- published: 15 Feb 2016
- views: 4323
After the Chappaquiddick incident in 1969, Ted Kennedy fell from front runner to non-candidate. Ed Muskie was the establishment favorite until he was reported to have cried emotionally during a speech defending himself against the Canuck letter. George McGovern was able to gain ground and make a strong showing in New Hampshire. George Wallace ran as an outsider and did well in the South. His campaign was ended when an assassin shot him and left him paralyzed. McGovern went on to win a majority of the delegates and the nomination at the convention. However, his prior efforts to reform the nomination process had reduced the power of Democratic Party leaders. McGovern had difficulty getting a vice presidential running mate to run with him. It then took hours to get him approved. A couple weeks later it was revealed that Thomas F. Eagleton had undergone electroshock therapy for depression. After claiming to back Eagleton "1000%", McGovern asked him to resign three days later. After a week of being publicly rebuffed by prominent Democrats, McGovern finally managed to get Sargent Shriver to be his new running mate. This trouble compounded the already weak support he had among party leaders.
Rachel Anne Maddow (pronounced /ˈmædoʊ/; born April 1, 1973) is an American television host, political commentator, and author. Maddow hosts a nightly television show, The Rachel Maddow Show, on MSNBC. Her syndicated talk radio program of the same name aired on Air America Radio. Maddow is the first openly gay anchor of a prime-time news program in the United States.
Asked about her political views by the Valley Advocate, Maddow replied, "I'm undoubtedly a liberal, which means that I'm in almost total agreement with the Eisenhower-era Republican party platform."
Maddow was born in Castro Valley, California. Her father, Robert B. "Bob" Maddow, is a former United States Air Force captain who resigned his commission the year before her birth and found civilian work as a lawyer for the East Bay Municipal Utility District. Her mother, Elaine Maddow (née Gosse), is a school program administrator from Newfoundland, Canada. She has one older brother, David. Her father is of Russian and Dutch descent and her mother is of English and Irish ancestry. Maddow's mother was raised a strict Roman Catholic, and Maddow herself grew up in a community that her mother has described as "very conservative." Maddow was a competitive athlete and played three sports in high school. Referencing John Hughes films, she describes herself in high school as "a cross between the jock and the antisocial girl."