On Dynasties

[H2O Man]

67. HHH was an outstanding US Senator.

Serving as LBJ's vice president destroyed his career. He was intimidated by Johnson -- for good reasons, mainly -- and even when he knew that Johnson's policies in Vietnam were wrong, he dared not express his own opinion.

On one hand, a VP should be loyal to the President. But there is no record of his ever telling LBJ in private what he thought about that war. Worse, as a presidential candidate in 1968, he waited until the last minute to tell the media that he would make changes, if elected. (Nixon immediately called LBJ to report this, an hour or so before Humphrey informed Johnson about his statements. Hence, Johnson would continue to be about as supportive of Nixon, who promised to continue LBJ's policies when the two spoke, as he was was HHH.)

Had Humphrey spoken out even a week earlier, he likely would have won the election. His statement on Vietnam policy actually closed the gap between him and Nixon rapidly, so much so that even two more days could have changed the outcome.

There's no better example of why it's essential that candidates define themselves clearly during campaigns. They need to have the courage of their convictions. After his '68 defeat, Humphrey became a bitter man. He tended to blame the Kennedy brothers for his failure to ever become president, rather than take responsibility for his errors in 1968.