota Sen. Eugene J. McCarthy at the National Cathedral on Saturday, Jan. 14, 2006, in Washington. McCarthy, who died last month at 89, mounted an anti-war challenge to President Johnson for the 1968 Democratic nomination, leading to Johnson's withdrawal from the race. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)
Former President Clinton, left, attends a memorial service for the Minnesota Sen. Eugene J. McCarthy with Rep. Jim Oberstar, D-Minn., center and Mary Alice Williams at the National Cathedral on Saturday, Jan. 14, 2006, in Washington. McCarthy, who died last month at 89, mounted an anti-war challenge to President Johnson for the 1968 Democratic nomination, leading to Johnson's withdrawal from the race. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)
Clinton: what an evil, amoral, classless puke and sorry excuse for a human being (don't ask me what I really think about him :-)
Which I guess is why he is still a hero to Dems/libs.
""That night, I stood in Gene McCarthy's shoes," Clinton said to laughter. At the dinner, he decided to pass up a receiving line for President Nixon.
"It just didn't seem the right thing to do wearing McCarthy's shoes," Clinton said to more laughter and applause."
Uh,...excuse me if I don't believe this "charming" little story.
On the other hand, I don't believe anything that Bubba says.
"He's been running a pretty messy presidency in terms of constitutionality and tradition," McCarthy said.
Pretty sharp customer, that McCarthy.
What was the other recent funeral where Clinton told a similarly unlikely story? Can't recall it at the moment.
Oh! It just occurred to me -- moving to the back of the school bus in "solidarity" with Rosa Parks.
Yeah right, like that really happened.
Bubba is so full of it and himself.
Any time he speaks
This does not surprise me because they were both democrats. I am sure that Bush 1 and 2 will speak at Ford's farewell. If that should happen before theirs. I don't understand what the fuss is.
As usual, clinton talked about himself.
Clinton thinks he's Forest Gump. But he always comes off looking like Bore Us Chump.
"Former Reneging ROTC Paid College Tuition Draft Dodging President Clinton Eulogizes Pro-Communist Domino Effect In Southeast Asia Anti-War Sen. Eugene McCarthy" is what the AP headline should have been.
Come on, Billy Boy, what you are really trying to imply is that as 'young man' you were already big enough to fill the shoes of Gene McCarthy.
...and, by the way, who was that friend who convinced McCarthy to give up a pair of his shoes, America wants to know.
Here's something else you should know, Bubba, that old story of the size of a man's feet do not dicktate the size of another part of the male anatomy, just so you know.
Ever notice how they NEVER talk about the 2 1/2 million dead Asians at the hands of Pol Pot and others following the US pullout?
Never, never, never.
Didn't the United States support Pol Pot when Vietnam invaded Cambodia to remove him?
Even in a eulogy, it's all about him.
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