Transcript
Museum of the Moving Image
The Living Room Candidate
"Convention," McGovern, 1972
(applause)
MALE NARRATOR: It was almost dawn in Miami when the final moment came, but the lateness of the hour did not dim the emotion in that hall, for the victory they celebrated was not his alone.
MCGOVERN: My nomination is all the more precious in that it's the gift of the most open political process in all of our political history.
MALE NARRATOR: The reforms had worked, for in Miami that night were people from the entire length and breadth of their party. Some were professionals, many were amateurs, but they all were Democrats, and they all shared the belief that this year each of them would make a difference.
WOMAN #1: I'm a housewife and a mother and a dairy farmer. I have one son, 17, and he was very anxious to do the driving, and so he offered to take me down, but he also told me if I didn't vote correctly, I'd walk home. And his vote was for McGovern.
MAN #1: Yeah, I've been in politics since 1960 and...I think that's the difference between the Democratic Party and the Republican Party to begin with. I think the Democratic Party is the party of the people, the ones who care.
MAN #2: There were only three from the delegation who had ever been to a convention before. We were all new, and we didn't have a moment's free time. The first night went ten hours.
WOMAN #2: People feel as if they, there's no way they can influence what happens. And I always felt that way, and in fact, that's the really great thing about - I went to the national Democratic convention, you know? A lot of people said, "Oh, you lost prime time by being up all night." Well, that to me was great, and I, every delegate that, that was there stayed there and stayed with it.
MALE VOICE #1: The state senators and the members of the house of delegates and all of these new people really worked hard.
WOMAN #1: The everyday person in our section, they were making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and salami sandwiches, right there on the convention floor, because they didn't have the money to eat in the hotels and restaurants. It, it wasn't a convention to play. The Miami people, hotel people, and the restaurant people were very unhappy because we, we didn't play.
MAN #1: We worked hard on the floor, and we had freedom of the floor to, to work in the way that we wanted to work.
WOMAN #2: Lots of people were able to participate, and because they're participating then the politicians - or he, in this case - will have to listen to what the people say, and he's going to respond to the people.
MAN #2: People were voting on their own conscience. I, I saw that myself.
MALE VOICE #2: I saw democracy happening right there on the floor.
MALE VOICE #3: Now, it was great. We worked as a team.
MALE VOICE #4: It was just fantastic. It was the first time I've ever seen anything that's supposed to not work, work.
(applause)
MCGOVERN: This is the people's nomination, and next January, we will restore the government to the people of this country. Let the opposition collect their $10 million in secret money from the privileged few, and let us find one million ordinary Americans who will contribute $25 each to this campaign, a million-member club with members who will not expect special favors for themselves, but a better land for us all.
(applause)
MALE NARRATOR: The contributions of 200,000 ordinary Americans had made him their nominee. He would need a million more to make him their president. The people are paying for this campaign with their hard earned dollars. Send what you can to: McGovern for President, Washington, D.C. McGovern. Democrat. For the people.
