LUKE A. NICHTER
HISTORIAN
CHAPMAN UNIVERSITY
WHY: Nationally recognized expert on politics of the 1960s as author of The Making of the President, 1968: Johnson, Humphrey, Nixon, Wallace and The Election That Changed America.”
NOTABLE: Often cited for articles on the Democratic National Convention held in Chicago in both 1968 and this year.
QUOTABLE: “On August 20, Johnson received another great setback when he learned the USSR had invaded Czechoslovakia…. The invasion also complicated the Paris peace talks because many Democrats had endorsed the Soviet proposal for an unconditional bombing halt. But after Czechoslovakia, no one wanted to appear too close to the Soviets…
When Johnson announced that the plan for a summit with the Soviets was canceled, an aide said, “the saddest person in a sad room was Vice President Humphrey.” — Leader Board
