Program Information

In the campaign of 1968, with the civil atmosphere poisoned by unrest and intolerance, Hubert Humphrey nearly overcame the curse of the vice-presidency.

A Moment in Time is a brief, exciting and compelling journey into the past. Created to excite and enlighten the public about the past, its relevance to the present and its impact on the future, A Moment In Time is a captivating historical narrative that is currently broadcast worldwide.

Transcript

Lead: In the campaign of 1968, with the civil atmosphere poisoned by unrest and intolerance, Hubert Humphrey nearly overcame the curse of the vice-presidency.

Intro: A Moment In Time with Dan Roberts.

Content: Vice-President John Nance Garner of Texas, a lively and bright spirit who served with FDR in the 1930s, once described his position as “not being worth a bucket of warm spit.” He was merely evoking the sentiments of most that have served in that most useless of national offices. A few of its occupants have gone on to greater service, but most vice-presidents have sunk into hard-earned obscurity. One who did not disappear was Hubert Humphrey.

Forever branded an old-line liberal politician, Humphrey was also a consummate cold warrior who championed a vigorous response to Soviet aggression.

Like so many before him, after striking out of the presidential sweepstakes, in 1964 he chose to accept second place as a route to the White House, serving as Lyndon Baines Johnson's vice-president in the turbulent mid-1960s. When Johnson declined to run in 1968, Humphrey began his move. His problem was that he was both dependent upon Johnson for the nomination and hobbled by the failing president's unpopularity. After the disastrous August Convention, during which the Democrats imploded on national television, Humphrey ran consistently behind Richard Nixon until, with just five weeks to go, he decided to strike out on his own. He promised a pause in the bombing of North Vietnam should he be elected and lit a fire under his theretofore lackluster campaign. Humphrey almost beat the VP curse, and nearly turned the election. Nixon won by only 7/10th of a percent. Experts have said another two days and Humphrey would have won.

The producer of A Moment In Time is Steve Clark. At the University of Richmond, this is Dan Roberts.

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