Kind of reminds me of 2008, people are arguing over two unelectable candidates, though one has a better shot.
Bobby Kennedy could well have won. Hell, HHH could have won.
It was the tumultuous convention in Chicago, more than the primary fight, that made the Dems lose in 1968. The images of anarchy and a wild, war-like atmosphere doomed the Dems.
That's actually not true, at least not to that extent.
Everyone always over-emphasizes the effect of the convention on how the Democrats did. In reality, the people watching thought the protesters more than the police were out of line.
^^^^^^^
Though remember the trouble inside the convention aswell. (One of the Senator describing Daley's tactics as "gestapo like" and so on) plus it was clear that the protestors, or at least an element of them, had an influence within the party. Otherwise McCarthy wouldn't do so well.
And as I am better suited as a romantic idealist than a sober realist and especially given the year aswell, I would have gone for the Minnesotan poet.
That Senator is Abraham Ribicoff of Connecticut, who said that during his nominating speech of George McGovern (the stand-in for RFK).
And describing McCarthy as a poet is pretty accurate. He really liked to use poetry in his speeches (reading one of his speeches in Wisconsin brought to me attention what is now my favorite poem "Poets to Come" by Walt Whitman). One story stands out in particular. In California, the day of the debate between Kennedy and McCarthy, Kennedy spent the day preparing with his staff. McCarthy spent the day reading poetry with Robert Lowell, I believe.
