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Before there was the controversial Sarah Palin pick in 2008, there was Thomas Eagleton, George McGovern’s ill-fated selection in 1972. The Eagleton affair, in fact, ultimately changed how vice-presidential running mates are now made.
With Mitt Romney set to pick his running mate soon, it's important to consider the lessons of 1972, the year that ultimately changed how Vice Presidential Candidates are selected.
With political watchers on veepstakes alert for Mitt Romney’s eventual VP pick, below a mini-documentary on the Eagleton affair.
A little backstory: When McGovern arrived at the Democratic convention in Miami during the summer of '72, his campaign priority was to fend off rival Hubert Humphrey's last-ditch attempt to win the nomination through an obscure rule change. Picking a running mate was relegated to the backburner. After officially gaining the nod, McGovern was left with only an hour and a half to choose a No. 2 -- and he hastily settled on Sen. Thomas Eagleton (D-MO), a man with whom McGovern had only spoken twice.
"Vetting" the candidate was an afterthought, a decision that came to exemplify VP selection gone bad.
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What about the Biden debacle? How the heck did he get picked?
Oh, I know, he is the only person that is so dumb that he can actually make Obama look intelligent.
LMAO
Gosh, the worst pick ever was Palin, followed by the Dick. I can't believe you people voted for her.
Job,
I think Spiro Agnew and the guy who could not spell, what's his name, were also big losers for the GOP.
Romney might not have it in him to top those picks.
Job1
Gosh, the worst pick ever was Palin, followed by the Dick. I can't believe you people voted for her.
I heard that Sarah Palin is being sued for divorce. No wonder they don't want her near Tampa.
Sarah Palin's husband Todd 'considering divorce'
Sarah Palin has been hit by more negative reports about her private life, this time suggesting that she is heading for divorce.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/sarah-palin/8782500/Sarah-Palins-husband-Todd-files-for-divorce.html
Family Values???
Wow, I didn't know that. Thanks for the update!
Job1
Wow, I didn't know that. Thanks for the update!
Job, most reports seem to be tabloid; but so was John Edwards. Besides, she has such a strong proclivity towards acting promiscuously I wouldn't doubt it .
Wonder if he was jealous of the attention she gets, and wants to be number one in all the press?
obammmma worst President ever.
Joe worst VP ever.
A matching set.
Lets not forget Hillary. What a waste of 4 years you people put on America.
Yes I said you people. You ignorant people.
Re: Palin divorce....I don't give a rat's patootie. She was irrelevant then and she is even more irrelevant now.
MN Nice -
I might tend to go with Agnew myself - and "what's his name" was Dan Quayle, who would certainly rank right up there. Then again, in trying to find an answer to phinephancy's question below about who may have found it an offer they COULD refuse, I came across this start of an interesting article on the U. S. Senate's web site (and no, I can't name who they all are):
"Holding the least understood, most ridiculed, and most often ignored
constitutional office in the federal government, American vice presidents have
included some remarkable individuals. Fourteen of the former vice presidents
became president of the United States—more than half of them after a president
had died. One defeated the sitting president with whom he served. One murdered a man and became a fugitive. One joined the Confederate army and led an invasion of Washington, D.C. One was the wealthiest banker of his era. Three received the Nobel Peace Prize and one composed a popular melody. One served as a corporal in the Coast Guard while vice president. One had cities in Oregon and Texas named after him. Two resigned from the office. Two were never elected by the people. One was the target of a failed assassination plot. Another was mobbed in his car while on a goodwill mission. Seven died in office—one in his room in the U.S. Capitol and two fatally stricken while on their way to preside over the Senate. And one piano-playing vice president suffered political repercussions from a photograph showing him playing that instrument while a famous movie actress posed seductively on top of it."
http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/briefing/Vice_President.htm
Okay, I just had to look up that last one. I'd have guessed Nixon, but it was actually Harry Truman:
http://iconicphotos.wordpress.com/2009/04/25/bacall-on-trumans-piano/
That gave us 8 years of W. Bush and the Dick.
there's Red Sux hanging around for the first comment again. And BS, as usual.
Where OH where is all of the POUTRAGE? lmao
Feisty - it appears rukidding and njnb are talking to themselves again. Should anyone tell them or just let them continue?
MN NICE - I can't recall the VP's name who couldn't spell either. Just looked it up! Dan Quayle. I don't know I think Palin is still worse - followed by Mitts. Okay, not VP but still pitiful for any office
Obama/Biden 2012
Much better than the 8 years you ignorant people put on us before. And get used to four more years because this president's going to win hands down. Mitt can't even leave the country and not f-ck up. lmao at you twits.
Wow First Read what an interesting story.
It was even more interesting when the NY TImes ran it 2 days ago:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/24/us/politics/eagleton-pick-in-1972-colors-todays-vice-president-hunt.html?pagewanted=all
The First Place for Politcs?
LOL, you should at least give some credit to Lawerence K Altman.
Job1 who writes:
My condolences, I can believe that I voted for President Obama. I did not like Biden at the time, however Biden has become very comical.
Hey, if I misspelled anything, well
SO What. You get my drift.
Palin the Bimbo is a good choice for Mitt the Minbo
Pigotry
Romney not only lost to McCain who lost to Obama. Romney lost to Failin' Palin!
Hi, MN NICE-2902944
A disaster for GOP: the one who can't spell? you mean Damn Quail with a big potaToe. His son Ben is now a congressman from AZZ. I hope Ben grows up OK.
If McCain would have listened to Palin he would have been in the middle of a re-election campaign.
You people have created false stories about from day one remember the one about her baby being her daughters?
OBAMA / BIDEN ...FAILED LEADERSHIP !!!
That's some fantasy world you're living in, fatso. Is it air conditioned?
Whether McGovern or McCain, it is best to pick a known entity. Interesting, both of the presidential candidates, who made the worse choices, names start with "Mc". I remember the Eagleton selection and the aftermath when the news broke about his treatment for mental health problems. As for Sarah Palin, McCain should have known better; he vetted many qualified candidates and instead picked one who was not fully vetted because she wasn't even on his short list.
Jody,
I think in addition to Mitt's little tax problem, if that's the case, McCain thought picking a woman would make him the winner
Interesting, both of the presidential candidates, who made the worse choices, names start with "Mc". I
You. Cannot. Be. Serious.
no joe, no bo, nj
Interesting, both of the presidential candidates, who made the worse choices, names start with "Mc". I
You. Cannot. Be. Serious.
Why not you're never taken seriously?
Who would want to be on this ticket? Another lie unearthed.
DailyKos:
Romney has touted his 'friendship' with Netanyahu as being "nurtured through meals in Boston, New York and Jerusalem."
Vanity Fair:
ROMNEY: "We [Mitt & Netanyahu] can almost speak in shorthand. We share common experiences and have a perspective and underpinning which is similar."
ROMNEY: "I'd get on the phone to my friend Bibi Netanyahu and say, 'Would it help if I said this? What would you like me to do?'"
ROMNEY: “Israel’s current prime minister is not just a friend, he’s an old friend”
Netanyahu on the other hand has quite a different memory:
“I remember him [Romney] for sure, but I don’t think we had any particular connections, I knew him and he knew me, I suppose.”
***********
Every single time Mitt opens his mouth, it's a lie. Every single time.
His tour in London today is being tweeted all over the world. Everybody is completely perplexed how this man could represent America at such a moment. Which he isn't. Michelle Obama will be representing us. Tomorrow. Thank goodness.
Joe Biden, fantastic Vice President. Fantastic. He is not one who would ever ask a world leader for his approval before saying something.
What a mess this Romney campaign has turned out to be. What a mess.
Indeed as someone said today, it's Amateur Hour with Mitt. The whole GOP is exactly like him, so no matter who he picks, it won't help.
Incompetent beyond anyone's wildest imagination.
Hi Beverly, hope all is well with you. Nice to see you. Keep up the great work.
Hope you're staying in touch with The Obama Diary. All my friends, family & co-workers love going there every morning. They work hard chasing down all those articles don't they?
And the photos are just so lovely.
Eagleton, the VP pick, suffered from depression and was dropped.
How can Willard, the Nominee, be dropped? Psychiatrists?
Feisty, check your email when you get a chance. I have a question for you.
Willard won't be dropped chilled. He is the best they have, believe it or not. And his vp pick won't help him.
That's the really sad part, Pat.....and they keep trying to remake him with ad buys!
Done! ☺
[You. Cannot. Be. Serious]
So says the closet Democrat raking in the big FAT teachers' pension...
I saw this over @ The Obama Diary and thought this might be of interest to all, especially those authors who write here @ First Read on a daily basis:
Telegraph: The NBC News First Read blog says: “Those of us that have travelled overseas and been involved in these VERY limited press avails have rarely seen heads of democracies TOTALLY ignore their own press corps but answer ANOTHER press corps’ questions”.
********
First Read gets mentioned by The Telegraph.
Not the NYT, not the Washington Post, not the Boston Globe, but FIRST READ.
Cheers, and have a great Olympics across the pond.
"How can Willard, the Nominee, be dropped? Psychiatrists?"
I'm thinking the IRS will be the instrument of Willard's destruction if they ever get a true reading on Romney's finances.
What? Does nobody remember Spiro Agnew. Nixon's co-pilot was allowed to resign to escape going to the slammer for bribery.
Ah, yes. Agnew escaped like a thief in the night, didn't he? He was also famous for his asinine public remarks, such as...
"I apologize for lying to you. I promise I won't deceive you except in matters of this sort."
"I didn't say I wouldn't go into ghetto areas. I've been in many of them and to some extent I would say this; if you've seen one city slum, you've seen them all."
"In the United States today, we have more than our share of the nattering nabobs of negativism."
"Three things have been difficult to tame: the oceans, fools and women. We may soon be able to tame the oceans; fools and women will take a little longer."
He sounds a lot like today's Republicans, doesn't he? Racist, misogynistic, intolerant, willfully ignorant, and blind to his own impending doom.
Pat. Not really a lie. Mitt the barber had lox and bagels in Boston, pastrami with kosher pickles in New York and matzah ball soup in DC.
He is totally culturally aligned with his buddy Benny even if if he doesn't remember meeting him.
No
Wonder how many are asked to vp and refuse? Just asking (either party). Big hassle for the family.
Hello phine, glad to see you are back posting again :)
Romney is toxic, even McCain knew this when he saw 20 years of Romney's tax returns...I mean, after all that, McCain picked Palin.
I doubt any of the "smarter" Republicans will take Romney's offer because they know it will be a career killer to accept. They are also probably reciting the old "don'tpickme...don'tpickme...don'tpickme..." mantra under their breath, as turning Romney down is a Party killer.
It will be someone generic, for sure.
phine - have a great evening! I know you're thrilled to be home!
Wow, this is really a great little documentary - brought back a lot of memories. The part at the end about Walter Cronkite is especially fascinating - I don't remember hearing that before.
The only thing I'd argue with is that the Eagleton pick is to blame for McGovern losing in a landslide to Nixon. As a country, in 1972 we weren't any more ready for McGovern and his anti-war stance than we were for Eagleton and his electro-shock treatments for depression. I can remember sitting in shock in what passed for the Democratic headquarters in my conservative college town, watching the returns come in on tv, and seeing the red and blue electoral map turn almost solid red as McGovern won only Massachusetts and the District of Columbia. As a 20-year-old naive but idealistic college student, I couldn't believe back then that the entire country could go for Richard Nixon, of all people. Today, as a much less naive but still idealistic 60-year-old, I still find it hard to believe.
But thanks for the memories - I only wish this documentary was even longer. It was a really interesting time to be getting your first baptism into the world of presidential politics. Heartbreaking loss or not, I'll never regret being there and being involved.
I remember being told by a worker at our local Goldwater headquarters that his side was going to lose because the political pendulum hadn't swung back to the right far enough yet. It was pegging left and liberals were riding high. As we moved into the 1970s and with Nixon's election in 68 the pendulum started to move to the right. By the time it got to the 80s it was pegging right. In the 70s the Democrats had really weak candidates. Probably because it was assumed that Bobby Kennedy would be elected. Unfortunately, of course, he was assassinated and the party threw in VP Hubert (pleased as punch) Humphry. Later we saw the likes of peacenick McGovern and ended the decade with releatively conservative Jimmy Carter. Had Ford not pardoned Nixon I doubt even Jimmy Carter wouldn't have been elected. In the 80s the pendulum was swinging right easing a bit in the 90s and taking one last swing toward the right nearly breaking having gone beyond normal levels. Now, slowly the pendulum is moving back toward the center to the left and it should keep on going just a little longer. Meanwhile the right wing extreme elements will be minimized as the left wing elements were in the 70s. Once again we'll govern from the center and get tons of work done. When one extreme faction dominates we have a mess but when we govern from the center we're okay. President Obama has moved from left toward the center but prominent GOPers are still pegging right. Until they move toward the center nothing will get done. If Willard panders to the right he'll lose as the pendulum is moving that direction. American opinion is moving toward the left like it or not.
JoAnne, I seem to remember the Eagleton affair as being dirty tricks played by the GOP. I haven't had a chance to see the documentary, but I recall it being a very sad chapter in politics. Very sad. I still remember the day he dropped out. I felt bad for him.
Hi, Pat -
It's only ten minutes or so and well worth watching. There's a part where there's a tape of Haldemann talking to another Nixon guy who had known about it even before it came out in the press, so you're probably right. And yeah, it was sad - Eagleton seemed like a pretty good guy.
Adler: " American opinion is moving toward the left like it or not."
Agreed - just a look at the changing demographics in the country should make that obvious to the GOP. But apparently not.....
JoAnne
Do you remember that Ike got a lot of pressure by Texas oil to dump Tricky Dick for his second term in favor of Texas Attorney Bob Anderson? Ike agreed but was unable to pull the trigger because of his amiable nature. He would have saved America a lot of agony had he followed thru and done the deed.
Those crowds of 50,000 and 60,000 were a real problem for the GOP.You liberal ding dongs don't know anything about connecting with the people. Palin is a political master. She knows the battle is in the culture and she and her family are invading hallowed liberal territory. I don't remember if Eagleton ever endorsed anyone, but Sarah is popping out winners left and right. Mrs. Palin has the GOP wrapped around her little finger. If they let her speak at the Convention she'll bring the house down, and if they don't, millions are going to be pissed and Mitt is toast.One thing for sure, she'll be on Obamas case until the cows come home or he's back in Chicago or Hawaii, or Indonesia or Kenya, wherever the hell he's from.
Are you kidding? "Mrs. Palin"? I have a very Republican son-in-law from Minnesota who now lives in San Diego, a very conservative city. He told me recently, while we were discussing tax breaks for the "wealthiest Americans", that he voted for President Obama BECAUSE Sara Palin was on the ticket with John McCain. He said he "shuddered" every time he thought about her in the Oval Office.
She's a loud mouth know nothing talking head for the GOP. Nothing more.