Unconditional Surrender Truman
Harry S Truman
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« on: July 28, 2015, 01:58:54 PM » |
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Renominated by the American Party after a long and bruising primary campaign, President Barry Goldwater now heads towards the general election with the lone consolation that his Populist opponent, Senator George McGovern of South Dakota, is hardly any better off. Despite predictions of an uneventful primary season, both Goldwater and McGovern were forced to endure scathing criticism and vicious attacks in their quest for their parties' nominations, with the result that neither of the major party candidates enters the fall campaign with a decisive advantage over the other.
The contrast between Goldwater and McGovern could not be greater. While Goldwater represents the "militant conservative" wing of the American Party, having spent the last four years fighting to repeal much of the federal welfare state, McGovern has taken the opposite approach, calling for new programs to combat poverty and expand economic opportunities. McGovern has also bucked the party establishment in calling for new environmental regulations, though he has been careful to balance this with support for "the plight of the American farmer". On the subject of Cuba, the two candidates are even further apart: while Goldwater promising to commit more resources to the war, McGovern has termed the war a failure and is calling for an immediate withdrawal of all troops from the island nation.
Though the fervor imbued in the arguments of the president and his challenger have excited activists in the two parties, their extremism has left moderate voters dissatisfied. Unwilling to support either Goldwater or McGovern, these centrists have rallied instead to Michigan Governor George Romney's independent campaign. A life-long member of the American Party, Romney supported Goldwater's general election campaign four years ago, but has since grown disillusioned by the president's policies, especially the Cuban War. Unwilling to support Goldwater for a second term and equally distrustful of McGovern's economic policies, Romney agreed to launch his own campaign for the presidency following Robert F. Kennedy's defeat in the American Party primary. With former Pennsylvania Governor William Scranton as his running mate, Romney is running on a centrist platform calling for new environmental regulations, a moderate fiscal policy, and an end to the war in Cuba. Though opposed to a large-scale expansion of the welfare state, Romney has likewise promised to maintain most domestic programs, so long as they do not expand the federal deficit.
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