vcczar Posted October 14 Share Posted October 14 Thomas Eagleton (MO-D) is best known for being McGovern's VP nominee. It was learned that he had electroshock treatment (later diagnosed w/ bipolar II) and the media went crazy with this. Despite McGovern saying he supported him 1,000% and the polls showing that Eagleton's therapy made no decision in their vote, McGovern got tired of the media covering it and dropped him, replacing him with Sargent Shriver, husband of one of JFK's sisters. McGovern lost in a landslide, but I think if he had kept Eagleton he would have performed better. Dropping Eagleton made him seem like a disloyal, pliable, flip-flopper. His actions: Eagleton, Thomas 1972 Role in Clean Water Act Eagleton, Thomas 1972 Dem VP nom but dropped due to psychiatric history; replaced by Shriver Eagleton, Thomas 1973 co-sponsor of amendment halting bombing in Cambodia Eagleton, Thomas 1973 1 of 3 Sens to oppose confirmation of Ford to fill VP vacancy Eagleton, Thomas 1983 Introduces Hatch-Eagleton Amendment, stating that there is no Constitutional right to an abortion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vcczar Posted October 14 Author Share Posted October 14 Eagleton's anti-abortion stance was b/c he was Catholic. He was liberal otherwise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WVProgressive Posted October 15 Share Posted October 15 I can’t help but feel sympathy for Eagleton because of the press’s obsession with his mental health (especially as someone who also has bipolar disorder). It was so stupid, and honestly insanely bigoted, to act as if a depressive episode many decades in a person’s past that they proactively treated, and has not had any reoccurrence in the decades since, somehow disqualifies them from being President. It kind of reminds me of how psychologists speculated about Barry Goldwater’s mental state during his presidential campaign. It’s insane just how bigoted people were against mentally ill people (I mean, people are still bigoted against mentally ill people today, but it’s a lot better than it used to be) I’m just now noticing that I voted unfavorable, I meant to select favorable. Not sure how I made that mistake. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vcczar Posted October 15 Author Share Posted October 15 6 minutes ago, WVProgressive said: I can’t help but feel sympathy for Eagleton because of the press’s obsession with his mental health (especially as someone who also has bipolar disorder). It was so stupid, and honestly insanely bigoted, to act as if a depressive episode many decades in a person’s past that they proactively treated, and has not had any reoccurrence in the decades since, somehow disqualifies them from being President. It kind of reminds me of how psychologists speculated about Barry Goldwater’s mental state during his presidential campaign. It’s insane just how bigoted people were against mentally ill people (I mean, people are still bigoted against mentally ill people today, but it’s a lot better than it used to be) I’m just now noticing that I voted unfavorable, I meant to select favorable. Not sure how I made that mistake. There's also research that argues that Lincoln was bipolar. If that's the case, it certainly isn't a barrier to being a great president. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pringles Posted October 15 Share Posted October 15 9 hours ago, vcczar said: Eagleton's anti-abortion stance was b/c he was Catholic. He was liberal otherwise. Honestly I could be switched to favorable for this. It isn’t a strong unfavorable. He’s not as unfavorable as George Mcgovern. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rezi Posted October 15 Share Posted October 15 6 hours ago, vcczar said: There's also research that argues that Lincoln was bipolar. If that's the case, it certainly isn't a barrier to being a great president. More than bipolar even, Lincoln being clinically depressed throughout much of his life is very well documented. Honestly, the Lincoln family in general had some serous mental health issues. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrangeP47 Posted October 15 Share Posted October 15 Lincoln also took some serious blows to the head, not just from boxing but from being kicked in the head by a horse as a child (they make the seats rumble in the museum for that moment lol) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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