The Democratic Party: Picking a Candidate for President in 2016

Image Credit: Queen of Heart

As I watched the January 17th final Democratic Party debate before the Iowa caucus I was reminded of a bit of history and an old English ballad from the 18th century.

The ballad was about a race horse that was an unlikely contestant according to the odds-makers.

The song was made popular by Peter, Paul and Mary in 1968, as the Democrats were trying to decide between voting for the re-election of Lyndon Johnson as president of the United States or challenging the underlying assumptions and special interests behind the Johnson administration by voting for Senator Eugene McCarthy, the anti-war candidate, during the New Hampshire primary.

Many Democratic voters, who saw Johnson as being boxed in by powerful interests that limited his scope of action, and who thought that McCarthy more accurately put his finger on the problems that disturbed them, ignored their gut instincts, suppressed their criticism, held their noses and voted for Johnson because they thought his re-nomination was inevitable and they didn't want to rock the boat.

President Lyndon Baines Johnson
Image Credit: Arnold Newman, White House Press Office (WHPO) 

As it turned out, the time was right for McCarthy's message. His impressive challenge against Johnson was the final straw that brought Senator Robert F. Kennedy into the race and, shortly thereafter, led to the withdrawal and sidelining of the once "inevitable" Lyndon Johnson.

McCarthy's "dark horse" candidacy, followed by the candidacies of Robert Kennedy, and later by George McGovern, led to a more thoughtful and open examination of many of the interests and assumptions that the Johnson administration had taken for granted and that limited the president's ability to match his promises with his deeds.

Arguably, the dark horse candidacy of Eugene McCarthy helped to change the scope of the debate for a brief moment in 1968 in ways that those who were afraid to support McCarthy, before New Hampshire, had thought were unimaginable. Unfortunately, a series of assassinations cut that debate short.

Senator Eugene McCarthy Campaign Poster (1968)

The 18th century ballad of an improbable race horse named "Stewball" is a narration in which a spectator was drawn toward an unlikely contestant, that more faithfully reflected the spectator's spirit, but chose to bet on the more conventional bay and the grey mare because they seemed "safer" and more likely to win.

In the ballad, it turns out that Stewball, because the time was right for him, was the more "practical" choice because the more conventional horses were no longer viable.

The spectator sacrificed both his interests and his future by betting on the "safe choice", which turned out not to be so safe after all. The spectator's lack of boldness, at the critical moment, caused him to miss his one shot at changing his fortunes.

Senator Kennedy attempted to
appeal to the power of reason
and passion in 1968.
Image credit: Ken Lambert, AP

If the narrator had bet on Stewball it would have set into motion a chain of events that would have changed everything. As it was, his moment was lost.

Just something to think about.

Peter, Paul and Mary Performing the Legend of Stewball