Biden Could Become Next Muskie
Journalist Matthew Rosza of Salon wrote an intriguing piece last week asking whether Joe Biden might become the Ed Muskie of 2020.
Muskie was a moderate Democratic senator from Maine who was considered the early front-runner in the race against President Richard Nixon, who was running for re-election in 1972.
In Nebraska, the Muskie campaign had recruited an unlikely troika to lead the primary effort: South Omaha powerhouse Gene Mahoney, Dick Fellman, a former candidate for Congress and a soon-to-be member of the Unicameral, and yours truly.
Nebraska’s primary was scheduled for May 9, but by that time Muskie had already lost a number of earlier contests to candidates such as Sen. George McGovern and he surprised the three of us by quitting campaigning after coming in second in Massachusetts on April 25. The field was large and diverse, ranging from George Wallace to Shirley Chisholm.
Muskie had been photographed crying outside a New Hampshire newspaper office in January and never lived the episode down throughout the campaign, although he claimed those were not tears but melting snow flakes on his face and suit.
McGovern won the Nebraska test and went on to capture the nomination. He got 1729 votes at the national convention; Muskie did miserably with an embarrassing 25 votes.
What was clear in 1972 is that Muskie turned out to be his own worst enemy. The “sobbing saga” may have been unfair but he was at a total loss to recover. In addition, he suffered a barrage from the left. It would be ridiculous to compare McGovern, then, with Bernie Sanders now… but how about Elizabeth Warren?
Each of these two “lefties” is nipping at Biden’s lead, and as the former Vice President’s gaffes are making some Democrats wonder whether he is alert enough for a brutal campaign against Donald Trump, he may be coming closer and closer to being an afterthought.
Ed Muskie was a remarkably strong candidate, when it all started, but when it all ended Nixon won a spectacular victory (49 states and 61 percent of the vote), even though the Vietnam War dragged on for another three years.
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