It struck me later how Kissinger's "peace is at hand" statement in early '72 kind of neutralized the peace movement. And largely took the war off the table for the election.
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I graduated from the U of Missouri (journalism) in 1973. Granted, the places was not exactly a hotbed of activism, but there had been some protests. Once the draft lottery started the mood on campus toward the war shifted noticeably.
jun 8, 2025, 5:43 pm • 1 0 • view
Great point. Ending the draft had a huge influence on protest. HK's statement let the Silent Majority say, "See, everything's going to be OK." 🫤 (I first voted at 18 in '76.)
jun 8, 2025, 5:45 pm • 0 0 • view
I was 21 when I voted in 1972, which makes me damn old now. Oh, well.
jun 8, 2025, 5:49 pm • 1 0 • view
The arc of history in our lifetimes truly humbles me. Everyone has said it for ages, but we really do live in exceptional times.
jun 8, 2025, 5:52 pm • 0 0 • view
Also I wouldn't say the war was "off the table" for the 1972 election, in which I voted. A whole lot of other things were going on to "muddy the waters," so to speak.
jun 8, 2025, 5:39 pm • 1 0 • view
CREEP being a main one. Their paranoia about the election was extreme, given the eventual margin of victory. Nixon had a lot to run on. And people tolerated his mistakes (and signs of corruption) because he scared them about McGovern.
jun 8, 2025, 5:43 pm • 0 0 • view
Yeah, I was there. George McGovern was a good man but his campaign was a mess. The DNC withheld support. The programming of the DNC convention scared the bejeezus out of Middle America. And then he had to switch his veep candidate at the last minute, which made him look not ready for prime time.
jun 8, 2025, 5:47 pm • 1 0 • view
I used to have "McG./Eagleton '72" buttons.... collector's items! 😳
jun 8, 2025, 5:48 pm • 1 0 • view
I don't think the movement believed anything Kissinger said. But the draft began winding down at the beginning of 1972, which I think is when they started to draw numbers issued to birthdays. So from then on a lot of young men could stop worrying they'd be drafted.
jun 8, 2025, 5:34 pm • 1 0 • view
That was the intent. Kissinger tells Nixon that Colson says they’ve “wiped McGovern out now” and how Thieu was in a terrible position to “blow the whistle” in a recorded conversation.
jun 8, 2025, 5:58 pm • 1 0 • view
Which all makes Watergate look all the more stupid.
jun 8, 2025, 6:07 pm • 1 0 • view
💯 A completely misguided, paranoid operation totally out of proportion to the political threat. That the administration embraced it showed their fundamental corruption. Did you see Gaslit with J. Roberts a couple years ago? Terrific Watergate backstory and an object lesson in Nixonian "ethics".
jun 8, 2025, 6:27 pm • 0 0 • view