In an article published July 18 in the Sun Journal, Eric Russell reported the comments of scholars on the upcoming presidential contest.

In his review of the presidential primary contests of 1968 and 1972, Russell made two errors. He said that President Lyndon Johnson “declined to seek a second term — but only after (Vice President Hubert) Humphrey and (Sen. Robert) Kennedy openly challenged” the incumbent president.

This statement is only half accurate. While RFK did challenge President Johnson, Humphrey did not enter the Democratic primary sweepstakes until after Johnson announced at the end of March 1968 that he would not seek another term.

The second mistake is the description of Alabama governor and contestant for the 1972 Democratic presidential nomination as an “anti-segregationist.” On the contrary, Wallace was the opposite: he was an outspoken and well-publicized defender of the rigid system at that time of racial segregation in the South.

Although these correctives may be construed as nit-picking, it is still important to get the facts right, even about what some might view as the distant past. After all, how the present views the past can influence how one understands the present.

Chris Beam, Lewiston

Editor’s note: The story has been updated to reflect these corrections.