Happy 100 to Happy Hubie

Hubert Horatio Humphrey, Jr. (May 27, 1911 – January 13, 1978), served under President Lyndon B. Johnson as the 38th Vice President of the United States. Humphrey twice served as a United States Senator from Minnesota, and served as Democratic Majority Whip. He was a founder of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party and Americans for Democratic Action. He also served as Mayor of Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1945–1949. In 1968, Humphrey was the nominee of the Democratic Party in the 1968 presidential election but lost to the Republican nominee, Richard Nixon.--Wikipedia

Many people only know his name from a domed stadium in Minneapolis, the Metrodome, aka Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, aka Mall of America Field. He was far more than that. He was the consummate mid-20th Century Liberal. The final heir, perhaps, to the FDR New Deal legacy.

Sadly, his legacy was tainted by his connections with the Johnson Presidency, Vietnam, and the police riot in Chicago during his 1968 nominating convention. Many have said that with an extra week added to that year's campaign, he might very well have defeated Richard Nixon. Others would point out that he probably wouldn't even have been nominated if Robert Kennedy hadn't been assassinated.

But today all we have is history. And today would have been Humphrey's 100th birthday. A fighter and true Liberal in the best sense of the word, we sure could use a few like him today.