University of Virginia Library

'We Endorse Humphrey'

(Reprinted from the Atlanta Constitution, Monday,
October 7, 1968)

The presidential campaign has progressed
far enough now for choices to be made. The
Atlanta Constitution today endorses Vice
President Hubert Humphrey's candidacy.

For more than 20 years, he has been a
leader in thought and action in the United
States. In that span of time he has built a
record which is marked by humanitarian
concern and intellectual depth.

Moreover, his choice of Senator Edmund
Muskie as a vice presidential candidate confirms
his judgment and ours. This nation has
seen in the tragic recent past why it is
necessary to have excellence in that job.
Muskie already has demonstrated as a senator
and vice presidential candidate an ability to
reason closely and handle difficult situations
with aplomb.

The Humphrey-Muskie team thus combines
the experience of a Senate veteran with the
positive outlook of a first-generation American
who knows about the problems of the
underprivileged.

Doctrinaire liberals argue against
Humphrey, insisting it was his duty and
responsibility to make a clean break with the
Johnson administration. Humphrey certainly
has known that it would be to his political
advantage to take that step. But loyalty has its
virtues, too. Had the vice president spent four
years repudiating the administration of which
he was a part, it would have destroyed the
executive branch of the government and
undermined the U.S. position around the
world. Had he said that he thinks the nation
has been wrong for four years, it perhaps
would have gotten him votes but it certainly
would have harmed us in the eyes of the
leaders everywhere.

Thus, repudiation was not and is not the
answer. New ideas and new vigor stemming
from the insight of broad experience are.

Humphrey has been a progressive mayor, a
senator who was able to work with all
factions, and a leader who did not seek shelter
when the storms blew. That experience, from
city hall to the White House, cannot be
dismissed.

He has been willing to stand up to the
vicious attacks of the extremists. He has
sought to protect the reputation of the
innocent, and he has worked for the rights of
the oppressed.

To this point in the campaign, Humphrey's
views have not made him the favorite candidate.
We would be less than candid to argue
that he is leading. Indeed, he has made
arguments in the campaign that Americans do
not want to hear. When he says that riots and
violence in the cities will remain until their
causes are isolated, he is speaking an unpopular
truth. When he says it is necessary to give
people decent housing and income and
schools, he creates uneasiness in the American
conscience.

But to his credit - enough credit, we
think, to merit his election - he does speak
the truth.

In a world where the specter of nuclear
annihilation casts long shadows, and in a time
when a riptide of emotion runs, there is great
need for a calm and reasonable president.
Humphrey has refused to cut and run when
his advisers have told him to repudiate the
administration. He had declined to strike the
flag when people tell him the hard truth is
unpopular this year.

We believe that is the kind of man who
should become the next president of the
United States.