McGovern Rethinks Dumping Eagleton

Former U.S. Sen. George McGovern said he regrets dropping Missouri Sen. Thomas F. Eagleton as his initial running mate for the 1972 presidential race because Eagleton had been treated for mental illness. If the situation came up again, “I probably would have gone the other way,” McGovern, 75, said at a forum about mental illness. McGovern dropped Eagleton after news reports of his treatment, including electroshock therapy, for manic depression. R. Sargent Shriver Jr. replaced Eagleton, but President Nixon easily won reelection.