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Law Professors Endorse McGovern

Short Takes

Seven Law School faculty members endorsed 1972 Presidential candidate George McGovern's 1984 Presidential bid in a letter printed in The New York Times yesterday.

Calling the other candidates "a field of chameleons," the letter condemned the media for presenting McGovern as a "frivolous gadfly."

"The media," it said, "focus on potential for victory and ignore the quality of persons and ideas."

Richard D. Parker, professor of Law and author of the letter, said yesterday he was disappointed that people "put McGovern down just to show they are mature, realistic politicos."

Parker cited a recent Washington Post article that "showed a lot of people got into politics with McGovern," but that ended by comparing him to Harold Stessen, a perennial Presidential candidate.

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"I think, at least with people in their 30s, there's a terrific reservoir of respect for McGovern and what he did in '72," said Parker. "And then there's not to expect for the other candidates he said.

Parker also said that he could have gotten "one or two other parities" and that he was pleasantly surprised by the response to the endorsement from his colleagues, even those who would not sign.

Six Others

Besides Parker, those who did sign were Assistant Professor of Law Elizabeth Bartholet, Professor of Law Gerald E. Frog. Harvey Lecturer on World Organization David W. Kennedy, Professor of Law Duncan M. Kennedy, Professor of Law Lewis D. Sargentich and Daniel K. Tanullo, Thayer Lecturer on Law.

In the future, Parker said he is "trying to get McGovern to Harvard before the Massachusetts primary."

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