During one of my recent appearances on “The Dakota Town Hall” podcasts, I mentioned a book that I read several years ago: “The Eighteen-Day Running Mate: McGovern, Eagleton, and a Campaign in Crisis” by Joshua M. Glasser. This book was published in 2012; I learned about it and read it in 2016, a few months before I started this blog.
As its title indicates, this book tells the story of George McGovern’s disastrous selection of U.S. Senator Thomas E. Eagleton of Missouri as his running mate after McGovern, a U.S. Senator from South Dakota, won the Democratic nomination for president in 1972.
In those days, the running mate selection was often made at the last minute during the national convention. That was certainly the case for McGovern in 1972. Author Joshua Glasser explains in some detail how McGovern hoped that U.S. Senator Edward M. Kennedy would eventually agree to be his running mate, and how Kennedy’s refusal led to a rather chaotic process of selection by McGovern.
The Eagleton pick backfired within weeks, as it was revealed the Eagleton had undergone electro-shock therapy to treat his depression. Glasser explains the history of treating mental illness to that time, including the development of electro-shock therapy.
McGovern famously declared that he was behind Eagleton “one thousand percent,” but soon thereafter he dumped McGovern from the ticket, replacing his with Kennedy brother-in-law Sargent Shriver, who had been the first director of the Peace Corps.
South Dakotans will particularly appreciate this portion of the book, which takes place in large part during McGovern’s post-convention vacation at the Sylvan Lake Lodge in Custer State Park; the press corps stayed at hotels in Custer.
McGovern faced an uphill campaign in any case as he challenged President Richard Nixon, a popular Republican incumbent, but the Eagleton fiasco certainly didn’t help matters. Ultimately, McGovern lost 49 states, including South Dakota, and only carried Massachusetts and the District of Columbia. McGovern, who was a World War II hero and a decent and committed public servant, would later say: “Ever since I was a young man, I wanted to run for the presidency in the worst possible way — and I did.”
I don’t recall “The Eighteen-Day Running Mate” getting much attention when it was released in South Dakota in 2012 – as I said I didn’t hear about it for four years – so I’m recommending it now as a fun read for those with an interest in South Dakota political history.
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