DIFFERING PERSPECTIVES ON DEFEAT
In a recent article by George McGovern, he speaks of the trauma of being defeated for the presidency in every state in the Union but one, including a defeat in his own home state. He writes on the theme of not giving up. He tells about that fateful night: On election night 1972 in Sioux Falls, S. D., I went to bed exhausted at about 6 p. m., thinking that I could sleep for several hours before the results were known. I recalled that Harry Truman, with public opinion polls indicating his defeat, had gone to bed election night 1948 and had been awakened after midnight to be told that the tide might be turning his way. This could happen again, I thought, or perhaps I dreamed as much. But as I fell into a heavy sleep — while voters in South Dakota were still going to the polls — Jeff Smith, my young assistant, awakened me gently and said:…
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