"It became necessary to destroy the village in order to save it."

The Hubert Humphrey Presidential Library Foundation in Minneapolis is hosting a "1968 Presidential Election Analysis Forum" this weekend featuring former Humphrey Administration officials and historically insignificant mustachioed radio show host G. Gordon Liddy. On Saturday, DailyKos founder Markos Moulitsas Zanig will present a lunchtime talk entitled "1968 as a Blueprint for Success in 2008" during a menu of Vietnamese noodles and lemonade.

By early 1968, Pillar of Sober America Walter Cronkite had finally said what everyone was thinking when he observed America was mired in stalemate in Vietnam. He said this on the CBS Evening News. Rather than whisk Cronkite off to Cairo in a padded Lear Jet for further discussion, the administration quietly observed the tide of public opinion had irreversibly turned against the war. It became acceptable to honestly discuss the Vietnam disaster at Tupperware parties and in Bob Eubanks' sweater vault. The 'tipping point' had occurred, and ordinary Americans knew there was a big problem in Vietnam.

But why be content to win an argument when you can firebomb the opposition into total submission? Bearded youngsters in Volkswagens had the same question and convened in Chicago to come up with a solution. It was a no brainer-- what better way to win the hearts and minds of sexually frustrated Kansans in Buicks than to start a ganja-soaked longhaired class riot on primetime television? It was an hysterical success, consecrating the golden age of class warfare in marketing and a swift and speedy Democratic victory in November. Goodness knows what disasterous outcome an alternative election result would have produced.

The rest is history. Richard Nixon became the obscure $600 Jeopardy answer, and Spiro Agnew returned to his day job misplacing banking records.