Former Senator George McGovern spoke to a crowd of UW-Madison students in the Wisconsin Union Theater as part of the Distinguished Lecture Series Monday.
McGovern addressed a number of topics, from a presidential bid he lost to Nixon to the War in Iraq and the many ethical issues which aspiring politicians should be aware.
'I hope people get some of his knowledge and wisdom,' said Director of the Distinguished Lecture Series, Hope Wallace. 'He is a veteran of World War II. He has run for presidential election. He's also won the presidential Medal of Freedom and I think he is a man who is a national treasure of the United States.'
In 1972 McGovern ran for U.S. president and lost to Nixon, but the experience has not diminished his enthusiasm for politics.
'I think that many students ought to get into politics ?? although you need a good, solid, moral underpinning to do so,' McGovern said. 'Politics is one of the great activities in human experience, but it can be a very hazardous experience if it is divorced from old fashioned morality and ethics. That is the lesson that President Nixon learned.'
He also spoke of the war in Iraq'a topic of which many who attended were eager to hear his opinions.
'It's pretty turbulent times now in the U.S., so it's nice to hear what someone distinguished thinks about it,' Max Gurbits, a UW-Madison law student said.
McGovern introduced the topic of the war in Iraq by reminding the audience of the lessons learned from the Vietnam War era.
'We were told that if we didn't stay there [Vietnam], there would be a bloodbath taking place when we pulled out that would be history making. Not only that, but that the countries next door would topple in a domino effect,' he said. 'None of that happened. They became our friends. We now trade with them, and vacation there.'
He continued the comparison of the two wars by calling for an American pullout from Iraq.
'It's no disgrace to say, or at least imply, that you've made a mistake,' McGovern said. 'All you're really saying is that 'I'm smarter today than I was yesterday,' and that is what Mr. Bush and his team should recognize.'
