Senator George McGovern passed today at the age of 90, and we shall miss his open-hearted, Midwestern way of thinking about social policy. From the WashPo’s obituary:
Sen. McGovern, a minister’s son, was raised in a South Dakota farm community during the Depression and was a decorated bomber pilot in World War II. Both experiences — seeing hobos begging for food at his family’s doorstep and witnessing emaciated child beggers in wartime Italy — molded his political career from the moment he was first elected to Congress in 1956.
I also watched hobos coming to my grandmother’s door during the depression and even during the war, and that helped form my political thinking, feelings, to this day. God Bless George Mc Govern for his influence even though not as President.