The old man and the sea - A drawing of a man in a boat with a shark

Cartoon shows Senator George McGovern as a fisherman in a small boat with the remains of a large fish, labeled "War Issue," lashed to its side, battling against high seas. Valtman alludes to Ernest Hemingway's The old man and the sea, which recounts the story of an old Cuban fisherman who catches a giant marlin. Despite his efforts, the fish is largely eaten by sharks before he returns to port with little more than the skeleton. In the 1972 presidential election, Democratic candidate McGovern hoped to make opposition to the Vietnam War his central issue, but his campaign was undermined by a series of tribulations that included attacks on his inconsistent stands on many issues and the revelation that his Vice Presidential running mate, Thomas Eagleton, had been hospitalized on two occasions for psychiatric problems. McGovern subsequently lost by a large margin to incumbent President Richard Nixon.
Published in: The Hartford times.
(DLC/PP-2000:071.011)
ljr / 020328.
Unprocessed in PR13 CN 2000:071.011
Source: Manchester, Glory and the dream, p. 1284-87 ljr