Undefeated: The Life of Hubert H. Humphrey

This is a great book about a great man. Hubert H. Humphrey was an amazing human being - someone who championed numerous progressive causes well before anyone else would even touch them, even when doing so was at great political and even physical risk to himself. The fact that he is reviled by so many modern liberals is unfortunate, to say the least, for our nation would be a far worse place today had Hubert Humphrey never been born. This book is a celebration of the man, his life, his times, his accomplishments, and his philosophy; it is rich, informative, gripping, and even inspiring; and the photographs themselves (which are strewn throughout the text) are nothing short of beautiful. When American liberals remember their greatest champions from the 1960s, they rightfully include men like John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King, Jr; by all rights, Hubert Humphrey should be included on that list. For those of us who already knew that, this book will serve as a pleasant reaffirmation of that conviction, as well as a welcome journey back to a time when liberal wasn't the infamous "l-word"; for those who either dislike Hubert Humphrey or are generally unaware of him, you should read this book before drawing any further conclusions about either him or liberalism in general.

This 500 page account of the life of Hubert Humphrey is an exhaustive look at the man would would be President. He was the liberal's Liberal, the early champion of civil rights, worker's rights, Medicare, the Peace Corps, the Test Ban Treaty, etc. The book gives a thorough account of his life and of course what really happened in 1968, and what might have been. HHH becamse VP under LBJ and though he was an early opponent of intervention in Vietnam, he was forced by Johnson to kow-tow to his policies. In 1965 he was the sole opponent of intervention in Johnson's inner circle; hence he was exiled until he towed the line. So he convinced himself the war was right for a while promoting it enough to get under Lyndon's good graces. By 1967 Humphrey was off the record saying "we are throwing money and lives down the rat hole of South Vietnam". And such was the political tightrope he walked. Had he come out against the war before the convention LBJ would have destroyed his candidacy. Furthermore the top US negotiators of the Paris Peace talks told him to keep silent lest the major breakthrough would be spoiled. So while the demonstrators shouted, "Dump the Hump", they unwittingly were helping Nixon to squeak out a victory. After the convention Humphrey cautiously let his private views be known: he wanted peace ASAP. But the message wasn't strong enough or soon enough for those opposed to the war. The book quotes Humphrey confidante Averell Harriman and head Paris Peace negotiator: "I know that, as president, Hubert would have stopped the Vietnam War in 1969....His election would have avoided the extended tragedy of the Vietnam War as well as Watergate. In addition, I believe that period would have been a time of economic and social progress under an irresistibly optimistic, wise, and determined president." 1968 was the focal point in time. I remember the elections, though I was only four. Humphrey was the one who would not only have prevented Nixon's destructiveness, but given us a constructiveness we could only imagine. I hope critics of Kerry take these thoughts into account.