from Writer's Almanac:
It's the birthday of Eugene McCarthy, born in Watkins, Minnesota (1916). He was elected to the House of Representatives in 1948 and went on to the Senate in 1958. He was one of first people to challenge Joseph McCarthy on the issue of hunting communists. Eugene McCarthy gave anti-war activists a voice in national politics when he campaigned against Lyndon Johnson for the presidency in 1968. He died on December 10, 2005.
Eugene McCarthy said: "Being in politics is like being a football coach. You have to be smart enough to understand the game and dumb enough to think it's important."