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'''George McGovern''' (b. 1922) is a former university professor who became a [[liberal]] [[Democratic Party|Democratic]] Congressman and Senator from [[South Dakota]]. A decorated World War II veteran, McGovern served in the US Army Air Forces as a B-24 pilot. He flew 35 missions, earning the Distinguished Flying Cross.  As a populist anti-war candidate who won the Democratic nomination for president in 1972, McGovern lost in a landslide against the incumbent [[Richard Nixon]].

'''George McGovern''' (1922-2012) was a former university professor who became an outspoken [[liberal]] [[Democratic Party|Democratic]] Congressman and Senator from the ordinarily [[conservative]] [[South Dakota]]. A decorated World War II veteran, McGovern served in the US Army Air Forces as a B-24 pilot. He flew 35 missions, earning the Distinguished Flying Cross.  But as a [[leftist]] anti-war candidate who won the Democratic nomination for president in 1972, McGovern lost in a landslide against the incumbent [[Richard Nixon]]. In 1980, McGovern also lost reelection for the [[U.S. Senate]] in a landslide.

Many liberals blamed McGovern's defeat on the fiasco surrounding his initial running mate, [[Thomas Eagleton]]. When it emerged that Eagleton had a history of mental disorders, McGovern initially stuck by his running mate, only to change his mind and force Eagleton off the ticket days later; [[Sargent Shriver]] was the eventual replacement running mate. However, McGovern had been behind Nixon in the polls for virtually the entire campaign - the Eagleton affair certainly didn't help McGovern and contributed to Nixon's lopsided win, but the real damage was done by McGovern's overly liberal (even by Democrat standards) viewpoints and policies, and failure to make clear what he would have done as president. The [[Democratic Party]] subsequently changed its procedures for nominating presidential candidates in order to give about one-third of the nominating (delegate) power to existing office-holders, in order to make it more difficult for a populist but unelectable candidate like McGovern to win the Democratic presidential nomination.

Many liberals blamed McGovern's defeat on the fiasco surrounding his initial running mate, [[Thomas Eagleton]]. When it emerged that Eagleton had a history of mental disorders, McGovern initially stuck by his running mate, only to change his mind and force Eagleton off the ticket days later; [[Sargent Shriver]] was the eventual replacement running mate. However, McGovern had been behind Nixon in the polls for virtually the entire campaign - the Eagleton affair certainly didn't help McGovern and contributed to Nixon's lopsided win, but the real damage was done by McGovern's overly liberal (even by Democrat standards) viewpoints and policies, and failure to make clear what he would have done as president. The [[Democratic Party]] subsequently changed its procedures for nominating presidential candidates in order to give about one-third of the nominating (delegate) power to existing office-holders, in order to make it more difficult for a populist but unelectable candidate like McGovern to win the Democratic presidential nomination.