Long Shot

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George says he can still do it

He has no campaign manager, no full-time fund raisers, no party encouragement, no state organizations, and a wife who says she will not stump for him. He lost the 1972 general election by the largest plurality in history. In 1980, South Dakota voters ousted him from the Senate after 18 years of service. But George McGovern, 61, the outspoken prairie populist and critic of the Viet Nam War, is running for President—again. Said he after announcing his candidacy at a press conference last week: "I think I've got a real shot at the nomination."

Political pundits and fellow Democrats hardly concurred. "I might as well run my bloodhound, Blue," declared Atlanta Pollster Claibourne Darden. "The possibility of his being elected President is zero." Only slightly more enthusiastic was Colorado Senator Gary Hart, McGovern's 1972 campaign manager and one of his six declared presidential opponents. "He has as much right as anyone else to get into the race," said Hart.

McGovern's "New Realism" platform retained the liberal and antiwar tone of his 1972 campaign. Its major planks: a call to arms control, an end to U.S. military involvement in Central America and improved relations with Cuba. Commented Los Angeles Attorney and Democratic Strategist Mickey Kantor: "He is a decent bright man, but he is tilting at windmills that no longer exist."