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All this day, McGovern went through the motions of telephoning various political and labor officials for their advice on a new candidate. McGovern returned to his Senate duties long enough to make a pitch for one of his main campaign themes: holding down the defense budget. But he suffered a sharp defeat as his amendment to cut the budget by $4 billion was smothered 59-33; 19 Democrats voted with the Administration. Then, by dining with Larry O'Brien and their wives at Washington's Jockey Club restaurant, McGovern sparked rumors that his campaign manager would be the new candidate. But repeatedly, he called Kennedy. "This is very flattering," said Kennedy at one point, but his answer was still no. It was a wearisome day; at midafternoon McGovern slumped into a Senate chair next to Muskie and confided: "I'm exhausted from what's happened in the last 48 hours."
WEDNESDAY. The McGovern staff circulated a laundry list of possible candidates, and various staffers were assigned to check them out for any potential embarrassments out of their past. The names included Sargent Shriver, Wisconsin Governor Patrick Lucey, Boston Mayor Kevin White, Ohio Governor John Gilligan. But McGovern had decided he wanted someone of national repute to help heal the scars; he could no longer afford the luxury of a fresh face. If he could not get Kennedy, he wanted his old friend Connecticut Senator Abraham Ribicoff; if not Ribicoff, then Humphrey; if not Humphrey, then Askew; if not Askew, then Muskie. The joke went round the Senate that McGovern had posted a sign in the cloakroom: "Anybody willing to serve as my vice-presidential candidate please call the following number."
Lying in bed reading a newspaper at 7:15 a.m., Ribicoff got a telephone call from McGovern, who was approaching him in a most roundabout way. "He asked me would I talk to Kennedy," Ribicoff said. "George thought there was a little uncertainty in Kennedy's refusal." A longtime Kennedy loyalist, Ribicoff phoned Kennedy in McLean, Va., detected no doubt at all in Kennedy's refusal. Abe called George back, reported the rejection. McGovern brought up Muskie, Humphrey, Shriver. Ribicoff said he liked them all, and the conversation ended.
At 8:15 a.m. Ribicoff's phone rang again—and again it was McGovern. "Before even talking to these other fellows," said George, "I came back to the senior Senator from Connecticut as my choice." Replied Ribicoff: "Gee, George, you know how I feel about it. I'm going to do everything I can to help you in the campaign. But I want my independence. I want to be master of my own destiny. I have no further ambitions. The vice presidency is a miserable job. Every Vice President I've known has been a frustrated, miserable man." Ribicoff also had private reasons: two days later he married Lois Mathes of Miami (his first wife died last April).