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In HARD YEARS Sen. Eugene McCarthy gazes into the dismal abyss of the disastrous times from the 1960's through the 1979's explains what went wrong, why, and how we might avoid repeating those catastrophes. Contrary to those engaged in perpetually whistling past the graveyard, McCarthy finds no solace in notions our political system is proved effective because the institutions of the political process, government, law, and the press clanked and groaned until one president, Lyndon Johnson, was frightened away from office and another, Richard Nixon, was forced to resign lest he be impeached. If that is proof of success the voyage of the RMS Titanic was a success too; after all, not everyone drowned. At all the critical points in those decades nearly every responsible institution failed because irresponsible and corrupted individuals cast their lot with forces hell-bent on the destruction of the American democracy and the rule of law; we survived, badly wounded, more through luck than through wisdom. Important lessons about the proper functions of all our institutions and the duties and obligations of office holders and the need for constant vigilance can be found herein, lessons we must learn by heart and remember always since the forces that brought the republic to the brink in the 60's and 70's are still with us, even more powerful than then.