Let George Do It

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George McGovern attempted to become the first president from South Dakota. He ran an unsuccessful campaign for the 1972 presidential election. He had previously run as a stand in for the assassinated Robert. F. Kennedy during the 1968 presidential election. McGovern advocated the removal of U.S. troops from Vietnam in exchange for the return all U.S. prisoners of war, for a 37% reduction in defense spending, and the replacement of the personal income tax exemption with a $1,000 tax credit. He had the support of a wide range of celebrities including, Paul Newman, Jack Nicholson, Warren Beatty and, Barbara Streisand. Numerous high-profile Democrats of the time turned down requests to run as the vice-presidential candidate. McGovern finally settled on Senator Tom Eagleton of Missouri, which turned out to be a disastrous decision when it came to light that Eagleton had depression. McGovern and his then running mate Sargent Shriver, brother-in-law of John F. Kennedy and Ted Kennedy, suffered a landslide defeat. The Electoral College vote was 520 for Nixon to 17 for McGovern. It was one of the largest margins of defeat in American history.