Editing Thomas Eagleton (section)

===Selection as vice-presidential nominee===
After a large number of prominent Democrats declined to be McGovern's running mate, Senator [[Gaylord Nelson]] (who was among those who declined) suggested Eagleton. McGovern chose Eagleton after only a minimal background check, as was customary for vice-presidential selections at the time.<ref name="McGovern, George S. 1977, pp. 190">McGovern, George S., ''Grassroots: The Autobiography of George McGovern'', New York: Random House, 1977, pp. 190–191</ref><ref>Theodore White, ''The Making of the President, 1972'', (1973), pp. 256–258</ref> Eagleton did not mention his hospitalizations, and in fact decided with his wife to keep them secret from McGovern while he was flying to his first meeting with McGovern.