POLITICS: Former Sen. Eugene McCarthy Dead at 89, page 1

Former Senator Eugene McCarthy has died in Washington, DC, at the age of 89. McCarthy was a five time Presidential contender who ran on an "anti-war" platform. Among other things, McCarthy can be credited with inspiring many hippies of the Vietnam War era to attend to their personal grooming and hygiene issues. Their slogan was "Get clean for Gene."

www.cnn.com
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Former Minnesota Sen. Eugene J. McCarthy, whose insurgent campaign toppled a sitting president in 1968 and forced the Democratic Party to take seriously his message against the Vietnam War, died Saturday. He was 89.

McCarthy died in his sleep at the retirement home in the Georgetown neighborhood where he had lived for the past few years, said his son, Michael.

Eugene McCarthy challenged President Lyndon B. Johnson for the 1968 Democratic nomination during growing debate over the Vietnam War. The challenge led to Johnson's withdrawal from the race.

The former college professor, who ran for president five times in all, was in some ways an atypical politician, a man with a witty, erudite speaking style who wrote poetry in his spare time and was the author of several books.

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We are drawing near to the end of an era as those who grew up in the depression and fought WWII and the war in Korea die at an ever increasing rate. Senator McCarthy distinguished himself as a fervent champion of the "anti-war" movement and his persistence in his efforts to become President. His last Presidential campaign was in 1992, in which he garnered less than 1% of the vote.

[edit on 2005/12/10 by GradyPhilpott]