If this film was made in 1972 why was there no mention of the Vietnam war? It seems like with all the war protesting at the time, this would have been a perfect platform for the candidates. ????? The war ended in 1975 didn't it?
shareYeah, I was a student at UC Berkeley when this film was made. There is one snippet a couple of seconds long showing Sather Gate in the background. I remember reading something in the Daily Cal (campus paper) about the filming being done and tried to avoid being anywhere near the shooting location because I don't like crowds, especially those that are being regimented or "directed".
The big issue in '72 was the Vietnam War. When I graduated in '72 I lost my student deferment and was drafted. By that time, however, I was I-O (conscientious objector) and, shortly thereafter, 4-F. Busing and crime get way more exposure in this film than Vietnam, even though they were much smaller issues, at least for those of us trying to stay out of the Southeast Asian meat grinder. A United State senator would have a lot more direct clout dealing with the Vietnam issue than crime or busing.
Wasn't Vietnam pretty much winding down by '72? Nixon had already started to withdraw US troops with the last ones leaving by March of '73. I can't see it being at the top of the issues list.
shareNo.
Vietnam was McGovern's main issue.
The fact that McGovern got destroyed was perhaps a sign that the American public had Vietnam fatigue. Indeed, Vietnam was winding down by 1972.
I'll take Punctuality
I disagree with your reasoning for why Sen. McGovern lost so decisively. A Kennedy liberal Democrat, McGovern appealed to the more progressive voters in his party and took advantage of new rules regarding delegates and proportional representation to win the nomination. But that allowed the GOP to paint him as an extreme leftist commie wacko, which he most assuredly was not. And he was much too modest (and leery of losing liberal support) to point out that he was actually a seriously heroic WWII veteran, having flown dozens of missions over Europe as a bomber pilot, while his opponent had served in uniform in the Pacific but never saw any real action. McGovern's fall campaign then stumbled out of the gate with his VP choice. a senator who'd received psychiatric treatment. His shaky numbers plummeted and would-be VP replacements publicly declined. Nixon touted his China success, lied about the war and Watergate, and never looked back.
Two years later, McGovern was still serving in the Senate and Nixon left town a step ahead of the sheriff.
I have seen enough to know I have seen too much. -- ALOTOshare
Perhaps I should have been more clear, my point was that Vietnam was not a traction issue by 1972. So McGovern's focus on this issue helped him very little. I am not saying it was the reason for his landslide defeat.
Nixon was a thug and a criminal, no doubt about that. I watched 'The Candidate' and 'All the President's Men' back to back, awesome!
I'll take Punctuality
During the '72 campaign, McGovern floated the idea of capping all personal income at somewhere between $20k-$30k, thus proving that he was, not a Democrat, but a Socialist. That's why he lost so badly.
It was enough to serve in the armed forces during WWII. Nobody among the 1945-1975 voting public would hold it against candidate A if he didn't get as close to hostilities as candidate B . . . . because everybody of those generations knew that it was largely out of the individual soldier's hands where they'd be stationed and what tasks they'd be assigned to do.
Nixon's China success (playing China off Russia & vice-versa) was a real accomplishment, and attenuated Cold War tensions considerably.
Although nobody knew it at the time, Nixon's big flaw was not Watergate (he did us a favor: we were long overdue to be taught how crummy all politicians are) but his New Economic Order policies of 1971. Read David Stockman's "The Great Deformation: The Corruption of Capitalism in America" to understand why this was the American Waterloo.
During the '72 campaign, McGovern floated the idea of capping all personal income at somewhere between $20k-$30k, thus proving that he was, not a Democrat, but a Socialist. That's why he lost so badly.
I have seen enough to know I have seen too much. -- ALOTOshare
Nixon had indeed started withdrawing US troops, but had expanded the war to Cambodia and with lots of Americans coming home in coffins or body bags, the war was still an extremely hot issue. Just before the fall election, the Nixon/Kissinger duo had declared that "peace is at hand" but they soon approved renewed bombing of North Vietnam. The North Vietnamese leadership then signed a peace treaty in early 1973, figuring they'd wait until the US had withdrawn and then renew their effort to take over the South. It worked.
I have seen enough to know I have seen too much. -- ALOTOshare
by fanaticita » Tue Nov 30 2010 ...If this film was made in 1972 why was there no mention of the Vietnam war?I think the movie intentionally stayed away from being specific on any given 'current' issue of the time because it would have put the focus on the issue rather than the intended focus (the process of becomining elected). I might also add that by staying away from specifics the movie has kept its relevance for anyone seeing the movie for the first time.