Eugene McCarthy and the Rise and Fall of Postwar American Liberalism

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The book explores Senator Eugene McCarthy's transformation from a New Deal liberal and staunch anticommunist to a prominent critic of the Democratic Party due to the Vietnam War. His unexpected challenge to President Lyndon Johnson in the 1968 New Hampshire primary galvanized young liberals and marked a significant electoral upset. However, the subsequent election led to Richard Nixon's rise, resulting in a lasting shift of the American political landscape towards conservatism for decades.