Richard Goodwin, a multi-talented and self-confident man who wore many hats and helped formulate some of the most significant words and deeds of 1960s liberalism, passed away yesterday. As one of the youngest members of the already relatively young, New Frontier, Goodwin went to work for John F. Kennedy during the campaign of 1960. He served both inside the Kennedy White and at the State Department during JFK’s term, though his greatest impact lay in two moves he made after the assassination of John F. Kennedy. He was LBJ’s chief speechwriter for the first few years of his presidency, and wrote the speech that could rightfully be labeled the liberal high point in American history. “The Great Society” speech delivered by LBJ in 1964 that paved the way for Medicare, Medicaid, federal aid to education, and a host of other programs and policies leaves many Democrats in this country yearning for the days when the people’s government worked for them, and not just the powerful.  The sky was the limit…until Vietnam, political assassinations, racial strife, and conservatism all reared their ugly heads.

Eventually, LBJ’s brusque ego and personality, coupled with Goodwin’s increasing distaste for the war in Vietnam led him to leave the Johnson White House and eventually go to work for Eugene McCarthy’s long-shot presidential run in 1968. Yet, even Goodwin felt the pull toward the Kennedys and wisely jumped ship soon after Bobby Kennedy entered the primaries to help his friend RFK. By the end of that tumultuous year, Goodwin would largely turn his back on political activism as the events of the late 60s haunted him. Yet, his book Remembering America is a must-read for anyone trying to understand the events of the sixties as told by a sympathetic, progressive voice.

The Boston Globe, Goodwin’s hometown newspaper, remembered him eloquently last night