1000 percent

The expression "1000 percent" or "1000%" in a literal sense means one thousand in every hundred, and is used as a deliberate hyperbolism for effect.

The new evidence that his running mate had secretly undergone psychiatric treatment three times for mental illness destroyed the McGovern strategy.

[4] Influential Democrats questioned both Eagleton's ability to handle the office of Vice President and McGovern's competence in choosing top officials.

[6][7] Theodore H. White, the journalist who followed the campaign most closely, reports that the "1000 percent" phrase was repeatedly mentioned over and over again by voters and damaged McGovern even more than his actual reversal of support for Eagleton.

For example, in one speech McGovern attacked some Nixon advocates as "lousy, bitter, paranoid, predictable, despicable, obnoxious propagandists who are consistently wrong and who write nothing good about any candidate more liberal than Genghis Khan".

[9] The phrase was used long before 1972 by American politicians in a non-sarcastic fashion to indicate strong support for a political proposal.

[11] Journalist Georgie Anne Geyer spoke of her "profound reluctance to get involved in just about any military endeavor that was not a clear win, that did not have 1,000 percent support of the American people".

George McGovern dropped Thomas Eagleton ( pictured ) as his running mate, despite having claimed to be "1000 percent behind him".