Evaluating Eagleton

Thomas Eagleton was dumped as the Democratic vice-presidential candidate by politicians who assumed that many voters would be frightened off by his history of mental illness. Would the result have been different if Eagleton had been "tried by a jury of his peers" —the scores of thousands of Americans who not only can sympathize but empathize with him because they too have suffered depression that required hospitalization and perhaps electric-shock therapy? The answer, as ironic as it is surprising, is apparently no.

In interviews with TIME reporters across the country, most depression patients who had been "cured" or were well on the way to recovery questioned Eagleton's fitness to withstand the stresses of the presidency or even the vice presidency. The sample was necessarily small but was probably typical of a much larger group. The patients were also nearly unanimous in feeling that the Eagleton affair had not damaged their self-image or their image in the eyes of associates. Realistically appraising the degrees of their own recovery and the hazard of relapse under pressure, they confirmed the adage "It takes one to know one."

Shock Therapy. One exceptional view came from a San Francisco traffic manager, 26, now job hunting, who attempted suicide last year before entering Napa State Hospital and receiving shock therapy. He says: "What happened to Eagleton was a shame. He has proved himself on many jobs since he was in the hospital. He was doing an excellent job in the Senate for his home state. If Missouri didn't object to him, why should the rest of the country?"

More common is the attitude of a retired schoolteacher in Fitchburg, Mass., aged 65 and a veteran of 50 shock treatments. "I've never been shy about talking about my problem," she says, "and I won't be now. People have a lot of sympathy for Eagleton, but I think they also understand he was a liability to the ticket because of the debate about his past health."

A California woman of 49, who has gone almost 15 years without need of further treatment for her depression, was even more outspoken—despite her own career success as an office manager. "I'm sorry for Tom Eagleton," she said, "but from my own experience I say he's not qualified to run for the vice presidency. I don't think anyone ever knows whether he or she is cured. He did not have a broken leg. It's more like a bad heart attack—even after an excellent recovery you still can't be sure that it won't occur unexpectedly again at an awkward time."

There was general agreement about Eagleton last week among depression patients gathered in the Manhattan office of Psychiatrist Leonard Cammer for electrical treatment. Author of the helpful volume Up From Depression (Simon & Schuster and Pocket Books), Cammer objects to the terms "shock" and "electroconvulsive therapy." He prefers "electric-stimulation treatment." He offers his patients heavy doses of reassurance, and advises them not to hide their problems and treatment from friends and associates.