Statesmen and Mischief Makers:: Officeholders Who Were Footnotes in the Developments of History from Kennedy to Reagan

By Scott Crass

History has produced many individuals who have impacted the times. Some are well known, others barely recognized. My book follows two paths. One examines officeholders who served between 1960 and 1988, famous or obscure, whose actions gave way to an even more famous person's career. Others are Governors credited with shaping the modern developments of their home states.

A number of my subjects are as scrupulous as can be. Others got sidelined by scandals one can't even make up. As for the rest. Well, let's just say they have a great story that few know, but deserve to be told.

My book shares more than 150 stories of politicians, elections, and the environment of the period. Each of my 150 subjects is accompanied by a tidbit/anomaly that will enlighten all. Many are unsung outside their home states. Hopefully, my book will change that.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Sep 26, 2015
• ISBN: 9781514403846

Scott Crass

The author’s first word could easily have been “politics.” Scott Crass’s passion for politics may have been fueled by his first book on U.S. presidents, given to him by his mother, Madeline, at the ripe young age of 5. He quickly wore out the pages, prompting his mother to buy a replacement. Scott has been a devoted student of Presidential and Congressional politics ever since. Scott obtained his B.A. in Political Science and Communications from Monmouth University in Long Branch, N.J., and achieved his M.A. in Counseling at the same institution. A New Jersey native, Scott has always been drawn to his beloved Jersey Shore, where he enjoys spending much of his free time. Besides politics and the Shore, Scott is a fan of music of all kinds, including oldies, swing, Strauss waltzes and the sounds of another Jersey treasure, Frank Sinatra. He lives in South Brunswick, N.J and thrives by a personal motto, “Failure is only our enemy if it does not serve as our guide.”

Book preview

This book is dedicated to my grandfather, Charles J. Mandel, my hero and the greatest man I ever knew.

STATESMEN

and MISCHIEF MAKERS:

VOLUME 1

Officeholders Who Were Footnotes In The

Developments Of History From Kennedy To Reagan

SCOTT CRASS

Copyright © 2015 by Scott Crass.

ISBN:                  Softcover                        978-1-5144-0385-3

                             eBook                             978-1-5144-0384-6

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Any people depicted in stock Imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Rev. date: 08/23/2018

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CONTENTS

Prologue

Part I Setting The Tone: Heroes, Footnotes, and Statesmen

Who Epitomized Public Service At It’s Best

Chapter 1     White House Eluded Him But Humphrey Beloved By

Political Friend and Foe Alike

Chapter 2     Beneath Udall’s Wit And Determination Was A

Decency Recognized Across Partisan Divide

Chapter 3     When Class Trumps All:

The Character of Tip O’Neill

Chapter 4     Men of the House:

O’Neill’s Roommate, JFK’s Roommate, and Speaker

McCormack

Chapter 5     JFK’s Roomate Became A Very Influential

Congressman In From – You Guessed It, Massachusetts

Chapter 6     A Tennessean Named Estes:

Courage Above All

Chapter 7     Mike Mansfield: the 2⁰th-Century’s Winningest

Senator and a Calm and Wondrous Man

Chapter 8     Maggie and Scoop Partnership Meant The Best For

Washington State

Chapter 9     When the Interior West Was Won By Democrats:

Church, Moss, and McGee

Chapter 10   Ribicoff: Most Distinguished Nutmegger and Heir To

Many Footnotes in History

Chapter 11   Was Phil Burton Capitol Hills Genius Or Madman?

Probably Both

Chapter 12   When Conscience Trumps Party: John Sherman-Cooper

Chapter 13   Montana’s Metcalf Sponsored Medicare Bill; Right In

Foxhole With Colleague Mansfield; Maneuvers Ended

Civil Rights Filibuster

Part II   A Few Wise Men – And Women: Profiles

Of Tremendous National Influence

Chapter 14   Ed Muskie:

The Best Man Who Never Became Vice-President

Chapter 15   Papa-Bear

Conservative Goldwater Scorned Party’s Social Stances

Chapter 16   McGovern’s Presidential Bids Went Nowhere But His

Devotion Among Liberals and Students A Legend Of

Our Time

Chapter 17   Sex, Lies, Videotape and A Few Bad Men:

Abscam Rocks Congress

Chapter 18   Despite Undoing, Wilbur Mills Possessed the Ways

and the Means To Make Indelible Improvements For

Generations

Chapter 19   Hats Off To Bella:

A Woman of Needed Chutzpah

Chapter 20   To Distaste of Many, Capitol Hill Building Bears

Name of Arch-Segregationist Senator

Chapter 21   Beyond Russell, the Capitol Hill Buildings Are

Named For Revered Men

Chapter 22   Russell Senate Building

Should Be Renamed For Clair Engle

Chapter 23   History Can’t Ignore Ervin

and Fulbright’s Civil Rights Record

Chapter 24   Wondrous Missouri Senator Symington, For One,

Brief Shining Moment, Was JFK’s Choice For VP

Chapter 25   Albert’s Speakership Disappointed Hardcores,

But The Man Was A Legend

Chapter 26   Great Scott!

For Legendary Pennsylvania Pol, Not At Winning Votes

Chapter 27   Smathers Proximity To Presidents Gave A Front Row

To History

Chapter 28   Ralph Yarborough:

Far More Than A Historical Footnote

Chapter 29   Culver, Ted Kennedy’s Harvard Pal Was Iowa Senator

Who Maintained Proud Liberalism Through Political Death

Chapter 30   Tydings Instrumental in JFK’s Advancement In

Maryland In 1960 And Had Many Indelible

Accomplishments For America

Chapter 31   Tunney Son of Wrestler, Roomie of Teddy’s,

and Impetus for Movie The Candidate

Chapter 32   Salinger vs. Murphy:

The Press Secretary and the Movie Star

Chapter 33   Kenneth Keating:

The Man RFK Ousted For NY Senate Seat

Chapter 34   Lonesome Doves:

Morse and Gruening Lone Senate Tonkin Gulf Opponents

Chapter 35   Gaylord Nelson:

Senator, Idealist, And Legend of Earth Day

Chapter 36   Golden Fleece’s Dominated Career of a Golden

Senator:

Proxmire of Wisconsin

Part III   Capitol Hill Figures With Legendary Reputations

Chapter 37   After Thurmond, Green and Hayden

Oldest Serving Senators

Chapter 38   Javits and Case, Senate’s Last Rockefeller Republicans,

Unseated In GOP Primaries

Chapter 39   Kuchel’s Loss Overshadowed By RFK’s Assassination

Chapter 40   Margaret Chase-Smith

First Female Placed In Nomination For President

Chapter 41   Two Senate Seats, Two Occupants In 70 Plus Years

Chapter 42   Lev Satonstall, JFK’s Massachusetts Senate Colleague:

A Legend In Own Right

Chapter 43   Schoeppel and Carlson Gateway From Landon’s

Kansas GOP To Dole’s

Chapter 44   Senator Douglas of Illinois: No, Not That Senator Douglas

Chapter 45   Emanuel Celler’s 50-Year House Tenure Ended With

Loss To Holtzman

Chapter 46   The End of Wayne Hays: Not A Paperback Novel

Chapter 47   Gore, Sr.’s Election-Year Connundrum On Civil

Rights Act Belied Real Record On Issue

Chapter 48   Brooke First African-American Senator

Since Reconstruction

Chapter 49   Adam Clayton Powell A Member Like No Other

Chapter 50   Ford Unseated Halleck As Republican Leader In 1965

Chapter 51   Five Congressman Were Shot By Puerto Rican

Nationalists on House Floor In 1954

Chapter 52   House Members Forced To Go Along To Get Along

With Autocratic Southern Committee Chairs That

Dominated The House

Chapter 53   Surprise ’62 Upsets Marked End of Capehart and

Wiley: Produced Bayh Wonder and Glorious Gaylord

Chapter 54   Nebraska’s Senate Duo Hruska and Curtis Spelled

Mediocre and Lackluster

Chapter 55   Senators Fannin and Montoya: Mediocre, Hacks, Or

Both – With A Tint of A UFO

Chapter 56   Cokie Roberts’ Father Hale Boggs Was A Giant In

The House

Chapter 57   Alaska’s Begich, Other House Member To Have

Perished With Boggs, Made Tremendous Impact In

Short Tenure

Chapter 58   Iconic Host John McLaughlin

Once Sought U.S. Senate But Longtime Incumbent

John Pastore Was True Gift From Heaven

Chapter 59   Montana’s Murray An Early Crusader For Universal

Health Care And Other Post New Deal Causes

Chapter 60   McNamara Roots Were Geared Toward The Working

Class As Were His Ideals: Legacy Was Fairness In

Service Contracts

Chapter 61   Lausche and Young,

Ohio’s Two Senators In the 1960s Both Dems: End

Of Similarities

Chapter 62   Delaware’s Williams Vote Put Civil Rights Act Over Top

Chapter 63   Despite Lacking Name Recognition, Vermont’s Prouty

Had Solid Contributions In Senate

Chapter 64   Bartlett Played Most Pivotal Role Of Any Alaskan In

Securing Statehood

Chapter 65   Hiram Fong

First Asian-American Senator, A Republican From Hawaii

Chapter 66   Nina Totenberg’s Late Husband Haskell Beat George

Will’s Employer Allott For Colorado Senate Seat

Chapter 67   Hathaway of Maine Had Compelling War Story –

And Paved Way For Women To Enter Military Academies

Chapter 68   Michigan’s Griffin Led Fight To Block Fortas Confirmation

Chapter 69   Republican Mathias’ Liberalism Caused Him

Problems With Own Party But ffection Second To None

Chapter 70   Lincoln Expert Schwengel Founded the Capitol Hill Society

Chapter 71   Stewart Udall: The Quieter Brother of the Two—

But No Less Influential

Chapter 72   The Morton Brothers –Thruston and Rogers Enjoyed

Capitol Hill Respect: Realistic And Able Pols With

Close Proximity To Nixon and Ford

Chapter 73   Laird, A Capitol Hill Giant, Was Nixon’s Secretary of

Defense And Close Ford Confidante Whose Advice

About Pardon Proved Critical

Chapter 74   Berkley of Iowa Among the Most Honorable Iowans

To Serve In House

Chapter 75   Deadlock: Durkin, Wyman and Closest Senate Race

in Nation

Chapter 76   1980 Saw Unlimited Big-Name Democrats Fall

Part IV   The Kennedy/Johnson Connection

Chapter 77   Vibrant Wyoming Democrats Put Kennedy Over Top In ’60

Chapter 78   Smith Appointed To JFK’s Senate Seat In 1961

Chapter 79   Homer Thornberry A Johnson Confidante Since Boyhood

Chapter 80   Albert Thomas Rode From Parkland To Lovefield

With LBJ Before Oath Administered

Chapter 81   John Tower:

From Succeeding LBJ In Senate to Bush Defense

Secretary Nominee

Chapter 82   Allard Lowenstein A Microcosm of 1968 And Beyond

Chapter 83   Goodell, RFK’s GOP Senate Successor, Carried His

Torch On Vietnam

Part V   Key Watergate Figures

Chapter 84   Saxbe, Nixon’s Attorney General, As

Independent As A Hog on Ice

Chapter 85   Ex-Iowa Congressman Greigg’s Signature On

Watergate Break-in Complaint Gave History

Changing Event Legs

Chapter 86   MacGregor Headed Committee To Re-Elect The

President But It’s Not What You Think

Chapter 87   Peter Rodino Set

A Model For Congressional Investigations

Chapter 88   Barbara Jordan:

Small In Height, But A Tall, Eloquent Trailblazer

Chapter 89   Baker’s What Did The President Know Defined

Place In History, But He Had Many Slots Regardless

Chapter 90   Bill Hungate Perhaps Most Underrated Judiciary

Member During Watergate

Chapter 91   Tom Railsback First Republican To Back Nixon

Impeachment

Chapter 92   Bob McClory Authored Article III of Impeachment

Chapter 93   The Gentleman From Roanoke: Butler Asked Fragile

Coalition For Consensus On Impeachment

Chapter 94   Flowers’ Watergate Service Completed Trip From

Wallace Confidante To Statesman

Chapter 95   Mann, A South Carolinian To The Core, An Integral

Part of the Fragile Coalition

Chapter 96   Conable Came Up With Phrase Smoking Gun, and

Put The K In 401K

Chapter 97   Maryland’s Hogan First Judiciary Republican To Back

Impeachment

Chapter 98   Chelsea Clinton’s Father-in-Law An Ex Iowa

Congressman Who Went To Jail

Chapter 99   Danielson Served On The House Judiciary

Committee With Distinction

Chapter 100   Wolverine Brown Quashed Watergate Investigation

Before ’72 Election

Chapter 101   Watergate Catastrophic For House Rs In ’74

Part VI   Candidates Who Sought Their Party’s

Nomination and Runningmates

Chapter 102   Deep Down, Sparkman and Hill Not Anti Civil

Rights, Just Political Cowards

Chapter 103   Bob Kerr:

The Single Most important Oklahoman Since Statehood

Chapter 104   Compared To Other Runningmates, William E.

Miller Obscure After Loss – And Liked It That Way

Chapter 105   White House Proved Elusive To Rockefeller But

Impact On New York As Rich As Rockefeller

Chapter 106   Romney’s Dad Was Among the 1960s’ Most

Innovative and Progressive Political Figures

Chapter 107   Until Recently, Bill Scranton Was Oldest

Living Presidential Candidate

Chapter 108   The Minnesota Twins: Once-Serious Contenders

Stassen and McCarthy Notorious For Never-Ending

Presidential Bids

Chapter 109   The Last Liberal in Oklahoma:

Senator Fred Harris

Chapter 110  For Iowa Senator Hughes, A Field of Dreams Story

Chapter 111   Chisholm First Black Woman In Congress And To Be

Placed In Nomination For President

Chapter 112   Vance Hartke:

Unknown and With Questionable Donation, Run for

President

Chapter 113   Lindsay, Yorty Very Different Mayors Who Sought

’72 Democratic Presidential Nomination

Chapter 114   Nixon Faced Two Republican Congressman For Re-

Nomination In ’72

Chapter 115   An Unusual Democratic Split Gave Maryland – And

The Nation Spiro Agnew In 1966

Chapter 116   Milton Shapp for President in ’76:

What the Hell?

Chapter 117   Eagleton Changed Attitudes Of Mental Health, and

Helped Return Rams To St. Louis

Chapter 118   Reagan Picked Schweiker As VP In Last Ditch

Attempt To Head Off Ford in ’76

Chapter 119   Jackie Kennedy Backed John Anderson For President In ’80

Chapter 120   Wisconsin’s Lucey Capped Off Colorful Career As

Anderson’s Runningmate

Chapter 121   Mondale’s Twelve Years In The Senate As

Accomplished As Many Of The Body’s Longest

Serving Members

Bonus            A Few Good Men:

Coincidences and Anomalies of the (Obscure) Men

Who Shaped 1³th Amendment

Books On/By My Subjects

Acknowledgements

Sources

Cover:

Top Row: Senator Frank Church (D-Idaho); Senator Gale McGee (D-Wyoming); Senators Henry Scoop Jackson and Warren Magnuson (D-Washington); Congressman Wilbur Mills (D-Arkansas); Senator Margaret Chase Smith (R-Maine); Senator Stuart Symington (D-Missouri); Senator Gaylord Nelson (D-Wisconsin); Senator Frank Moss (D-Utah)

Second Row: Senator Lee Metcalf (D-Montana); Congressman Eddie Boland (D-Massachusetts); Governor George Romney (R-Michigan); Congressman Adam Clayton Powell (D-New York); Senator Ed Muskie (D-Maine); Congressman Morris K. Udall (D-Arizona); Congresswoman Bella Abzug (D-New York)

Third Row: Vice-President/Senator Hubert Humphrey (D-Minnesota); Speaker Thomas P. Tip O’Neill (D-Massachusetts)

Fourth Row: Speaker Sam Rayburn (D-Texas); Senator Everett Dirksen (R-Illinois); Senator Fred Harris (D-Oklahoma); Senator Mike Mansfield (D-Montana); Senator Barry Goldwater (R-Arizona); Senator George Aiken (R-Vermont); Senator Jacob Javits (R-New York); Congresswoman Barbara Jordan (D-Texas)

Bottom Row: Senator John Sherman Cooper (R-Kentucky); Senator Harold Hughes (D-Iowa); Senator Abe Ribicoff (D-Connecticut); Senator/Attorney General William Saxbe (R-Ohio); Senator Estes Kefauver (D-Tennessee); Senator Hugh Scott (R-Pennsylvania); Governor William Bill Scranton (R-Pennsylvania)

PROLOGUE

A lben Barkley once said, A good story is like fine Kentucky bourbon. It improves with age and, if you don ’t use it too much, it will never hurt anyone.

I love a good story. But I also love the people who create them - in this case, politicians. That’s where history comes in. History is his story - happenings that are out of the ordinary that pique the imagination. Sometimes, though, good stories are reality, and while it defies credulity to think that some of these tales are real life, stories and real life do go hand in hand.

America’s 225-year history has produced some colorful characters. Some of these individuals do not require books or explanations about who they are. Their names speak for themselves and elicit many emotions, including feelings of pride. In this book, however, I am not necessarily talking about individuals whose names will forever be recognized at their mere mention. This publication is not about the Kennedys, the Johnsons, or the Reagans, but rather, the individuals who were part of them. Or who helped shape them, their policies and politics.

For instance, did you know that it was Abe Ribicoff, the durable Connecticut Governor and future Senator, who suggested to JFK that he make Bobby his Attorney General? Could you have guessed that the Harvard roommates of both JFK and Ted Kennedy would serve with them in Congress? What about the man Bobby Kennedy unseated to win a New York Senate seat, even though Bobby had no prior roots in the state? That man has a story also. So do the no less than seven officeholders to whom the Kennedy brothers dangled the Vice-Presidency - before Lyndon Johnson’s name even entered the mix. Furthermore, who could imagine that those tales—inside baseball to all but the most extreme of political junkies—could offer powerful revelations about how history might have been different? One example: Missouri Senator Stu Symington was one of those who was highly sought out by Kennedy confidantes, but he hardly reciprocated. He wasn’t interested. Yet, as Symington’s son told this author, his dad would later feel guilty for not making his case - for, if he had, Kennedy would never have gone to Dallas. Powerful!

This three-volume book reveals much, much more. Did you know that the interior West, where Democratic officeholders are all but extinct at the federal level, was once vibrant with elected officials within the party. Bet it didn’t occur to you that there are many states that had a few venerable politicians who fought fiercely for their land and made their states what they are today, such as Washington’s dynamic Senate duo, Maggie and Scoop. And you think the scandals of Anthony Weiner and Mark Sanford are sensationalistic and extraordinary? That’s nothing compared to pols such as Phil Burton and Wayne Hays.

That brings me to another category. Mention to Americans the names Barry Goldwater, Howard Baker, Margaret Chase Smith and Tip O’Neill, and you might find many who are familiar with them, but ask about specific accomplishments and more often than not, you’ll get blank stares.

Goldwater was portrayed as an ideological extremist, but in later years, he made outspoken - and futile – attempts to get his party to moderate. Howard Baker gained a legacy for his What did the President know and when did he know it, during the Watergate hearings. But it was a question that almost wasn’t posed. Baker had run the line past his press secretary in a room outside where the hearings were being held. The aide approved but Baker, while not seeking publicity of any kind, didn’t find the words snappy enough to get to the bottom of the matter. Still, he asked it because at the end of the day those words signified what Baker wanted to find out. Margaret Chase Smith is known for being a rare female Senator but most don’t realize that her Declaration of Conscience speech helped turn the tide away from McCarthyism.

And O’Neill? Most can accurately identify him as a legendary Speaker of the House of Representatives but fail to recognize him as the man who for a time, made it okay to be civil to your political opponents - after 6 p.m. of course.

Others, like Kentucky’s John Sherman Cooper and Montana’s Lee Metcalf? Well, they’re just special. However, both also played a significant role in the history books.

My book also reveals how even obscure – and in some cases fairly introverted members of Congress could have a link to celebrities in the most unexpected ways. Washington Senator Warren Magnuson would regularly gab with Elvis Presley. And the anything but introverted Adam Clayton Powell performed wedding nuptials for another legendary singer, Nat King Cole.

My subjects don’t come without misconceptions. Public figures such as Sam Ervin and Bill Fulbright are revered for their roles in the Watergate hearings and foreign affairs, but they were actually members of the Southern Manifesto and the staunchest of segregationists. There are also figures I cover whom some may question the practicality of my singling out as footnotes of history.

Folks, this is only the tip of the iceberg. My book covers many individuals whose names will likely never grace a conversation, the History Channel, or even a book. But all have a story, an association with someone, or are part of an anomaly that makes for a good tidbit - and an even better thoughtful, well-told story. You will find these and much more in this book.

But for a few quips, Alben Barkley is not a part of this book. I chose to focus on folks who were in office by the start of 1960, the year John Fitzgerald Kennedy was elected our 35th President, or who served no later than 1988 as Ronald Reagan prepared to turn over the reins of power. And with the exception of overlaps among my subjects involving a particular theme (Morris K. Udall in my first chapter is one example), that chronology is my sole criteria for the entire book.

One caveat: I, by no means admire nor share the philosophy of every politician I have included; I am not hesitant about expressing my viewpoint that a few are outright disgraceful. However, their connections to, or impact on history makes them indelible nonetheless. In short, these are colorful stories that for too long have gone untold involving characters who, for better or for worse, were completely real. Some were statesmen, others were mischief makers, but all are important footnotes in history.

Now for some dedications. To the men and women of the Armed Forces whose sacrifices make it possible for us to elect these statesmen and mischief makers, this book is for you. To the crusaders who laid down their lives in pursuit of civil rights and human rights, this book is also for you. And to my mother Madeline, who gives me inspiration, you have my eternal love and gratefulness. On a lighter note, allow me to offer a shout-out to the many libraries (not to mention hotel business centers) I used to write this book, for it literally could not have been done without them. My debt and gratitude are everlasting. The same applies to my editor, Lauren Choplin, whose dedication and keen sense of accuracy was only exceeded by her love of animals.

Finally, to the politicians of the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s for providing me so much fodder, I hope I do you justice (or injustice as the case may be).

I hope you will have as much fun reading this book as I did writing it. There is a lot to learn. And most importantly, there is plenty to gain.

Enjoy!

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Senator Mike Mansfield, Congressman Carl Albert, House Speaker Sam Rayburn, Senate President Pro-Tem Carl Albert and House Majority Leader John McCormack help ex-President Harry S. Truman celebrate his 74th birthday in 1958. Each Conressional figure is portrayed in this volume

Photo taken by Ray Dockstader and used with the permission of the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation

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LBJ and Lady Bird attended a barbecue with the large Senate class of ’58.

Bottom Row (from left); Phil Hart (Michigan), Bob Bartlett (Alaska), Stephen Young (Ohio), Vance Hartke (Indiana), Ed Muskie (Maine), and Claire Engle (California)

Top Row: Harrison Williams (New Jersey); Frank Moss (Utah); Lady Bird Johnson, Lyndon Johnson, Mrs. Gale McGee; Gale McGee (Wyoming); and Ernest Gruening (Alaska-obscured). McGee, Moss and Cannon, following tradition, hosted the barbecue for their colleagues. Each Senator is portrayed in one of the first two volumes of this book.

Photo courtesy of the University of Alaska, Fairbanks

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1958 produced a crop of young Democratic leaders which Look Magazine profiled. They are Ed Muskie (Maine), Gale McGee (Wyoming), Eugene McCarthy (Minnesota), Phillip Hart (Michigan), and Frank Moss (Utah). All are profiled in the book.

Photo courtesy of Robert McGee

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Martin Luther King, Jr, future Congressman John Lewis, and other civil rights leaders confer with Dirksen during the March on Washington

Photo courtesy of the U.S. Senate Historical Office

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Senators instrumental in the passage of the Civil Rights Act (Warren Magnuson (D-Washington), Hubert Humphrey (D-Minnesota), Leverett Saltonstall (R-Massachusetts), George Aiken (R-Vermont), Mike Mansfield (D-Montana), and Everett Dirksen (R-Illinois). Each is portrayed prominently in this book.

Photo from Mike Mansfield Library

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Hubert Humphrey (center) joins Ed Muskie, Bill Hathaway, and other Maine Democrats at a local clam bake

Photo via the Edmund S. Muskie Archives and Special Collections Library

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Tip O’Neill was a beloved figure on Capitol Hill, but no more so than with his Massachusetts colleagues of both parties.

From left to right, Keith Hastings (R), Peggy Heckler (R), Phil Phibin (D), an unidentified man, O’Neill, James Burke (D) and Silvio Conte (R). Missing is his best friend and roommate Edward Boland (D)

Photo courtesy of the Thomas P. O’Neill, Jr. Congressional Papers (Box 421, Folder 21), John J. Burns Library, Boston College

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Democratic Senator Frank Church of Idaho a portrait of his one-time hero, Republican Senator William Borah of Idaho – who like Church would previously chair the Foreign Affairs Committee, to colleagues Bill Fulbright (Arkansas), Mike Mansfield (Montana) and Wayne Morse (Oregon)

Photo via the Frank Church Papers, Special Collections and Archives, Boise State University.

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Members of the House Watergate Committee. Chairman Peter Rodino is in the center of the podium. Many members of the committee are profiled in the book

Courtesy of the Peter W. Rodino Jr. Papers, Seton Hall University School of Law

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Vice-Presidential nominee Tom Eagleton joins the Democratic candidates who sought their party’s nomination for President in 1972 after one of them, George McGovern, delivered his acceptance speech.

From left to right: Eagleton, Hubert H. Humphrey, Shirley Chisholm, McGovern, Henry Scoop Jackson, Ed Muskie, and Terry Sanford. All are profiled in one of the three volumes of this book

Photo courtesy of Duke University

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Mo Udall, Birch Bayh, Jimmy Carter and Fred Harris during the 1976 Presidential campaign

Photo via Flickr

PART I

Setting The Tone: Heroes, Footnotes, and Statesmen

Who Epitomized Public Service At It’s Best

CHAPTER ONE

White House Eluded Him But Humphrey

Beloved By Political Friend and Foe Alike

Historic Quote: He talks and talks and talks. I don’t know about a politician but he’d make a hell of a wife. - Groucho Marx on Hubert Humphrey’s propensity for over-loquaciousness.

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Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division

O n Capitol Hill, there was once a Senator from Minnesota. A staunch liberal and true champion of the underdog, a man whom many even in his own party disagreed with philosophically. The battles were often brutal. But this Senator transcended party politics. His genuineness as a person and statesmanlike dignity were second to none and in turn, he commanded the respect of friend and foe alike. In time, he became vice-president and at one point came nail-bitingly close to capturing the ultimate prize in the wake of very adverse circumstances. But for history’s sake, Hubert Humphrey did achieve a victory more immortalizing than the White House: a reputation that still holds true today as being not only among the most influential figures in Congressional history, but also a truly wonderful human being who was among the most beloved individuals in the nation all-time.

Humphrey’s story is as American as apple pie. His mission was to better America and, despite some failures, he succeeded with hands down.

Humphrey was the Happy Warrior who practiced the Politics of Joy. He didn’t always win, and often wasn’t able to convert people to his point-of-view, but he enjoyed every minute of it. His ebullience was his personality and the manner by which he conducted himself was stand up. I am proud to call Humphrey, along with Harry Truman, my political hero.

Ex-Wisconsin Congressman Dave Obey reflected that Humphrey was an incredibly decent person and one who loved politics and loved life. He recalled rooming with a guy named John Kennedy as a senior at the University of Wisconsin in 1960. Humphrey was seeking the Democratic Presidential nomination that year and was coming to the campus to speak. They created a group, Kennedys for Humphrey. JFK won the primary.

Humphrey was a gentlemen and a gentle man, warm as can be. HHH, as he’d become known, was positive. He was not a screamer. His enthusiasm was infectious. When he lost Wisconsin, when he lost the down-to-the wire race for the White House, and when he was dying of cancer, Humphrey was lifting everyone else up. And most importantly, Humphrey was courageous, perhaps ahead of his time but not ahead of common sense. That may have come from his early years when he was a pharmacist, a customer-friendly profession that requires patience, an ability to communicate calmly, and a sunny disposition.

Considering his near-life long love affair was with the people of Minnesota, it may surprise some to learn that Humphrey actually grew up next door, in South Dakota. His introduction to Minnesota came when he attended college at the University. But his pharmacist father needed him during the Depression and he returned home to help him run the business. The younger Humphrey developed an affinity for the field and got his degree in Pharmaceuticals from the Capitol College of Pharmacy in Denver. It proved to be a lucky break that in many ways opened the door to the rest of his life. It was while in the store that he met Muriel Fay Buck. They married several years later and had four children and Muriel would emerge as Hubert’s greatest asset in both politics and life.

With the exception of those early years when he practiced pharmacy, public service was Humphrey’s mission throughout his life. It was after attaining his Masters from Louisiana State University that Humphrey would teach political science but he’d soon find employment with the Works Progress Administration (W.P.A).

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Humphrey as the young Mayor of Minneapolis

Photos via the Minnesota Historical Society

In the 1940s, Humphrey, perhaps more than any individual in the Democratic Party set the stage for the ensuing struggle on civil rights. He was elected Mayor of Minneapolis at 34 and left no ambiguity about where he stood. In his inaugural address, Humphrey proclaimed, government can no longer ignore displays of bigotry, violence, and discrimination. He proposed a fair housing ordinance only to see it rejected 3-2 by council. So he took the initiative on his own, establishing the Mayor’s Committee on Human Relations.

Gradually, that initiative began yielding dividends. Five-hundred volunteers, known as the Self Survey, would inspect the city for ongoing discrimination. As one biographer, Carl Solberg wrote, Blacks and Jews walked side by side with Yankee housewives and Scandinavian farmers sons to check out discriminatory practices in specific areas - offices, factories, schools, etc. It was a mix of all races and given Humphrey’s temperament, that was as appropriate as could be, for Humphrey was a man of all people.

The relationships he formed with Jewish groups in particular (while also being thought highly among Arabs) were legendary and would guide him for the rest of his life. When Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir visited Humphrey in Washington shortly before his death, she told him, I would have gone to Minnesota to see you. Solberg added, Just as remarkable as the breadth of Humphrey’s affiliations was his success in keeping them despite their obviously disparate interests . . . his circle of friends often included people who themselves were not on speaking terms.

Georgia Senator Herman Talmadge acknowledged that philosophically, he and Humphrey had little in common except party. But he would write in his autobiography, Talmadge that it was impossible to be around Hubert for any like of time and not like him…even when he was telling you that you were dead wrong he had a twinkle in his eye.

At that time, it was becoming increasingly obvious that Humphrey’s future was destined to extend well beyond Minnesota’s borders. Alec Olson was a Congressman from Minnesota in the 1960’s and the state’s Lieutenant Governor in the 70’s. He first saw Humphrey when he addressed his high school graduation in 1948, the year he was running for the Senate. Olson said his family wasn’t very political but remembered telling his father just after Humphrey spoke that, we’ll hear again from this guy. Al Quie was also a member of Congress and later the Gopher State’s GOP Governor. He said Humphrey had an unusual gift, one in which other politicians only dream of. That was an ability to remember the names of people he had met in a totally different environment, in other words far removed from politics. He added that Humphrey asserted himself in getting to know everybody.

By 1948, Humphrey was ready to take the message national.

Addressing the fractious Democratic Convention that year, he said, To those who say, my friends, to those who say, that we are rushing this issue of civil rights, I say to them we are 172 years late! To those who say, this civil rights program is an infringement on states’ rights, I say this: the time has arrived in America for the Democratic Party to get out of the shadow of states’ rights and walk forthrightly into the bright sunshine of human rights! Shortly before the speech got underway, Georgia Senator and leading segregationist Richard Russell asked, Who the hell is that damned fool from Minneapolis who keeps talking about civil rights and asked Sam Rayburn to cut him off, only to back off declaring, If he wants to make a damned fool of himself, let him.

Later that year, Humphrey won a seat in the U.S. Senate. But while his maiden speech illustrated that he would not be bound by the slow pace of the Senate (Sometimes I think we become so cozy-we feel so serene in our six year terms we forget that people want things done), Senate leaders decided to teach him that patience was a virtue for moving ahead. They rejected his committee requests, granting him seats on Government Affairs and the Post Office Committees as opposed to Agriculture and Foreign Affairs. But just as he had demonstrated to future backers and detractors alike at the convention that there would be no turning back on civil rights, Humphrey would do the same in the Senate. Opposing a bill to cut spending by 10% across the board, Humphrey told colleagues, To those who have been calling me the greatest spender, you haven’t seen anything yet. The book, Where Did The Party Go quotes Humphrey as asserting proudly and without ambiguity, I have always said that between the platforms of Santa Claus and Scrooge, I will stick with Jolly Santa. Anytime anyone wants to run on that platform, they can count me in. He’d show he meantit throughout his entire career.

Nearly all of the liberal legislation either prosed or enacted in the 1950s and 60s bears Humphrey’s fingerprints – and with many, such as a worker safety program (finally enacted two decades later as OSHA), he was well ahead of his time.

The qualities that made Humphrey so endearing among colleagues also captured the hearts of voters. Norman Sherman was an assistant to Humphrey as a Senator and his press secretary when he was Vice-President. He recalls Humphrey as a man genuinely interested in his constituents. Two things in particular stood out.

On one occasion, Sherman recalls Humphrey buzzing him to his office and handing him a list of everyone who had won a prize at the Minnesota State Fair (Humphrey resisted the lead of other offices who were installing intercoms). He wanted each of the 600 winners to receive an official letter from Humphrey. These were the days before an electronic typewriter which meant Sherman would have to compose each letter by hand. But Humphrey’s response was there are a lot of people across Minnesota who don’t get much mail and if they do something worthy, they should receive recognition.

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Hubert and the love of his life, Muriel Humphrey

Photo courtesy of the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum

Another memorable episode was his response to a letter he had received from the sister of a man who had been serving time in Leavenworth, Kansas for a felony conviction. She had asked Humphrey to intervene so he could be closer to home and he ended up being transferred to Minnesota. Now his sentence was over and the woman was again seeking Humphrey’s help finding him work. Humphrey assigned Sherman to the matter. Sherman had no idea how he could pull this off and put it in his back pile. But Humphrey persisted. Finally, Sherman used his contacts at the Governor’s office to get him a truck driver’s exam. He failed. A short time later, Humphrey brought the matter up again at which time he told him the man had failed. Humphrey’s reply, Get him another test. Sherman said Humphrey had to have known that this man could not have been registered to vote nor were any members of his family. But he was genuinely concerned about helping a man who needed it.

Despite different ideological differences with many colleagues, Humphrey nonetheless quickly became highly regarded in the chamber. But the tangles with Johnson that would sink him in 1968 started even in both men’s early days. But in 1952, it was more out in the open. When Johnson was poised to become Minority Leader, Humphrey resisted. It wasn’t simply that he had coveted the position himself (he quickly found obvious southern resistance) but many liberals were not enthralled by the prospect of two Texans as their chief spokesman (Sam Rayburn was untouchable in the House). As explained in Robert Caro’s Master of the Senate, anti-Johnson liberals searched for other candidates before settling on Montana’s 76-year-old James Murray, a New Deal era liberal whose age was showing. Humphrey was quick to add, I do have a great respect for Lyndon Johnson.

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Humphrey mesmerizing the 1948 Democratic Convention with his call for civil rights

Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division

That may also have been his introduction to the future President’s adroitness at maneuvering and counting votes. Just before the balloting, Johnson asked Humphrey how many votes he foresaw for Murray. Humphrey predicted between 13 and 17. Johnson replied, First of all, you ought to be sure of your count, explaining that it was too divergent and that a number of the Senators Humphrey had expected were actually in his camp. So Humphrey went back to laboring for his causes, one of which was wilderness preservation. In the mid-1950s, Humphrey introduced the first bill on that issue though disputes with Native-American groups kept it from becoming law.

Occasionally, Humphrey could lend himself to minor embellishment. It was not uncommon for him to tell an audience in a small town that when he and Muriel retired, he could envision himself settling in that particular town. The problem is, he told that to audiences in multiple towns. And on occasion, he’d tell the press that he had recently finished talking with the president when in fact copies of the official White House schedule would have indicated that the president could not have been on hand at that time (luckily for him, the capabilities for conducting fact checking weren’t widely available at that time).

1960 was an open Presidential race, and for the Democrats it was sure to produce a cornucopia of candidates. Humphrey was actually first out of the gate in declaring his candidacy and the first fight was in Wisconsin. With his familiarity to voters and the state’s abundance of farmers, Humphrey may have found the best state aside from his own fertile ground in which to start off his candidacy (he was often called our third Senator). But a young Senator from Massachusetts had a similar idea and won a big victory, thereby dealing a major blow to Humphrey’s chances. But Humphrey didn’t sulk over his loss. He now had West Virginia on the brain and in characteristically positive fashion, he told the press, I told you fellows politics could be fun, didn’t I?

But the battle that lay ahead wasn’t fun. Due to a serious shortage of money, Humphrey would have to write personal checks to cover air time. He traveled in a bus labeled Over the Hump with Humphrey and guitarist Jimmy Wofford played at events, quipping, He’s your man and mine. Kennedy surprised the pundits once more by overcoming anti-Catholic sentiment by winning there as well, leaving Humphrey with just 39%. Kennedy even racked up large margins in the southern panels where his Catholicism seemed to generate more hostility. Humphrey immediately dropped out of the race and honored Minnesotans backing of Adlai Stevenson by voting for him at the Democratic National Convention. But he also made a solid push for Kennedy’s election, critical in Minnesota no doubt, as Kennedy eked to victory in the Gopher State by 22,000 votes. And Humphrey landed on his feet. Very fast.

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Image via the Minnesota Historical Society

That same day, Humphrey won a third Senate term and colleagues made him Majority Whip when Mike Mansfield moved up to the Leader’s position after Lyndon Johnson became Vice-President. For a Senate that was still reeling from years of the Johnson treatment, Humphrey’s style, even in a job that was to round up votes, was notably refreshing. Sure you can browbeat people and threaten them and force them to do something. But that’s manipulation, not leadership. I don’t want artificial progress. I want people to understand what they are being asked to do. That’s the only way a free people can be led.

Humphrey eloquently expanded his feelings about civility many times. Men can disagree, argue, and debate without being personal, he said, without being arrogant, without being insolent. I don’t agree with all men. I just try to lead them into an area of agreement. But he was also steadfast in his belief that, The right to be heard does not automatically include the right to be taken seriously.

In the early part of the decade, winning support for the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty was high on Humphrey’s plate. He was genuinely concerned about the risk of nuclear war before nearly anyone else of Congressional prominence and in 1955, gave himself a perch by which to pursue that? How? By creating a subcommittee on Foreign Affairs that he’d chair. This required the approval of the Majority Leader, who happened to be Johnson and as Robert Wagman, author of Hubert Humphrey: The Man and His Dream explained how Johnson insisted that the subcommittee be a composite one, which meant Humphrey had to accept colleagues from the Pentagon-minded Armed Services Committees as well as a couple from Foreign Relations. He did. The following year, he was a member of the U.S. delegation to New York and in 1957, he took to the Senate floor for four hours and delivered a 70 page speech urging, among other things, an end to sneak attacks by nations and troop withdrawal from Russia. His remarks were derided by The Daily News. But his efforts were fulfilled within six years when President Kennedy signed the Treaty about a month before his assassination. He presented Humphrey the pen he used for the occasion saying, Hubert, I hope this works.

Humphrey’s role in passage of the Civil Rights Act was among the most prominent of his accomplishments. Johnson tapped Humphrey as Democratic floor leader and by naming captains to assist him, he could ensure himself an ability to always have allies on the floor when he was away plotting strategy. This would ensure that a Southern parliamentary maneuver to kill the bill would not succeed. On occasion, Humphrey did find himself in the awkward position of opposing his fellow liberal lion, Ted Kennedy. Abolishing the poll tax was one issue, as Humphrey and Mansfield worried that inclusion might jeopardize the constitutionality of the whole bill. Humphrey also faced accusations from civil rights leaders of being a sell-out for negotiating with Everett Dirksen but that was a necessity to overcome the recalcitrance of the Southerners from his own party.

Nevertheless, the bill passed and Humphrey’s efforts gained him a major reward: selection as LBJ’s running-mate in 1964. His campaign plane was called, the Happy Warrior Express. The duo won a smashing victory and by becoming vice-president, Humphrey would frustrate adversaries again (chief among them Dick Russell, whom he had stared down and won on civil rights.

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The mayhem at the 1968 Democratic Convention proved costly to Humphrey

Photo via Jo Freeman

When LBJ announced his surprise departure from the race, Humphrey was waiting at the gate. Not all allies, including then-Senator Walter Mondale, felt he should get in, thinking Kennedy would be tough to beat. But Humphrey was in and he was determined to overcome any and all obstacles that lay in his way.

Ultimately, it was LBJ who may have been Humphrey’s biggest adversary. He was said to have consulted little with Humphrey, but expected him to be his loyal soldier, even if he disagreed. Vietnam was a major issue, and Humphrey, while privately having reservations as the conflict dragged on, could do little publicly but tow the company line. Many think Vietnam was his ultimate downfall with a Presidency that was so closely in reach that he later said he could reach out and touch it.

Humphrey won the Democratic nomination in Chicago. The nation was torn apart by the war, and Bobby Kennedy’s assassination. Kennedy had of course been seeking the Democratic nod when he was killed. Some think Kennedy would have gone all the way though others believe Humphrey would have ultimately ended up winning the nomination. Either way, his death left disenchantment among the young and the core Democratic activists who were already angry at Humphrey for his proximity to the Johnson administration. And that came to a head at the Democratic Convention.

While few could have predicted the violence at the Democratic convention, the timing was actually LBJ’s. As titular head of the party, he could set the date for the convention and chose late August in order to minimize the time between the convention and general election. Little did anyone – likely including LBJ know that he would be opting out of a re-election campaign.

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With singer Frank Sinatra and on the stump during the 1968 campaign

Left photo via pophistorydig.com and right photo courtesy of the Kheel Center, Cornell University

In his acceptance speech, Humphrey told delegates to take heart . . . and make this moment of crisis . . . a moment of creation. But he left Chicago well behind in cash, a place he’d stay for almost the entire campaign. At that point, he was nearly 15% down to Richard Nixon. What was once Over the Hump now became Dump the Hump."

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Images via ronwadebuttons.com and the Minnesota Historical Society

That invited yet another dilemma. Humphrey knew he had to excavate himself from Johnson but there was no easy way to do it. On the one hand he’d look like an opportunist. On the other hand, he’d threaten a revolt from Johnson loyalists, including Texas Governor John Connally. Finally, he convinced Johnson to let him go his own way on Vietnam, or did he tell Johnson he didn’t have a choice in the matter? When he met with LBJ, he reacted by saying, Hubert, you’re not asking for my advice, I gather. You’re just informing me. I said, Mr. President, I guess that’s about right. This enabled him to close the gap significantly as the campaign neared its final stages.

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LBJ hampered Humphrey’s ability to carve out his own niche on the Vietnam War

Photo courtesy of the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library

Whatever the case, Humphrey, as despondent as he was about his chances, was determined to go full speed ahead. Calling himself the Lonesome Ranger, he hit the trail with energy and gusto and pulled no punches with the rhetoric. Newsweek noted that Humphrey portrayed Nixon as Richard the Chicken Hearted for refusing to debate as well as the Fearless Fosdick for sending mixed signals on law and order. And the magazine picked up on standard Humphrey lines. Any person who’d trust Mr. Nixon with Medicare is going to have a lifetime of illness and if the Republicans get in, you’re in for another recession.

By Election Day, Humphrey had hoped that if he couldn’t win the Electoral College outright, he could at least keep Nixon below 270. With George Wallace in the race, that seemed entirely possible. But Humphrey made at least some progress winning back the Wallace Democrats, which may have helped move Michigan from a toss-up and Pennsylvania from Lean Nixon to states Humphrey won. At this point, he had completely erased Nixon’s California lead and now trailed his rival there by one percentage point.

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Photo via Ebay

Counting went on all night and at one point, Humphrey had surged to a 600,000 vote lead in the popular vote. But by 1 a.m., Bergman noted that New Jersey, which Humphrey had been counting on, had slipped into the Nixon camp. Humphrey called Governor Dick Hughes and asked, Are sure everything is in and there aren’t any errors in the computers? Moments later, Hughes called back and told them, That’s it. And when Wisconsin was reporting neck and neck, only to slip into the Nixon column, Humphrey exclaimed that a single visit could have put him over.

And by the early morning hours, a handful of key states were up for grabs. Humphrey emerged with only Texas. By 7 a.m., it became clear that Humphrey had fallen short (Illinois, which Nixon felt had been infamously snatched from him in 1960, put him over the top). The popular vote was 43-42% (600,000 votes), but electorally, Humphrey had garnered just 191 to Nixon’s 303 (Wallace ended up with 45).

In his concession, Humphrey acknowledged the tough year for the American people but mostly spoke wistfully. We couldn’t possibly be any happier than in the knowledge that we had done the right thing. We have said what we believed, we have spoken the hard facts of our country as we saw them. We have offered what we thought were the alternatives and the solutions. We placed our case before the American people. We did it in a short period of time against tremendous odds, and all I can say tonight to the American people is they have been mighty good to us. They have given us a great vote of confidence in this popular vote. He closed by saying, I have done my best. I have lost, Mr. Nixon has won. The democratic process has worked its will.

Again, Humphrey refused to appear downcast and his positive nature was on display even in the hours after he had lost. Prior to his concession, he ordered breakfast which Sherman recalls was taking an awfully long time to arrive. When it did, the waiter was forced to admit that he had dropped the entire tray and had to return to the kitchen to have it made again. Humphrey quipped, that’s what happens when you lose.

He told the assembled press, many of whom had been with him for months to, go have some fun. But the true Humphrey may have come as he was making his way from Minneapolis’ Leamington Hotel ballroom following his concession and encountered an obviously pained volunteer. You look so sad, Humphrey asked Petra Kelly as he squeezed her hand. What’s the matter? I don’t know what to do anymore, she replied to which Humphrey told her you have to have cheer. Humphrey did not know it but she was a German immigrant and he had sponsored her citizenship.

But privately, Humphrey was not always full of cheer, telling one confidante he know(s) how Adlai Stevenson felt. But damnit, I did worse – at least Adlai lost to Eisenhower. Imagine Nixon, the President of the United States – no warmth, no spirit, no heart. I guess I’ve let everybody – a whole nation down. And at midnight on New Year’s Eve, Humphrey simply flushed the toilet, his way of signaling a desire to forget a bitter year.

In his book, Man of the House, Tip O’Neill, who said he idolized the man, writes that LBJ should have let him off the hook earlier. Humphrey may have realized that. Humphrey may have realized that. Years later, he’d confide to friends, I should never have let him do it to me. Obey said he spoke with Humphrey in ’68 when Johnson was running. Obey was still backing Johnson but told Humphrey that unless his Vietnam policy changed, it could cause him to lose the Wisconsin primary. Obey gave Humphrey a letter signed by a number of folks, which Humphrey said he’d give to Johnson. Obey warned against it, but the next time he encountered the vice-president, he told him that he had indeed given it to LBJ. O’Neill also singled out Gene McCarthy, who had galvanized the anti-war crowds during primary season. McCarthy, he said, should have endorsed him sooner (ironically, it was McCarthy who submitted Humphrey’s name President before the Democratic Convention in 1952 (it was an honorary nomination) and he called him someone who by birth, by rearing, by education and by tradition is a true Democrat.

Humphrey resumed teaching at the University of Minnesota and Macalester College but got an opportunity to return to the Senate in 1970 after McCarthy retired (it would have been near impossible to have won re-election). Calling the opportunity, a resurrection, Humphrey jumped at the chance with characteristic enthusiasm (I’m as high as a kite! I’m on the run! I’ll win in a walk). But his reputation as a crowd pleaser came about again when a White House recruited candidate, a Minnesota Congressman named Clark MacGregor, made an ill-advised remark that while, Hubert’s a nice guy, he can’t say no. If he was a woman, he’d be pregnant all the time. Humphrey won 58-42%. He made another bid for the Presidency in 1972 and, despite support from organized later and a few primary wins, he lost to McGovern in the crucial state of California.

And Humphrey’s identity with liberal causes had not been extinguished by a long-shot. He was hardly back in the saddle when he introduced a universal school lunch program. We have compulsory education…We have compulsory military service. We don’t say if your daddy has money buy your own uniform and food. Humphrey acknowledged that it would cost considerably more than what we are doing now, but it is a wise investment. He told Congressional Quarterly in 1972 the program would improve nutrition, health and school attendance.

By this time, Nearly a quarter of a century had passed since his human rights speech at the convention but now, he found himself at least partially in favor of another measure to combat at least one racial inequity; busing. At a speech in Florida, Humphrey called busing the emotional issue that grabs the headlines . . . But the needs of the American people go far beyond the school bus. Busing is not the total answer but is one of the tools needed to provide quality education until all schools are upgraded.

For all of his numerous accomplishments, the name Hubert Humphrey might forever be synonymous with warmth - as a person and as a boss. Sherman recalls several examples, the first of which took place when Humphrey was vice-president and Sherman was preparing to get married. The mother of Sherman’s bride was very conservative and had vowed to not attend the ceremony if Humphrey was in attendance. As the wedding approached, Humphrey asked Sherman why the wedding wasn’t on his schedule, noting his commitments were increasing by the minute. Sherman painstakingly replied, Mr. President, you’re not invited. Humphrey, evidently doubting his seriousness, went about his business. Days later, he asked Sherman again and got the same response. And yet one more time until Sherman got testy with the boss (when I say you’re not invited, I mean you’re not invited). The awkward predicament went away when the mother-in-law relented and allowed Humphrey to be present. Sherman told him and he replied, Tell my secretary to clear my schedule.

Sherman also recalls Humphrey’s kindness when it came to his kids. When he heard they were going back to Minnesota from Washington D.C., he told Sherman they could fly with him on Air Force Two where he was going to be making a brief stop at the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library where Johnson was going to sign Medicare into law. After, he’d be returning to Minnesota as well. Sherman noted in awe that his kids got to witness a historic ceremony, the fly with him back home.

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Photo via the Minnesota Historical Society

Dr. Edgar Berman, Humphrey’s biographer, said he never held a grudge against anyone, even the people who did him wrong. He often ended up doing favors for people who hadn’t exactly given him due respect at earlier times. No ill will toward Johnson was ever expressed. No more was Humphrey’s penchant of forgiveness more evident than with Gene McCarthy. Many viewed his 11th hour ’68 endorsement of Humphrey as too little, too late and wouldn’t give McCarthy the time of day but not Humphrey. Even though Sherman said Humphrey resented McCarthy for not getting behind him sooner in ’68, not only would he regularly meet his former colleague/rival for drinks but one month before he died, he wistfully waxed poetic about another joint public appearance. You could give the philosophy and the jokes, Humphrey told McCarthy, and I could give the issues and the pep talk. The guest speaker would not even want to come on, and everybody there would be happy. Days before his death, Humphrey called Nixon to wish him a happy 65th birthday.

Humphrey’s warmth had even partisan adversaries mesmerized. Jesse Helms, who was as conservative as Humphrey was liberal, recalled his last Senate appearance when the once tireless leader was now gravely ill. Humphrey said to Helms, I love you. Helms kept a picture of Humphrey in his office. Milton Young, a North Dakota conservative, vowed to campaign against any Democrat except for Humphrey because he comes over to my desk and asks about my migraines. Young said no one else does that. And Barry Goldwater, who was on the receiving end of a brutal ’64 campaign, grew extremely close to his ticket rival (both shared mutual dislike for LBJ).

But perhaps most evocative of Humphrey’s wide-spread respect came during the heat of battle. It was the 1968 campaign and vice-presidential nominee Spiro Agnew had attacked Humphrey for being soft on communism. Gerald Ford, then the party’s Republican leader in the House, asked him to stop. Humphrey returned the favor during Ford’s losing ’76 campaign. He privately told the President he’d be getting some votes from the Humphrey family.

Ford and nearly everyone else Humphrey encountered got a taste of his penchant for talking. One day in 1976 during his scorched earth battle with Ronald Reagan for the GOP Presidential nomination, Ford conducted an imaginary call with Humphrey at a Gridiron event. In his book, A Time To Heal, Ford recalls saying, Hello Hubert,’ only to say from then on Uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh. I put the receiver down on the lectern, picked up my pipe and stuffed it with tobacco. Then I lit the pipe. That took thirty more seconds. I picked up the receiver again and pressed it close to my ear. ‘Uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh.’ Thirty more seconds elapsed. ‘Goodbye Hubert,’ I said. Goodbye, Hubert . . . Goodbye, Hubert.’ After the conversation ended, Ford recounts telling his visitors, That was Hubert. He just wanted to say hello. Incidentally, Humphrey’s speech making could even earn him a gentle ribbing from his own wife who once told him, Hubert, a speech doesn’t have to be eternal to be immoral."

On another occasion, as Humphrey was preparing to speak at a banquet that Mo Udall, another Democratic legend in his own time was emceeing, Udall, well aware of Humphrey’s reputation for being overly loquacious, told him that he only had three minutes at the podium. Exasperated, he turned to Udall and said, Mo, I can’t even clear my throat in three minutes let alone give a speech.

Another quality that defined Humphrey was his energy and that would be notable his entire life. During his freshman year in high school, a teacher told him, Hubert, if you don’t throttle down you’ll be dead before you’re a senior. One day, then Secretary of Agriculture and future New Mexico Senator Clinton Anderson, appearing on a radio show with Humphrey, was astonished. "He gave more force and coherence to the idea of democracy and the needs for famine relief than I ever could – and I was