It certainly didn't help McGovern when Eagleton left the ticket (at McGovern's request)...

>Not a chance. This type of political correction would kill a candidate with a healthy lead. It would be suicidal in a close election.
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>>I know everyone has heard the rumour ad nauseum:
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>>http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1061791/Could-Clinton-come-Internet-buzzes-rumours-Biden-replaced-Hillary-Obamas-running-mate.html
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>>The internet is buzzing today with the rumour that Barack Obama's gaffe-prone running mate Joe Biden will drop out of the race for health reasons - to be replaced by Hillary Clinton.
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>>John McCain's selection of Sarah Palin as his running mate has created so much interest in the Republicans that Mr Obama will have to make a radical move to regain momentum, the argument goes.
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>>Mrs Clinton could be just the key. Mr Biden, who had surgery in 1998 to repair two brain aneurysms, would drop out after the vice presidential debates due to be held on October 2, according to the claims - leaving the way open for the former First Lady.
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>>Most are dismissing the rumour as the usual internet chatter. But it has been given added weight by those who have not addressed it - namely Fight the Smears.
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>>Fight the Smears is a website the Obama campaign set up to quash just such damaging Internet rumours - but it has not yet touched this one, though that may be out of fear of fuelling the rumour.
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>>The Obama campaign has not commented on it, other than to say that Biden’s medical records will be released soon.
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>>Snopes.com, a site devoted to picking apart online rumors and urban legends, has labeled the status of the claim “undetermined.” Several online discussion boards have been loaded up with denials.
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>>Biden has caused several problems for the Obama campaign. This week he was forced to issue a clarification after he called one of his own campaign ads “terrible” in an interview with CBS News.
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>>He was also rebuked Obama after he spoke out against the government bailout of American International Group last week before Obama was ready to take a position.
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>>On Tuesday, he said that President Franklin Roosevelt had gone on television in 1929 to discuss the Wall Street crash - but Herbert Hoover was president in 1929 and the TV hadn’t been invented yet.
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>>At one point, he even said Hillary Clinton might have been a better pick for Obama’s No. 2.
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>>The Republican National Committee has gleefully set up a Biden “gaffe clock” to monitor his disasters on the campaign trail.
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>>Nonetheless, Democratic supporters dismiss outright any speculation that he might be dropped from the ticket.
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