Has a VP choice ever been dropped or exit before election?

I've done some research and cannot find anything.

An event that still sticks in my craw :nuke:

Did Eagleton drop out before or after the convention.

I've been Googling, trying to get a fix on what happens when a candidate (VP or otherwise) somehow drops out or dies between the convention and the election. What happens?

because he had been treated for depression, setting back public acceptance of mental treatment for at least a decade.

It was elctro-shock therapy.

remember, 1972 was 36 yrs ago, and standards have changed.

I don't remember how the "voted" for him. By phone?

McGovern had encountered difficulties getting a VP candidate as the convention rapidly approached. A couple potentially strong VP choices turned him down. Eagleton was a bit of a compromise.

Shortly after the end of the Convention, when McGovern was back in South Dakots, Eagleton began an off-the-cuff discussion with some reporters. He spoke about "rumors" that had followed him before the campaign, and that would likely resurface again. Then he said, "On three occasions in my life I have voluntarily gone into hospitals as a result of nervous exhaustion and fatigue."

The media began looking into this, and it quickly came out that he had been psychiatrically hospitalized for a month in 1962, 4 days in '64, and 3 weeks in '66. Eagleton attributed it to "working long hours" on the job.

When it reported that he had undergone electroshock therapy, which like mental illness was little understood at the time, his candidacy was sunk. McGovern, who erred in selecting him, was in a no-win situation. He knew he needed to drop Eagleton, but had difficulty in doing so. It became an ugly situation.

At this time, one can hardly say if the depression Eagleton suffered from could have been successfully treated with advances in medication. In my opinion, electroshock therapy was a rather brutal, all-too-frequently used "treatment" for depression and other illnesses.

From all that I know of Eagleton, he was a good man. His judgement in accepting the position was perhaps not the best. But for someone who suffered from serious depression, he had long periods where he focused his considerable skills and worked for a democratic society.

McGovern ran a flawed campaign, and while much of it was related to the Nixon dirty tricks, a lot was simply a result of the difficulty he had in moving up from the Senate to becoming a candidate for President. Still, he was -- and is -- a brave, intelligent voice of conscience in American society. Some of the speeches he delivered in the Senate, in opposition to the war in Vietnam, need to be read today, and applied to Iraq.

I was born in 1975 and love history. LEarn something new everyday. Thanks for such a quick response. Off to read about Eagleton. I love DU.

huge WWII hero, respected senator, well liked, very smart, but he had a big D after his name, AND the Pre-rovian slime machine was already in place.

<snip>

Amnesty, Abortion and Acid

On April 25, 1972, George McGovern won the Massachusetts primary and journalist Bob Novak phoned Democratic politicians around the country, who agreed with his assessment that blue-collar workers voting for McGovern did not understand what he really stood for.<4> On April 27, 1972 Novak reported in a column that an unnamed Democratic senator had talked to him about McGovern.<5> "The people don’t know McGovern is for amnesty, abortion and legalization of pot," the Senator said.<5> "Once middle America - Catholic middle America, in particular - finds this out, he’s dead."<5> The label stuck and McGovern became known as the candidate of "amnesty, abortion and acid."<4><6>

Novak was accused of manufacturing the quote.<5> To rebut the criticism, Novak took Eagleton to lunch after the campaign and asked whether he could identify him as the source.<5> The senator said he would not allow his identity to be revealed.<5> "Oh, he had to run for re-election", said Novak.<4> "The McGovernites would kill him if they knew he had said that." Novak added.<4>

On July 15, 2007, Novak disclosed on Meet the Press that the unnamed senator was Thomas Eagleton.<4> Political analyst Bob Shrum says that Eagleton would never have been selected as McGovern's running mate if it had been known at the time that Eagleton was the source of the quote.<4> "Boy, do I wish he would have let you publish his name. Then he never would have been picked as vice president," said Shrum.<4> "Because the two things, the two things that happened to George McGovern—two of the things that happened to him—were the label you put on him, number one, and number two, the Eagleton disaster. We had a messy convention, but he could have, I think in the end, carried eight or 10 states, remained politically viable. And Eagleton was one of the great train wrecks of all time."<4>

more...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Eagleton

His was a very tragic episode and not one this country should take any pride in... Destroyed him because of his revealed past history of being treated many years prior for resistant and refractory depression using shock therapy. But, it underscored the importance of vetting--a lesson McLame has clearly not learned.

they questioned McGovern's judgement even though
I think Eagleton would have made a good VP

McGovern carried one state, Massachusetts.

When Watergate broke, virtually every car in MA had a 'Don't blame me, I'm from Massachusetts' bumper sticker. :rofl: