Let’s remember when Senator Henry Jackson announced his campaign for the presidency, on this day in 1971 (November 19)
Maybe Scoop-mentum was just too far ahead of its time.
Per Kit Oldham of HistoryLink:
On November 19, 1971, Washington Senator Henry M. “Scoop” Jackson (1912–1983) announces his campaign for the 1972 Democratic presidential nomination. Speaking in the Old Senate Office Building with his family and Senate colleagues at his side, Jackson hearkens back to his New Deal roots but also touts his stand for “law and order,” positioning his candidacy to the right of presumed front-runner Edmund S. Muskie (1914–1996) and eventual nominee George McGovern (1922–2012). Jackson’s first try for the presidential nomination will fall far short, as he wins only the caucuses in his home state. Four years later Jackson will enter the 1976 presidential primaries as a front-runner but lose the nomination to Jimmy Carter (b. 1924).
Henry M. Jackson was perhaps the most successful politician in the history of Washington state, where he never lost an election in 13 tries. However, neither his electoral achievements at the state level nor his influential insider role in the Senate translated into success as presidential candidate. An excellent one-on-one campaigner and a master of backroom politics, Jackson was far less adept at speaking before large crowds. Despite efforts by aides and consultants to bolster his oratorical style and upgrade his “old fashioned and fuddy duddy” wardrobe (Kaufman, 227) — Jackson’s insistence on buying his suits off the rack from a discount store owner in his home town of Everett typified both his loyalty and his frugality — the candidate did not excel in the type of campaign appearances that made the television news and were critical to a nationwide candidacy.
In addition, by 1971 some of Jackson’s political positions were out of sync with large segments of the Democratic party — especially the many enthusiastic young volunteers who would propel South Dakota Senator George McGovern to the nomination. Jackson entered Congress in 1941 as a New Deal liberal, and throughout his long career he remained staunchly liberal on many domestic issues. He saw social welfare programs as the best way to improve life for the average American, strongly supported organized labor, and authored landmark environmental legislation. But Jackson was also a constant advocate for increased defense spending and a hardliner against the Soviet Union. He remained a defiant “hawk,” in the political language of the day, and vocal supporter of the Vietnam War long after many Democrats, including other contenders for the 1972 nomination, turned against the war.
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