By Josh Wolonowski | gargoyle@flagler.edu
On Wed. March 4, WFCF Flagler College Radio had Senator George McGovern in its studio for an on-air interview with Matt Jeffs, the host of 88.5’s community affairs program, Airborne.
McGovern opened up the show saying, “I’ve heard great things about Flagler College,” as he went on to tell his listeners that he will be talking with the students and faculty on April 6.
“I’m glad they didn’t put it on April fool’s day,” he replied with a chuckle.
McGovern currently lives in St. Augustine with his 14-year-old Newfoundland breed dog, Ursa.
“She loves to splash in the ocean,” he said.
After earning his Doctorate from Northwestern and before entering politics, McGovern worked as a professor of history where he then became better acquainted with the Spanish Conquistador, Ponce De Leon, and St. Augustine in becoming the first white settlement on the North American Continent.
Currently, McGovern is promoting his 13th book, this one about Abraham Lincoln. It is a part of a series of books featuring all 44 presidents.
“I think by any test, the majority of historians would say that Lincoln was our greatest President,” he said.
“He had many admiral qualities.”
Even though Senator McGovern is a Democrat, while growing up as a child his parents saw things differently, “my mother and father lived and died as Republicans,” he said. He went on to talk about his own political footprint and how Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill played a hand in him being a Democrat.
As for the future of politics, Senator McGovern feels that with what we just saw from the last election, young adults are interested in participating in the political process.
“I think a lot of them were energized in this last election campaign,” McGovern said.
“There is as many now as we have had since I ran in ’72.”
Senator McGovern has recently spoken out against the card check process, which falls under the Employee Free Choice Act. By taking this stand he has crossed party lines and in return, has received little heat from party members.
“I can’t come out in favor of that, a few labor leaders have spoken out and said that they were disappointed but every time I’ve talked to one of them directly and we have 5-10 minutes to talk about it they say, ‘well you’ve got some logic on your side,’ but I don’t think it’s going to pass,” he said.
When speaking upon the current status of our economy, McGovern proclaims himself as an optimist. As a Democrat he endorses President Obama saying, “he talks a lot about hope and faith and not as much about fear, I think we have had too much fear talk.”
McGovern hopes to not only be remembered as one who fought world hunger but as one who he said at first stood alone against the Vietnam War.
“My knees were shaking more the day I made my first speech on the senate floor against the Vietnam War than they were flying bombers in World War II.”
Be the first to comment on "‘Airborne’ features Senator McGovern"