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Show EDMUND S. MUSKIE: He Fought the Establishment and Won By BILL SURFACE Author c? "Dm Poitonwi Ivy" s. muskie, the tall, junior Senator from Maine, found considerable advice awaiting him upon being sworn into the U.S. Senate in 1959. EDMUND Lyndon B. Johnson, then the Sen- ate majority leader, cautioned him about making premature decisions on certain issues, adding: "I never really make up my mind on a vote until the roll call gets down to the J's." The advice appeared to be well received. Muskie listened attentively, nodded, and thanked Senator Johnson. Shortly afterward, when John- One thing that will do more for hemorrhoids than Pazo is surgery. Pazo shrinks beicorrhotds and relieves tear other main discomforts. First, Pazo shrinks hemorrhoids. Second, Pazo relieves accompanying pain. Third, Pazo fights burning itch. Fourth, Pazo fights infection. And fifth, Pazo lubricates thoroughly. Be sure to read and follow the Pazo Method enclosed in every Pazo box. In most cases, Pazo relieves the main miseries of hemorrhoids fast. In suppository and ointment form. son revived an attempt to amend a Senate rule on filibusters, he asked Muskie: "Ed, can I count on your vote on this?" "Well, Lyndon," Muskie replied, "I just never seem to make up my mind on a vote until the roll call gets to the M's." When Muskie made up his mind on that issue, he voted against Johnson's proposal and wan not hesitant to elaborate subsequently on the reason why. "They tell me that Lyndon trades two or three apples foi an orchard about every day," he quipped. "But I'm a New England horse trader myself." THe Incident, colleagues Bay, per- haps best characterizes the unique conpersonality of the servatively dressed Muskie. His ability to blend successfully a dry sense of humor with what politicirns privately call "horse trading" and publicly term "parliamentary skills" has resulted in a career marked by such accolades as "a Senator's Senator" (from Sen. Mike Mansfield of Montana), "a man who operates in a rough league without " (from Sen. Gale McGee of Wyoming), and, quite significantly, Hubert Humphrey's choice as a Vice raule-dax-le- 164 Britto-My- f Company n Family Wttkly, (ktobtr t7, IMS Presidential running mate. His ability to fight the Establishment and vin was vividly illustrated in his relationship with Johnson. When the freshman Senator from a small state had the nerve to turn down the powerful Senate majority leader's request, he found that Johnson, in turn, rejected his thre choices for committee assignments (such as foreign relations) and relegated him to positions on such unglamorous committees as Government operations, public works, and banking and currency. "In thedog-house- ," Muskie mused, "I was very frustrated, lonely, disillusioned, and disconsolate." abilYet Muskie's Johnson President later helped ity when it became apparent that Congress would not pass two of L.BJ.'s favorite Great Society bills. Muskie agreed to promote both bills, did some "trading" by altering the bills' language (but not their intent), and saw them enacted. "Well, at taut I don't have to be afraid of driving past the White House any more," Muskie laughed afterward. Johnson apparently agreed. He then termed Muskie a "powerhouse and craftsman," which led Muskie to believe that he was being seriously considered as President Johnson's running mate in 1964. The "powerhouse" reputation was based on some unexpected characteristics. Though Muskie came from a small town, he became known in the Senate as an expert on urban problems by 1) stressing how cities could cut through bureaucracy by bypassing nearly 100 "empire builders" to receive assistance and 2) using a convincing oratory that included fiery Biblical quotations about people who "sought the promise of the city and found only despair." Senator Mansfield says of Muskie's oratory, "He's one of the few men who literally could pull a bin through the "horse-tradin- g" and "Intid Interned Revtnu" Senate with his arguments." Many Senators' tempers flare during intense private discussions, and Muskie certainly is no exception. He is considered to have cne of the quickest tempers and slowest handshakes in the Senate. But he often compensates for any displays of temper with an earthy, apologetic joke directed at himself. "Ed is one of the best at humor or the wry pun," says Senator McGee. "But he doesn't just tell them. He invents most of them." that trait also was apparent during the Democratic convention when Vice President Humphrey made his choice by meeting separately with Muskie and Sen. Fred Harris of Oklahoma in different rooms within his spacious 25th-flosuite. Muskie seemed nervous even though he had been led to believe that he would be selected because of Humphrey's hints months earlier and his candid questions ("Would you work with me? Would you speak up when I or need support?"). Still his nervousness intensified after Humphrey led in Harris and remarked: "Here's the man who's going to nominate you." All Muskie could tell his wife was: "Well, Mommy, I think we're stuck with it." As Mrs. Muskie recalled: 'The expression on Ed's face told me something was very right or very wrong. So I even said something crazy like, 'Oh, that's too bad. " His wittiness, though, offsets the tenseness. When asked whether he had been selected because of his Polish voters, he said with a smile: "You can't be too sure of any vote. My mother said she'd vote for me if they don't offer anyone who's better." The quip was so well received that it was included in Muskie's acceptance speech and turned out to be one of the few deliberately humorous remarks of an otherwise tumultuous convention. |