Former Indiana Senator Dies At 84

Former Senator Vance Hartke, a liberal Democrat whose opposition to the Vietnam War put him at odds with President Johnson, has died of heart failure. He was 84.

Hartke died Sunday after he was rushed to a suburban Washington, D.C., hospital with chest pains. He'd undergone open-heart surgery three years ago.

Hartke was the mayor of Evansville, Indiana, when he was elected to the Senate in 1958. He was soon befriended by Johnson, and used his committee posts to advance Johnson's Great Society agenda, creating student loan programs and new veterans' benefits.

The split with Johnson came in 1965, when Hartke aligned himself with other Senate Democrats opposing the Vietnam War. He later appeared on President Nixon's enemies list.

Retired Indiana congressman Lee Hamilton says Hartke's "great passion was for ordinary Americans."