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Opinion: George McGovern pushes a new peace plan -- for Democrats

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George McGovern’s call for an end to the Vietnam War propelled him to the Democratic presidential nomination in 1972. Now, he’s asking the two rivals for this year’s nod to give peace a chance -- or, at the least, take concrete steps toward presenting a unified front.

As part of the walk-up to Tuesday’s primary in his home state of South Dakota, McGovern has proposed that Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton campaign together. There would be one precondition, he told the Sioux Falls-based Argus Leader newspaper: ‘No attacks on each other. We’ve had enough of that.’

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According to the story, Clinton is willing to give it a go. The Obama camp has been more equivocal; McGovern said it did not rule out a joint appearance, but warned that the candidate’s schedule already is jampacked.

McGovern, running on his anti-war platform, got crushed by then-President Richard Nixon in the general election 36 years ago. We doubt the prospects for his Clinton-Obama detente plan, at this point, are much better.

-- Don Frederick

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