The 1968 presidential race may well be remembered as the campaign of the hecklers. Since there was little substantive debate on the great issues, the most striking phenomena were the boos and catcalls, four-letter words and shouts of "Sieg heil!" Hordes of hecklers dogged the trail of every candidate, punctuating their speeches with yells and raspberries.
Who were they? Most were college students, but their politics varied. They included antiwar protesters and radicals who believed that the present political system must be shouted (and broken) down. Others were dissenting moderates, trying to goad candidates to speak more explicitly on the issues.
The...
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