Hubert Humphrey



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 from 1945 to 1949. Humphrey was the nominee of the Democratic Party in the 1968 presidential election but lost to the Republican nominee, Richard Nixon. After his loss, Humphrey would return to the Senate where he spent the rest of his life. He died during his term, suffering from incurable bladder cancer.

Humphrey was well known in his career for being extremely talkative as well as his early support for civil rights legislation. His image suffered incredibly during the Vietnam War, but would later recover sufficiently during his lifetime and afterwards.


 * Alliteration
 * Catch Phrase: "I'm Pleased as Punch!"
 * Egopolis: Humorously so in Minnesota. You can hardly go anywhere without seeing something named for Humphrey, including an NFL stadium!
 * Face Heel Turn: To many Liberals over his public support of Johnson.
 * Long Runners: Not counting 1968 to 1971 (after he lost to Nixon for President), he served 30 continuous years as Mayor, Senator, Majority Whip, Vice-President, Running for President, and Senator once more.
 * Redemption Demotion: After losing the 1968 election, his return to the Senate saw him eventually recover his image.
 * Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: The sensitive guy to President Johnson's manly man.
 * Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness: Oh so much. Humphrey was once clocked at speaking close to 200 words per minute. Barry Goldwater once said that he'd been vaccinated with a phonograph needle.
 * Undying Loyalty: At least publicly to Lyndon B. Johnson on Vietnam. Not quite in Yes-Man territory as he privately opposed the war and brought up the opposition frequently in cabinet meetings to the point where Johnson would not include him in meetings.