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Address by Hubert H. Humphrey Accepting the Nomination for Vice

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······ :.:::···· ···· ... news re ease FROM THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE PUBLICITY DIVISION 1730 K STREET, N. W. WASHINGTON 6, D.C. FEDERAL 3-8750 FCR IMMEDIATE RELEASE B- 3697 AUGUST 28, 1964 ACCEPTANCE ADDRESS OF THE HONORABLE HUE ERT H. HUMPHP£Y, UNI TED STATES SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF MINNESOTA Mr. Chairman, Mr. President, my fellow Democrate , my fellow Americans, I proudly and humbly accept your nominationo Will we ever be able to forget this unbelievabl e, this moving, this beautiful, this wonder ful ev..:---:i.ng? \vhat a cl.1allenge to every person in thiG land to Li.ve up to the goals ar_ -~ :':he i deals of tho3e who heve gone before us, and have charted the course of our action. I was deeply moved last n:f.ght~ I received a singular tribute from a f1:iend and a great P=es ident, a tribute that I shall neve1.· forget, and I pr ay to Aludghty God that I shall have the strength and the wisdom to measure up to t he r.onfidence and t he trust tha t has been placed in me . And please let me say thank you, my fellow Democratso I believe that I know President Johnson as well as any man. So let me tell you about himo I have known for 16 years his courage, his wisdom, his tac t , and his perauasion, his judgment and his leadership. But I shall never forget those hours and those days of tragedy and crisis l ast November t hat we once again relived toni ght, when a dear and wonderful t r iend and a grea t President was taken fron us o And another s t epped forward bto i:.at ior:-. lt nt ··dou wit hout a falter , withOUt e moccn.t :O f~:.ho si oz:.e. mo=nf'.:.l I was among those that he called to his side. He aske d u s , we, the people, Republicans and Democrats alike - - Americar.s all --f or our helpa And I say Thank God that John Fitzgerald Kennedy was the patriot that ba was, that he had the foresight that day in Los Angeles to provide for his count ry o Thank God for t his country and for the ~eace of the world--that President Kennsdy had the wisdom to choose a Lyndon J dnson aa hi s Vice President. I am sure you remember these words: "Let us continue". Those si mple and direct words of President Johnson reached the hearts of our people. Those words rallied them ~ l~ fted them and unified them. In this world, disaster is eve~ but a step away ~ There is no margin for error. The lead. .:: r of thl'! free world, the lea~r C'lf the American Democracy, holds in his hands t ~1 tt: destinies r. "" t e> ~ly of his people, but holds in his hands the \L., destinies of all , ~~dnd. Yes, the President of the United States must be a man of calm and deep assurance who knows his country and knows his people. Above all, he must be a man of clear mind and sound judgment, a man who can lead, a man who can decide, a man of purpose and conviction. And, Lyndon Johnson is that man. He is a man with the instincts of a teacher, who would rather persuade then compel, who would rather unite than divide. President Johnson is respectful of the traditions of the Presidency, and he understands the compelling need for restraint in the use of the greatest power ever assembled by man. In President Johnson's bands, our people know that our power is for justice, and in his hands our people :• .n ow that our power is for peace. In his hands, our peqie know that our power is for freedom. President Johnson i-: 'ls help~d to u.atre the Democratic Party the only truly national party. And t l-is ve"i:y Conv:mtir .:1 demonstrateo our strong and our abiding unity and brothe ~ hood. And what a contras t--what a contrast with the shambles at the Cow Palace in San Francisco. What a contrast with that incredible spectable of bitterness, of hostility, of personal attack. The American people have seen the contrast. The American people do have a clear choice, and I predict their choice will be Lyndon Johnson in November. Ralph Waldo Emerson once spoke of "The two parties which divide the atate"--the party of hope and the party of memory, my fellow Democrats. They renew their rivalry, he said, from generation to generation. This contest, between the party of hope and the party of memory lies at the very heart of tbi J camp~ign. ~ During the . ast few weeks, shrill voices have tried to lay claim to the great spirit of the American pas t. B11t they long for a past that never was. In their. -~ cklessness and in their r ~dicalism, they distort the American conservative tradition. Yes, those who have kidnapped the Republi~an Pa~ty have made it thi3 year not a party of memory and eenti:aent, but one of stridan~.y, unresi:ra of i ne c~ passion, of extreme and xa.dical language. And by contras~, which is clea~ to all, unde~ the leade~shi~ of Presiden: Lyndon Johnson, the Democratic Party sta&.lda today as the champion of great causes, aa the par::y of purpose and conviction, as the pa:t·ty of national unity, ar.d ~. s the party of hope for all mankind. Now let my me document caseo Above all ~ the ~ontrast iG between the Demo~ratic leadership and that of the Goldwater Party is sh~rp and decisive on the question of peace aad securityo For 25 years, my fellow Americans, both parties have held the conviction that politics should stop at the ·,,;a ter r s edge:~ that we m1.1st be united in the face :>.f ou:: enemies, and ;.1e mus;: b ,::: ;:.:.i;ed in support of oar. allies and our friendso And I say here tonight, to every American~ to every f~iend of freedom, woe to that party o'b that spokesman that tul"ne its b a ~k upon bipartisan foxe~.gn poli~y o Woe tc those who are willing to divide this Nation, and !:cware of those who cast false doubts upon our great strengtho What great problems there are to solve: Problems to control the a\-7eso~e port7er of the nuclear age, to strengthen the grand alH.ance wi.th Euro?eo To continue the task of bui.lding a strong and prosperous and united hexrJ.sphet:e undel" the Alliance for Progress ., To aasist ouz: fr.ieads in Asia and Africa in preserving their freedom and promoting their progress. And to·.; d.efen.d and extend freedom throughout the wo:-ldu Now, my fell ow Americ~ns ~ thes~ urgent p. obl eCll!J de:nand r- eason:;-.d . so1ut1.on n: nCit eiDfty slogans o Childlike answers cannot solve I!l3n-sized prohl~ms. These proble:ns demand leadership that is pr11dent, reet>.:aj.ned, resiJo· .:; i.b i e : '£hey require a. President who know3 that Rome was not built in a dc:: :i ~ but: woo also kno\:s that o :~ West.:! the great ed:l.fice ~:\ Civilization ca.n be : .• i: .::l \!ght do\'m (l in ru ~. ns in one hour The American Presidency is no~ a place. for a m.:1n Tt7ho i s im!)etuous at cme moment, and :l.ndecisive the neY.t; nor is ~?ho it ~- a p l ace f:>z one s violet: t ly fo-: something one day and violently opposed ·to it on the next, nor is it an of.fice 't-Jhere statements on matters of majo:: policy are ao confuDing and flo cont~adictory that neither friend no~ fo3 knows ~he7.e he stands. And oy fellow Americans, t~y~ it of. iL!j? i c 07: tn r.:!.ghei3!: :::~ce that bo·i:h frien<! <:~,::1 d fee kr that Am~1· ~. can Pl·esi~i' .o"t\' the - nt means wh.:1t he ea:;s e.nc t;ay0 what he meansi The temporary spokesman of the Republican Party --yes, the temporary Republican spo~esman is not only out of tune with the great majority of his countrymen; he is even out of step with his own party. In the last three-and-a-half years, most Democrats and Republicans have agreed on the great decisions our Nation has made. But not the Republican spokesman, not Senator Goldwater. He has been facing backward, against the mainstream of American history. Most Democrats and most Republicans in the United States Senate, for example, voted for the nuclear test ban treaty. But not the temporary Republican spokesman. Most Democrats and Republicans in the Senate voted for an eleven and a half billion dollar tax cut for the American citizens and American business. But not Senator Goldwater. Most Democrats and Republicans in the Senate, in fact four-fifths of the members of his own party, voted for the Civil Rights Act. But not Senator Goldwater. Most Democrats and Republicans in the Senate voted for the establishment of the United States Arms Control and Disarmament Agency that seeks to slow down the nuclear arms race among the nations. But not the temporary Republican spokesman. Most Democrats and most Republicans in the Senate voted last year for an expanded medical education program. But not Senator Goldwater. Most Democrats and most Republicans in the Senate voted for education legislation.
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