Thomas Eagleton

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Thomas Francis Eagleton
US Senator, Missouri
In office 1968-1987
Preceded by	Edward V. Long
Succeeded by	Kit Bond
Born	September 4, 1929 St. Louis, Missouri
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Barbara Smith Eagleton
Religion	Roman Catholic

Thomas Eagleton and George McGovern on July 24, 1972 cover of Time Magazine after his nomination for vice president on the Democratic ticket.

Thomas Eagleton on August 7, 1972 cover of Time Magazine after his withdrawal for vice president on the Democratic ticket.

Thomas Eagleton

Thomas Francis Eagleton (born September 4, 1929) is a former United States Senator from Missouri, serving from 1969 until 1987. He is best remembered for briefly being a Democratic Vice Presidential nominee, sharing the ticket under George McGovern in 1972. He is a member of the Democratic Party. He taught Public Affairs at Washington University for over a decade and now co-teaches a seminar on the Presidency and the Constitution at Saint Louis University School of Law.

[edit] Early life and political career

Eagleton is the son of another St. Louis politician, Mark D. Eagleton (who had run for mayor), and Zitta Swanson.

He graduated from St. Louis Country Day School, enlisted in the Navy for two years, graduated from Amherst College in 1950, and then attended Harvard Law School.

Eagleton married Barbara Ann Smith of St. Louis on January 26, 1956. A son, Terence, was born in 1959, and a daughter, Christin, was born in 1960.

He always projected youthful charm. He was elected circuit attorney of the City of St. Louis in 1956, and Missouri Attorney General in 1960, at the age of 31 (the youngest in the state's history). He was elected Missouri Lieutenant Governor in 1964, and won a U.S. Senate seat in 1968.

Between 1960 and 1966, Eagleton checked himself into the hospital three times for physical and nervous exhaustion, receiving electric shock treatments twice. [1]

The hospitalizations, which were not widely publicized, had little effect on his political aspirations, although the St. Louis Post-Dispatch was to note, in 1972, immediately after his vice presidential nomination:

He has been troubled with gastric disturbances, which have led to occasional hospitalizations. The stomach troubles have contributed to rumors that he had a drinking problem.[2]

[edit] George McGovern's 1972 Vice Presidential selection

In 1972, Richard Nixon appeared unbeatable.

When George McGovern won the Democratic nomination for President, virtually all of the "name" Democrats such as Edward Kennedy, Walter Mondale and Birch Bayh turned down offers to run on the ticket.

The McGovern camp then searched for lesser-known candidates and Eagleton, who had opposed the Vietnam War, was selected, on July 14, with only a minimal background check. Eagleton made no mention of his earlier hospitalizations.

Newspapers soon revealed them. McGovern and Eagleton initially joked about the case with Eagleton saying he would undergo a psychiatric examination if other candidates (e.g., Nixon) would do the same. But the charges kept coming. Columnist Jack Anderson wrote a column falsely accusing Eagleton of being arrested for drunk driving – a charge that Anderson had to retract.

McGovern, in an infamous quote, said he would back Eagleton "1000 percent". On August 1, Eagleton withdrew and was replaced by Kennedy in-law Sargent Shriver.

The incident raised serious questions about McGovern's judgment. In the general election, Nixon won every state except Massachusetts and the District of Columbia.

Missouri returned Eagleton to the Senate in 1974 and 1980.

During the 1980 election, Eagleton's niece Elizabeth Eagleton Weigand and lawyer Stephen Poludniak were arrested for blackmail after they threatened to spread false accusations that Eagleton was bisexual. Eagleton told reporters that the extorted money was to be turned over to the Church of Scientology. Polundniak and Weigand appealed the conviction all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, claiming they could not have not gotten a fair trial because of "the massive publicity surrounding this case, coupled with the pre-existing sentiment in favor of Sen. Eagleton." The Court turned down the appeal. Weigand was alleged to have heard from a third-hand source that Eagleton had been seen disheveled and unshaven at the La Terrazza Di Marti (now known as LaTeDa) in Key West, Florida – an establishment which she said was frequented by homosexuals. Eagleton testified he had only been to Key West once, in 1972, and then with his son and daughter.[3]

Eagleton did not seek a fourth term in 1986.

[edit] Senate career

In the Senate, Eagleton was active in matters dealing with foreign relations, intelligence, defense, education, health care, and the environment. He was instrumental to the Senate's passage of the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act, and sponsored the amendment that halted the bombing in Cambodia and effectively ended American involvement in the Vietnam War.

[edit] Post Senate career

In 1987, Eagleton returned to St. Louis, Missouri as an attorney, political commentator, and professor at Washington University in St. Louis, where he still holds the title of Professor of Public Affairs. He is a partner in the St. Louis law firm of Thompson Coburn and was a chief negotiator for a coalition of local business interests that lured the Los Angeles Rams football team to St. Louis. He is the author of three books on politics, and the 8th Circuit Federal Courthouse (in St. Louis) is named for him.

He has been honored with his own star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame.

In January 2001, he joined other Missouri Democrats to oppose the nomination of former Missouri governor John Ashcroft for United States Attorney General. Eagleton's quote was evoked as the rallying cry of the debate and was entered into the official Judiciary Committee record.

"John Danforth would have been my first choice. John Ashcroft would have been my last choice."[4]

Another recent appearance was with Democratic Senate candidate Claire McCaskill in the 2006 mid-term elections; McCaskill won, defeating incumbent Jim Talent.

Eagleton led a group, Catholics for Amendment 2, comprised of prominent Catholics which challenged church leaders' opposition to stem cell research and to the proposed state constitutional amendment (#2) that would have protected such [stem-cell] research in Missouri; "the group e-mailed a letter to fellow Catholics last week explaining its reasons for supporting Amendment 2, which Missourians [voted on the following week]" ([5]).

The amendment, which passed, ensures that any federally approved stem cell research and treatments would be available in Missouri.

"[T]he letter from Catholics for Amendment 2 said the group felt a moral obligation to respond to what it called misinformation, scare tactics and distortions being spread by opponents of the initiative, including the church" ([6]).

[edit] External links

• Time Magazine July 24, 1972 cover article
• Time Magazine August 7, 1972 cover article on withdrawal
• History Channel on Eagleton's withdrawal speech

[edit] References

• Clinton, Bill (2005). My Life. Vintage. ISBN 1-4000-3003-X.