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McGovern, Eagleton, and a Campaign in Crisis
Yale University Press
August 2012
On Sale: August 1, 2012
392 pages
ISBN: 0300176295
EAN: 9780300176292
Kindle: B008GSB296
Hardcover / e-Book
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Non-Fiction Political
No skeletons were rattling in his closet, Thomas Eagleton
assured George McGovern’s political director. But only
eighteen days later—after a series of damaging public
revelations and feverish behind-the-scenes
maneuverings—McGovern rescinded his endorsement of his
Democratic vice-presidential running mate, and Eagleton
withdrew from the ticket. This fascinating book is the first
to uncover the full story behind Eagleton's rise and
precipitous fall as a national candidate. Within days of Eagleton's nomination, a pair of anonymous
phone calls brought to light his history of hospitalizations
for “nervous exhaustion and depression” and past treatment
with electroshock therapy. The revelation rattled the
campaign and placed McGovern's organization under intense
public and media scrutiny. Joshua M. Glasser investigates a
campaign in disarray and explores the perspectives of the
campaign’s key players, how decisions were made and who made
them, how cultural attitudes toward mental illness informed
the crisis, and how Eagleton's and McGovern's personal
ambitions shaped the course of events. Drawing on personal interviews with McGovern, campaign
manager Gary Hart, political director Frank Mankiewicz, and
dozens of other participants inside and outside the McGovern
and Eagleton camps—as well as extensive unpublished campaign
records—Glasser captures the political and human drama of
Eagleton's brief candidacy. Glasser also offers sharp
insights into the America of 1972—mired in war and anxious
about the economy, a time with striking similarities to our own.
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