January 9, 1969
Page 386
A MUCH-ADMIRED MAN
HON. PETER N. KYROS OF MAINE IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Thursday, January 9, 1969
Mr. KYROS. Mr. Speaker, the year 1968 was to many Americans a year of uncertainty and unhappiness. But rather than dwell upon unfortunate events of the past year, I would like to recall those revitalizing moments when we all obtained a glimpse of the greatness which resides within our most distinguished Americans.
Three of these courageous Americans, whom we are proud to have with us here today, are the crew of the Apollo 8, whose incredible flight expanded our horizons into the realm of the previously unknown. Another American came before us at a time when many of us despaired at the divisions besetting our Nation. This man was Senator EDMUND MUSKIE, long admired and loved by his constituents in Maine for his dedicated service to State and Nation. Given the opportunity to bring his qualities before a broader constituency, EDMUND MUSKIE touched countless Americans with his keen mind, thoughtful humor, and quiet determination to bring out that which is best in us. The following column by Roscoe Drummond which appeared in the Christian Science Monitor on January 7, 1969, described this experience of the past year – the year in which America discovered EDMUND MUSKIE:
POINT OF VIEW: A MUCH ADMIRED MAN
(By Roscoe Drummond)
WASHINGTON.– The Democrats. Where are they going and who's going to take them there?
One thing is clear – there is no shortage of leadership talent at the top of the Democratic ranks.
After narrowly missing the presidency last November, the Democrats have three prestigious leaders and one elder statesman who will not be idle for long.
They are Hubert Humphrey, Senator Edmund Muskie, Senator Edward Kennedy and, on the sideline but never silent, LBJ.
I am not assuming to predict who will more likely be the Democratic presidential nominee in 1972, but there is evidence that an unusually large number of Americans, Democratic and Republican, feel that the real "sleeper" of the '68 campaign was this man Muskie and hope he will emerge as a significant political force in the nation and in the Democratic Party.
The evidence I am referring to comes, in part, from the fact that the crush of Christmas mail at the post office is nearly matched by the crush of political mail which has flowed spontaneously into the office of the senator from Maine.
It is evident that as Humphrey's running mate, who was hardly known even by name west of New Hampshire until last September, Muskie achieved a remarkable rapport with the American people.
This rapport persists and one of the signs is that Muskie already has received 80,000 letters from voters of both parties and of all ages. They keep coming. I have read a wide cross-section of this mail and their nearly unanimous plea is "We want Muskie !"
In sum:
They want to see a Democratic Party more nearly in the image of Edmund Muskie than anything else they can think of.
They like what Muskie said and kept on saying in the campaign and want to hear more of it from him.
They hope he can become an influential force in the Senate and many of them speak of 1972 and Muskie in the same sentence.
The letters, reflecting a remarkable outpouring of goodwill, good wishes and personal admiration, come from young voters and teenagers who may not be able to vote in four years but who might provide a formidable campaign boost as young people did for both McCarthy and Robert Kennedy. These letters also bear the signatures of labor leaders, corporate executives and college presidents.
It didn't take Muskie long to catch the public taste in this bitter-sweet campaign in which Humphrey, though widely esteemed as a person, was so heckled and hooted by the Johnson- haters that he had a poor time of it getting his case to the nation.
But it wasn't long before people began to realize that in Muskie, Humphrey had given them something special. He drew large audiences and by early October a Muskie rally became a local happening.
Obviously it was easier for Muskie than for Humphrey because the top of the ticket was the main target for hostility and violence from the anti-Vietnam demonstrators. He bore the burden of a divided party and suffered most from the miasmic atmosphere of the Chicago convention.
Still it was Muskie who had the greater success in calming and in talking candidly with those who first wanted to shout him down. He offered their spokesmen the opportunity to be heard if, in turn, they would listen to him.
They did – and often liked what he said. His theme today, as then, is the great need "to inspire the American people to trust each other, to take chances on each other, to work with each other to do the things which must be done to heal the divisions among our people. There is no other way to do it but in the hearts and minds of the American people."
It is this theme which is bringing Muskie such a tremendous post-election response. It is his goal to keep the Democratic Party near the political center where it can do most to persuade the nation "to choose peaceful political change and reject the politics of confrontation which leads to undemocratic repression.”