Ill-fated nomination only one piece of Eagleton's political legacy

Published: 2007-03-05

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Fated to be remembered principally as the vice presidential nominee who had to step down because of treatment for depression, Sen. Thomas Eagleton also made his mark in the Senate as a strong opponent of abortion and harsh critic of the war in Vietnam. Eagleton died March 4 at St. Mary's Health Center in the St. Louis suburb of Richmond Heights from a combination of heart, respiratory and other problems. He was 77 years old. Although he served in various state offices in Missouri including as attorney general, and spent three terms in the U.S. Senate, Eagleton's lasting moment in the spotlight came in 1972 when he was nominated as the Democratic candidate for vice president. Sen. George McGovern of South Dakota topped the ticket. When it was disclosed by the news media that Eagleton had been treated in the 1960s for depression with shock therapy, he stepped down, after little more than two weeks as nominee. In an interview days after being nominated, Eagleton said he found it particularly interesting how little was being made of his Catholicism only 12 years after being Catholic was treated as a liability during the campaign of President John F. Kennedy. "The thing that was important in getting me the nomination was such a liability in 1960," Eagleton said.

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