Just Do It

George McGovern on Abraham Lincoln

by Shaun Brady

Tue., Jan. 13, 6:30 p.m., $15 (reservations required), National Constitution Center, 525 Arch St., 215-409-6700, constitutioncenter.org

In losing the 1972 election to Richard Nixon, former South Dakota Sen. George McGovern became arguably the most influential also-ran in American history. Giving Nixon the rope with which to hang himself, McGovern set in motion events that forced the GOP to scramble and reform under the evangelical Reagan banner; the "amnesty, abortion and acid" tag that helped sink McGovern was the first step toward later, more refined Rovian smear tactics. His own fumbled campaign became the model that has been, if not exactly followed, at least fallen into by countless liberal — er, make that "progressive," the L-word being taboo in the post-McGovern era, as well — candidates since. And by opening the doors of the Democratic Party through which "20 million people walked," he was a heavy influence on the mad dash toward — and too often past — the center that defined the Clinton era.

If McGovern's latest endeavor as a historian reaches further back into the past, to the presidency of his hero, Abraham Lincoln, it seems no less relevant to current events as another Illinois politician prepares to enter the White House. Barack Obama has encouraged the Lincoln comparisons, from his "team of rivals" to his planned swearing-in on the same bible as Honest Abe. The two share a penchant for lofty, inspiring rhetoric, and Obama seems to have ascended in many minds to the realm of myth only occupied by Lincoln after his death. But it's the campaign-forged "No Drama Obama" who most resembles the Lincoln portrayed in McGovern's slim volume, a measured pragmatist always ready to compromise but forced to pursue his ideals by extraordinary events. Red and blue clichés aside, today's hardships aren't nearly as divisive as those of 1860, so it will be interesting to hear how the author perceives Obama's mandate.