Edmund Muskie

Edmund Sixtus Muskie (Edmund Marciszewski) (March 28, 1914–March 26, 1996) was a Polish-American politician from Maine. He served as Governor of Maine, as a U.S. Senator, as U.S. Secretary of State, and as a candidate for Vice President of the United States.

Presidential Candidate

Before the U.S. presidential election, 1972 he was viewed as the frontrunner, a moderate establishment candidate, for the Democratic Presidential nomination. The nation was at war in Vietnam and the Democratic Party set battle against President Nixon's conduct of the war.

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But the grassroots Iowa caucuses made the early runnings more liberal and anti-war than Muskie's perceived positions, and Muskie's perhaps surprising political inexperience - having built up the Democratic Party in his home state, he had never been in a primary battle before, and his performance was criticized - began to show. Some noted that Muskie was inexperienced in running a national campaign. A letter was published written by ABC news anchor Howard K. Smith to the candidate indicating the anchor's full support for his campaign. This was during a contentious period when the Nixon Administration claimed that the press was biased in its news coverage. Muskie lost momentum, and after winning the New Hampshire primary by only a small margin, saw his lead fall to South Dakota Senator George McGovern.

Related Topics:
Iowa caucuses - ABC - Howard K. Smith - South Dakota - George McGovern

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Many also blame Muskie's loss on his emotional defense of his wife, Jane Muskie, after the Mancester Union-Leader, a conservative newspaper criticized Mrs. Muskie. Muskie seemingly wept as he spoke outside the newspaper's offices, yet he would later claim that what seemed to be tears were actually melted snowflakes. Had this not been a controversy, many question whether Muskie would have won the nomination and gone on to defeat President Nixon. McGovern would go on to win the nomination before losing the election in a landslide to Nixon.

Related Topics:
Jane Muskie - Mancester Union-Leader

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