Nation: The Man Who Quit Kicking the Wall

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That night in Convention Hall, President Johnson announced his choice to the Democratic delegates. But even then he dragged out the suspense. His speech was a classic of "the man who . . ." He extolled virtue after virtue. But only at the end of the final sentence—a sentence punctuated by excruciating pauses—did he bellow the name of "Senator Hubert Humphrey of Minnesota."

Stealing the Show. The next night Lyndon returned to the convention to deliver his acceptance speech. But Humphrey spoke first, and in the process stole the show from the old show-stealer himself. Lyndon sat in the presidential box, by turns looking statesmanlike, preoccupied, annoyed, and just plain bored. On the rostrum Humphrey all but brought down the rafters.

Hubert warmed up with a long tribute to the President, then hit his stride as he began a rhythmic jabbing and chopping at Barry Goldwater. "Most Democrats and Republicans in the Senate voted for an $11.5 billion tax cut for American citizens and American business," he cried, "but not Senator Goldwater. Most Democrats and Republicans in the Senate—in fact four-fifths of the members of his own party —voted for the Civil Rights Act, but not Senator Goldwater."

Time after time, he capped his indictments with the drumbeat cry: "But not Senator Goldwater!" He occasionally switched it to "not the temporary Republican spokesman." The delegates caught the cadence and took up the chant. A quizzical smile spread across Humphrey's face, then turned to a laugh of triumph. Hubert was in fine form. He knew it. The delegates knew it. And no one could deny that Hubert Humphrey would be a formidable political antagonist in the weeks ahead.