EAGLETON AFFAIR

EAGLETON AFFAIR. Senator George McGovern of South Dakota, the Democratic Party's nominee for president in 1972, selected Missouri Senator Thomas Eagleton to be his vice-presidential running mate. Eagle-ton, a fellow liberal and Vietnam dove, appeared to be a good choice. But after news sources revealed that he had undergone shock therapy and hospitalization several times in the past, many Democrats feared that his continuing presence would hurt the ticket in November. Although McGovern initially declared that he supported Eagleton "1,000 percent," he soon replaced the Missourian with Sargent Shriver, the husband of John F. Kennedy's sister. As a result of the Eagleton affair, McGovern's campaign for the presidency was seriously damaged, and he never recovered from it.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

White, Theodore. The Making of the President, 1972. New York: Atheneum, 1973.

William C. Berman

See also Elections, Presidential.