The Vice-Presidency: The Happy Warrior

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But along with all the fun, Humphrey worked tirelessly, often hitting as many as three states in one day to hammer home the main themes of his campaign. In his gibes he diverted Goldwater's attention from Johnson to himself, and at times Barry, in his criticisms of Humphrey's Americans for Democratic Action affiliation, often sounded as though Hubert, not Lyndon, were his chief opponent. And there were indeed some newsmen who felt that Humphrey was perhaps the most popular of the four major campaigners.

But Hubert, though ebullient, was not upstaging anybody. Late on election night, he talked of Lyndon, who reminded him "of that mythological god Atlas, who, when he became weary and tired and lost his strength, would come back to touch the earth, and he would gain strength." In Johnson's case, Humphrey said, "whenever he came out and he touched the people, literally touched them, he became strong, and he was filled with the love of his work and the love of his country."