Soapy Williams, the governor of...
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Soapy Williams, the governor of Michigan from 1948-1960, was the sole delegate at the
1960 Democratic convention who opposed the nomination of Lyndon Johnson as vice
president on the basis of Johnson's lack of standing for racial rights. His biographer,
Thomas Noer, writes: "Williams never hesitated or wavered in his convictions or in the
belief that he was right. It was his greatest strength but also his most telling political
weakness." Williams said about himself, "I think I'm more a John the Baptist than a
disciple. Maybe I have too much courage and not enough common sense; maybe too
much idealism and not enough practicality."
(From Thomas Noew, Soapy [Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2005], p. 214.)
(From Thomas Noew, Soapy [Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2005], p. 214.)
