Editing Eugene McCarthy (section)

===McCarthy challenges Johnson===
In 1968, [[Allard K. Lowenstein]] and his anti-[[Vietnam War]] [[Dump Johnson movement]] recruited McCarthy to run against incumbent President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]]. Reportedly, Lowenstein first attempted to recruit Senator [[Robert F. Kennedy]], who declined to run, then Senator [[George McGovern]], who also declined (Kennedy eventually decided to run after the primary on March 16, 1968,<ref>{{cite web|title=Remembering Eugene McCarthy|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5049072|website=NPR|access-date=September 2, 2016}}</ref> and McGovern also later briefly entered the race). McCarthy entered and almost defeated Johnson in the [[New Hampshire primary|New Hampshire Democratic primary]], with the intention of influencing the [[Federal government of the United States|federal government]]—then controlled by [[United States Democratic Party|Democrats]]—to curtail its involvement in the [[Vietnam War]]. A number of antiwar college students and other activists from around the country traveled to [[New Hampshire]] to support McCarthy's campaign. Some antiwar students who had the long-haired, [[counterculture of the 1960s|counterculture]] appearance of [[hippy|hippies]] chose to cut their long hair and shave off their beards in order to campaign for McCarthy door-to-door, a phenomenon that led to the informal slogan "Get clean for Gene".<ref>Get Clean For Gene: Eugene McCarthy's 1968 Presidential Campaign - George Rising</ref>

McCarthy's decision to run arose partly as an outcome of Oregon Senator [[Wayne Morse]]'s opposition to the war. Morse was one of two senators to vote against the [[Gulf of Tonkin Resolution]] of August 1964. He gave speeches denouncing the war before it had entered most Americans' awareness. Thereafter, several politically active Oregon Democrats asked Kennedy to run as an antiwar candidate. McCarthy also encouraged Kennedy to run.<ref name=kennedymccarthy>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wMqSzTPXl7QC&q=eugene+mccarthy+robert+kennedy+whose+candidacy+mccarthy+encourage&pg=PA188 |title = Eugene McCarthy: The Rise and Fall of Postwar American Liberalism|isbn = 9780307425775|last1 = Sandbrook|first1 = Dominic|date = December 18, 2007| publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing }}</ref> After Kennedy refused, the group asked McCarthy to run, and he responded favorably. After Kennedy entered the race and Johnson withdrew, however, McCarthy shifted his focus toward Kennedy.<ref name=kennedymccarthy />

McCarthy declared his candidacy on November 30, 1967, saying, "I am concerned that the Administration seems to have set no limit to the price it is willing to pay for a military victory." Political experts and the news media dismissed his candidacy, and he was given little chance of making any impact against Johnson in the primaries.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Marlow|first1=James|title=McCarthy Is Unlikely to Alter LBJ Policy|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=lesrAAAAIBAJ&pg=3484%2C5130197|access-date=June 14, 2015|work=[[Kentucky New Era]]|agency=[[Associated Press]]|date=December 1, 1967|location=Hopkinsville, Kentucky|page=4 |quote=At this point it is not likely many people, including McCarthy, think he has a chance to get the nomination away from Johnson although, if he can generate enough heat, somebody else might. |via=Google News Archive}}</ref> But public perception of him changed following the [[Tet Offensive]] (January 30 – February 23, 1968), the aftermath of which saw many Democrats grow disillusioned with the war, and quite a few interested in an alternative to Johnson. McCarthy said, "My decision to challenge the President's position and the administration's position has been strengthened by recent announcements out of the administration. The evident intention to escalate and to intensify the war in Vietnam, and on the other hand, the absence of any positive indication or suggestion for a compromise or for a negotiated political settlement."<ref>{{cite news| url= http://www.upi.com/Audio/Year_in_Review/Events-of-1967/Elections/12303074818188-11/ |title= 1967 Year In Review| website=UPI.com}}</ref>

On December 3, 1967, McCarthy addressed the Conference of Concerned Democrats in Chicago, accusing the Johnson administration of ignoring and bungling opportunities for bringing the war to a conclusion.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=dbBeAAAAIBAJ&pg=3165,380819|title=Message of fear attributed to LBJ |work=Lewiston Morning Tribune |date=December 3, 1967 |via=Google News Archive}}</ref> Eight days later it was reported that he had suggested abandoning some areas of South Vietnam to the [[Viet Cong]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=fbBeAAAAIBAJ&pg=5864,2018412|title=McCarthy urges letting Cong have some Southern Districts |work=Lewiston Morning Tribune |date=December 11, 1967 |via=Google News Archive}}</ref> On February 17, 1968, it was reported that McCarthy's campaign had raised only a quarter of the funds it had hoped to raise nationally.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=j4wgAAAAIBAJ&pg=1112,5496046|work=The Lewiston Daily Sun |date=February 17, 1968 |title=Senate Ethics Committee Dragging Feed |last=Allen |first=Robert S. |via=Google News Archive}}</ref>

As his volunteers (led by youth coordinator [[Sam Brown (activist)|Sam Brown]]) went door to door in New Hampshire, and as the media began paying more serious attention to the senator, McCarthy began to rise in the polls. When he received 42% of the vote to Johnson's 49% in the March 12 New Hampshire primary (and 20 of New Hampshire's 24 delegates to the Democratic convention), it became clear that there was deep division among Democrats about the war. By this time, Johnson had become inextricably defined by [[Vietnam]], and this demonstration of divided support within his party meant his reelection (only four years after [[1964 United States presidential election|winning the highest percentage of the popular vote in modern history]]) seemed unlikely.{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}} The folk trio [[Peter, Paul and Mary]] released a record "Eugene McCarthy For President (If You Love Your Country)", endorsing McCarthy, who they said had stood alone against Johnson over "more timid men" now echoing him.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7pR0yTGOiA | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211118/N7pR0yTGOiA| archive-date=November 18, 2021 | url-status=live|title=1968 45-RPM Eugene McCarthy Campaign Recording: Peter, Paul, & Mary |publisher=YouTube |date=September 4, 2010 |access-date=June 15, 2017}}{{cbignore}}</ref>{{Better source needed|date=February 2025}}