McGOVERN IS ANATHEMA

To the Editors of the Crimson:

The recent almost overwhelming vote for Senator McGovern in Massachusetts both (quite frankly) makes me question the wisdom of giving the vote to 18 year olds: and also confirms my earlier opinion, that whereas President Kennedy may have been a courageous President, the Kennedy tradition is beginning to corrupt American politics, because it is based on too many myths.

One way or another, Senator McGovern will only succeed in splitting the Democratic Party still further, whereas Mr. Muskie would not have done this. There are too many conservative Democrats to whom Mr. McGovern is anathema, for a McGovern candidacy to have a real chance of success in November.

Why is this so? Perhaps the reason is that American liberalism no longer has the power to draw people as it used to. People see evidence of a lack of common sense in too great a demand for freedom. Also, I think, many people have found the changes of the last few years too hard to adjust to; they demand a slower pace to progress, and more compromises. This explains a lot of the drawing power of Governor Wallace.

As to the 18 year old vote, it seems to me it would be a good thing if the present generation learned to respect the wisdom of its predecessors, and even those who are now in their seventies and eighties! People get a lot of experience in one lifetime. Jerome Minot '46