George McGovern, a former Democratic presidential candidate and three-term U.S. senator, thinks Congress is as partisan as he's ever seen it in his 88 years, and says Republicans are to blame.

The Democrat, best known for his 1972 loss of the presidency to Republican Richard Nixon, was in Columbus on Saturday to speak at the Nebraska Democratic Party state convention.

McGovern said before his address that Republicans seem intent on blocking every initiative President Barack Obama offers because they "decided the way back to control is to block everything."

But McGovern says Obama hasn't been without fault in the 18 months since he became president. The 88-year-old says the president made a mistake sending more troops into Afghanistan.