WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former Sen. Eugene McCarthy, whose 1968 anti-Vietnam War presidential candidacy helped drive President Lyndon Johnson from office, died on Saturday, his son said.
The 89-year-old Democrat from Minnesota had suffered from Parkinson's disease, fell ill on Friday night and died from complications Saturday morning, according to his son, Michael McCarthy.
"He's obviously going to be remembered for his opposition to the war in Vietnam and his campaign against Johnson, but I think he'd maybe prefer to be remembered for his work on the Civil Rights Act ... Medicare and Medicaid and environmental law," his son said.
"Another thing about him was that he was able to participate in some of the most contentious debates of his time ... and do it on the basis of ideas and policies and not on personalities. I think that was one of the reasons he had such appeal to the young."
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