Former U.S. Senator Thomas Eagleton – Briefly McGovern’s Running Mate – Has Died
Former U.S. Senator Thomas Eagleton died on March 4 at the age of 77. He is most remembered for having been asked to step down as the Democratic candidate for vice president in 1972 after it came to light that he had been hospitalized for depression and had undergone electroconvulsive therapy.
When news of Eagleton’s psychiatric history emerged soon after Eagleton had accepted the vice presidential spot on the Democratic ticket, George McGovern, the Democratic presidential nominee, at first stood behind him. “I think Tom Eagleton is fully qualified in mind, body and spirit to be the vice president of the United States and, if necessary, to take on the presidency on a moment’s notice,” McGovern said, according to the obituary published March 5 in The New York Times. Maintaining that he was “1,000 percent for Tom Eagleton,” McGovern continued to back the beleaguered senator from Missouri as the pressure mounted to replace him on the ticket. However, after two weeks of continuing pressure from Democratic party leaders and others, McGovern forced Eagleton to step down, according to the Times obituary. After 18 days as the nominee, Eagleton withdrew for the sake of “party unity.”
Years later, McGovern said that, in retrospect, he was sorry he had forced Eagleton to step down. McGovern has also said that he regarded Eagleton as one of the 10 or 12 best senators he had served with. The Times obituary quotes McGovern: “If I had it to do over again, I’d have kept him. I didn’t know anything about mental illness. Nobody did.”
Eagleton went on to be re-elected to the Senate by Missouri voters in 1974 and 1980. He retired from the Senate in 1987. In 1984, he said that his leading role in legislation to end the U.S. bombing of Cambodia in 1973 was the greatest achievement of his Senate career.
Footnote: I am plenty old enough to remember the events of 1972 in grim detail. The question is, will I live long enough to see the day when a psychiatric history will not be the kiss of death for a candidate running for the nation’s top elective offices?
Posted by Susan Rogers
When news of Eagleton’s psychiatric history emerged soon after Eagleton had accepted the vice presidential spot on the Democratic ticket, George McGovern, the Democratic presidential nominee, at first stood behind him. “I think Tom Eagleton is fully qualified in mind, body and spirit to be the vice president of the United States and, if necessary, to take on the presidency on a moment’s notice,” McGovern said, according to the obituary published March 5 in The New York Times. Maintaining that he was “1,000 percent for Tom Eagleton,” McGovern continued to back the beleaguered senator from Missouri as the pressure mounted to replace him on the ticket. However, after two weeks of continuing pressure from Democratic party leaders and others, McGovern forced Eagleton to step down, according to the Times obituary. After 18 days as the nominee, Eagleton withdrew for the sake of “party unity.”
Years later, McGovern said that, in retrospect, he was sorry he had forced Eagleton to step down. McGovern has also said that he regarded Eagleton as one of the 10 or 12 best senators he had served with. The Times obituary quotes McGovern: “If I had it to do over again, I’d have kept him. I didn’t know anything about mental illness. Nobody did.”
Eagleton went on to be re-elected to the Senate by Missouri voters in 1974 and 1980. He retired from the Senate in 1987. In 1984, he said that his leading role in legislation to end the U.S. bombing of Cambodia in 1973 was the greatest achievement of his Senate career.
Footnote: I am plenty old enough to remember the events of 1972 in grim detail. The question is, will I live long enough to see the day when a psychiatric history will not be the kiss of death for a candidate running for the nation’s top elective offices?
Posted by Susan Rogers
Labels: stigma
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home