I have often been asked who is the Democrat that has most influenced the National Democratic party in my lifetime–starting in say, the 1960′s. I would exclude some strong probables like JohnKennedy–his tenure as President was so brief; Bill Clinton–has impeachment is still a historic negative legacy; Lyndon Johnson–the Viet Nam War destroyed his domestic achievements; Jimmy Carter–inability to deliver consensus and Barack Obama--history is still being written. I would argue that it is a presidential candidate that lost–by a large margin to a subsequently disgraced President Richard Nixon. Former South Dakota Senator George McGovern would be my choice. Aided by his brilliant campaign manager, former Colorado Senator Gary Hart, Senator McGovern turned the Democratic Party on its’ head in 1972, empowering a whole range of liberal leaning dissidents–all minority caucuses by themselves, but together, becoming the majority of the Democratic Party. The one wing of the Democratic Party that was left out was the conservative Southern Democrats, and many would argue that is the reason for the demise of the Democratic Party in the South today.
