alternatehistory.com

AND now, the big one: California. As the Democratic presidential contenders near the end of their punishing primary ordeal, the stakes in next week's voting for California's 271 delegates are huge. The winner in the head-to-head showdown between Hubert Humphrey and George McGovern will be a heavy favorite to grab the nomination in Miami Beach. As the duel between the two longtime friends from neighboring Midwestern states turns personal, the man with all the momentum is McGovern.

Time Magazine June 5th 1972.


We were certainly nervous about California. The polls indicated that we were ahead. Humphrey was a very tired sort of candidate. He didn’t really have a broad base of support in California other than the fact that he happened not to be George McGovern. It’s hard to run a race just by saying “I’m not the other guy.” Sure he had hammered George as best he could, but it didn’t really seem to dent our poll numbers. I wouldn’t say we were certain of victory in any sense-truth be told we were rather nervous as I remember.

But my point was that we had every reason to be optimistic. After all this work we knew if he won here, McGovern would go on to win the nomination. I remember when the initial results began rolling in I whistled Hail to the Chief to George, who wasn’t all that amused by it. All these years later I think I understand why. It was just too tense a night. Having seen the other side of it myself, I like to think I understood exactly what he was thinking back then.

Gary Hart 2008

There wasn’t really all that big a difference between Humphrey and Nixon as far as I was concerned. Humphrey, whatever he said then, was without question the prowar candidate. I was hoping that Californians understood that. I’m far from a conservative, but the whole situation reminded me of the “A Choice not a Echo” campaign about a decade earlier. I felt that there wouldn’t be much choice in a Humphrey Nixon rematch. What would be the point of running Nixon light? Hubert wasn’t a bad man by any stretch of the imagination.

And he was a more honest man than Dick Nixon ever was. But he was someone who belonged to an earlier time. He just didn’t know when he had to pass the torch. Privately I felt I’d probably win in California. It was a matter of organization more than anything else. Hubert was running a weak campaign, and I hope I’m not offending anyone when I say that. Because I’m sure he had plenty of people really sweating for him. I hate to admit it, but I really didn’t see the result coming.

George McGovern 2008

Hubert Humphrey Narrowly defeats George McGovern In An Upset.

The Former Vice President defeated Senator McGovern 51%-49% yesterday. McGovern had been heavily favored to win over Vice President Humphrey. While a victory would have all but guaranteed a McGovern nomination, the Democrats will enter their convention in Miami without a clear nominee.
LA Times

And so the oh too swell people of California decided that they’d rather vote for that rotten used Car Salesman than somebody with an actual ounce of honesty in his body. But what could you expect from the state that brought us Hollywood? California has always loved its frauds and phonies. It figures that they'd vote for someone as obviously manufactured as Hubert Hornblower Humphrey. There are a lot of morons in this country....

Hunter S. Thompson in Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail
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