Former Sen. Eugene McCarthy, an unstinting liberal whose presidential quest 23 years ago helped oust Lyndon Johnson, has opened a new campaign as "a personal confrontation" against President Bush.
McCarthy, 75, said his 1992 campaign will challenge Bush for failing to accept responsibility for higher taxes and budget deficits, for abusing the veto and for "giving the nation its first `no-fault presidency.' ""I will not look to any single issue to carry me to victory against George Bush," McCarthy said. "It will be a personal confrontation with the Bush administration, his concept of the presidency and his presidential record."
The brief statement, delivered to Washington news bureaus during the weekend, berated Bush for a long list of deficiencies, including showing "disdain for the constitution in supporting the anti-abortion amendment."
McCarthy also criticized Bush for proceeding with military involvement against Iraq "without proper consultation with Congress" and for ignoring the advice of civilian experts and using military officials to defend his decision.
"Through it all, he denied any personal or presidential responsibility, giving the nation its first no-fault presidency."
McCarthy has raised $6,000 for the campaign, $1,000 from his own resources, said aide Mike Barr.
Barr said McCarthy, who has scheduled speeches at Harvard, Dartmouth and Keane State universities next week, has set up campaign organizations in several states, including California, Oklahoma and New Hampshire, the site of the nation's first primary.
McCarthy was a senator from Minnesota and an unrelenting foe of U.S. involvement in Vietnam when he challenged Johnson in the 1968 primary.