[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 50 (Thursday, April 18, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3614-S3617]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO EDMUND S. MUSKIE

  Mr. SARBANES. Mr. President, I wish to pay tribute to our wonderful 
colleague and dear friend Ed Muskie who passed away late last month. A 
distinguished public servant, an accomplished legislator, and a man of 
great integrity and humanity, Edmund Sixtus Muskie represented the best 
of the Senate and of the Nation.
  Throughout his career in public service Senator Muskie exhibited a 
rare and remarkable gift; his extraordinary ability to see 
opportunities where others could not and to translate those 
opportunities into positive changes for the people of Maine and the 
Nation.
  Ed Muskie began his career of dedicated public service in the Maine 
Legislature where he initially served as part of a small Democratic 
minority. From this modest beginning, he assumed the reins of the Maine 
Democratic party and revitalized it by exercising the vision and 
leadership necessary to involve people more fully in the political 
process. His efforts led to his own election as Maine's first 
Democratic governor in 20 years, and in 1958, he became the first 
popularly elected Democratic Senator in Maine's history.
  But the depth and breadth of Ed Muskie's vision extended far beyond 
Maine politics. Upon his arrival in the U.S. Senate, he continued to 
exhibit the same straightforwardness and independent thinking that won 
him the trust of the citizens of Maine. These traits enabled him to 
make the Environment and Public Works Committee the forum which 
produced this Nation's landmark environmental protection legislation, 
the Clean Air Act and the Water Quality Act. These critical 
environmental statutes changed the way Americans view our precious 
natural resources and his work provided the foundation upon which all 
subsequent environmental protection statutes have been built.
  In addition, his efforts were instrumental to the passage of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974, establishing the beginnings of the 
modern coordinated Congressional budget process. As the first chairman 
of the Senate Budget Committee, Ed Muskie was committed to the 
effective disciplined Federal spending; demonstrating that promoting 
fiscal responsibility and meeting the needs of our people were 
complementary objectives.
  Throughout his lifetime of public service, Ed Muskie was a man his 
country could turn to in a time of crises. As a U.S. Senator, a vice-
presidential and then presidential candidate, and as Secretary of 
State, he demonstrated an unsurpassed commitment to improving the 
welfare of all Americans. In his candid, forthright and honest way, he 
encouraged the free exchange of ideas within the democratic process, 
working to transcend partisan boundaries and foster what he called a 
``politics of trust'' in this Nation.
  One of his many legacies to our country is the large number of former 
Muskie staff members who under his leadership made such extraordinary 
contributions to our Nation's welfare. Many of these individuals 
continue to render dedicated public service and they constitute a 
national asset which is yet another tribute to Ed Muskie's sterling 
qualities.
  Mr. President, I would like to take this opportunity not only to 
honor the life and service of Edmund Muskie, but to extend my deepest 
and heartfelt sympathies to his wife, Jane, and to his children, 
Stephen, Ellen, Melinda, Martha, and Ned, and their families. We thank 
them for sharing their husband and father with the Nation--America is a 
far better place for Ed Muskie's contributions.
  On Saturday, March 30, 1996, an exceptionally moving service for Ed 
Muskie was held at the Church of the Little Flower in Bethesda, 
Maryland, followed by burial at Arlington National Cemetery. At that 
service, eloquent and heartfelt eulogies were delivered which greatly 
moved all of us who were present. In testimony to Ed Muskie's life of 
quality and honor, I ask unanimous consent that these eulogies be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the eulogies were ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                        Remarks by Steve Muskie

       Rev. Clergy, President and Mrs. Carter, Ed Muskie 
     colleagues, family and friends. From

[[Page S3615]]

     my mother and everyone in our family, I want to thank you for 
     coming here today to remember and honor my father. I expect 
     that you will hear others speak about Dad's political life 
     and the work he did over his long career of public service. 
     But I would like to take a few minutes to tell you a little 
     about some of the things that we, his wife, children and 
     grandchildren, remember fondly. Thursday night we had a 
     family dinner to celebrate Dad's 82nd birthday. We drank a 
     toast to him, sang happy birthday and the youngest of Mom and 
     Dad's seven grandchildren blew out the candles on two 
     birthday cakes that we brought to the party. Of course, the 
     celebration was bittersweet because Dad was not physically 
     present. But he was present in spirit, in the thoughts of all 
     of us who learned from him and loved him, you could see and 
     hear the evidence all around the room--in the sixteen people 
     there--some blood relations others bonded by marriage into 
     the Muskie family. I saw it in their mannerisms, vocal 
     inflections, proclivity for puns or quiet contemplation, in a 
     hearty laugh or a mischievous twinkle of an eye. They were 
     the telltale signs of Dad's lasting imprint on our lives. We 
     have all been recalling images of Dad, many of which had been 
     lost for a long time, tucked away in the recesses of our 
     memories.
       For me, one of the most vivid is an image of cold summer 
     mornings at our Birch Point cottage on Maine's China Lake, 
     forty years ago. The odor of smoke and the crackling sound of 
     a fire just coming to life greeted Ellen and me when we 
     padded down the stairs and climbed on to Dad's lap as he sat 
     next to the fireplace in a big leather chair. While we warmed 
     ourselves by the fire it was Dad's way to repeat the story 
     that we most enjoyed hearing, a tale of young Biddo Bear who 
     woke one cold morning, just as we had, and went with his 
     father on a fishing trip. The story was replete with the kind 
     of sound effects the public never heard from Dad during 
     speeches. For example, Dad talked about Biddo Bear's father's 
     tug on the starter cord of their small boat's outboard 
     motor--Paroom! Putt-putt-putt! ``They drove down the lake 
     to catch some fishes,'' he said. That was a time when Dad 
     was governor and the demands on his time were less than 
     they were by the time the last of his children were almost 
     grown. My brother Ned recalls that even when Dad was 
     secretary of state, he regularly showed up at school, 
     casually dressed and surrounded by security agents to 
     attend a baseball game in which Ned might be pitching or 
     to help Ned haul luggage and boxes into a new dormitory 
     room. Ned of course swears the security agents didn't do 
     any of the work.
       Another powerful image is of Dad seated at the dining table 
     surrounded by several of the youngest grandchildren. They 
     always wanted to be near him at meal time, because he 
     inevitably played games with them, walking his fingers across 
     the table to tickle them or to catch their tiny hands in his 
     big ones until Mom gently chastised him ``now stop that 
     poppa.'' The kids grinned feeling they had gotten away with 
     something. As much as I would like to stand here displaying 
     my photographs of Dad, these images and others like them are 
     much more powerful than those captured by a camera because 
     they improve and evolve with age and the mix of other 
     memories we recall. They will never leave us. However 
     wonderful and comforting those images are, more important are 
     the lessons we learned and the characters we developed as a 
     result of watching and trying to follow Dad's strong 
     examples. My youngest sister, Martha, told me yesterday that 
     her interest in social work really grew from some of those 
     examples. She said:
       ``Dad believed that all people really are equal. That the 
     color of your skin, the source of your beliefs, where you 
     live or how much money you have doesn't matter.''
       When Greg Singleton, from the SW side of Washington, lived 
     with us for several summers, ``It was never any question,'' 
     said Martha, ``that he would be treated exactly like the rest 
     of us.'' Martha's statement made me realize that we have 
     all grown up and lived under the strong influence of both 
     the public and private Ed Muskie. Today we acknowledge our 
     love and gratitude and share with you a celebration of his 
     life.
                                                                    ____


                        Remarks by Leon Billings

       People who loved Ed Muskie, welcome. As was so often the 
     case in the thirty years I worked for Ed Muskie, 15 of which 
     I was paid, I have the honor of speaking for the staff. Those 
     who actually worked for the Senator and those he thought 
     worked for him. The nameless, faceless staff. A couple of 
     years ago, I had lunch with the Senator. By then I was in my 
     early 50s, about the same age he was when he hired me. I 
     decided that I could start calling him Ed. So we sat down and 
     I used his first name and he looked at me and said, so its 
     going to be Ed now is it? So Senator * * * Before I tell a 
     couple stories I remember of some of our lighter moments, I 
     want to say something about your role as this nation's most 
     important environmental leader. Many times you would take a 
     globe of the earth in your hand and point out that the 
     earth's atmosphere was no thicker than that thin patina of 
     shellac that covered that globe. And you would say, ``that's 
     all that protects human life. That thin layer, no thicker 
     than that layer of shellac is all that is between humankind 
     and extinction.'' That analogy in simple terms stated your 
     commitment to achievement of a healthy environment. A concept 
     you invented, a concept you institutionalized and a concept 
     that you internationalized. You changed the way the world 
     acts towards the environment. That legacy will endure as long 
     as people breathe on this earth. From the Clean Air Act of 
     1970 to Global 2000 as Senator and Secretary of State, you 
     took a problem too few people cared about and converted it 
     into a movement and then into a reality. I recall after the 
     Senate unanimously passed the Clean Air Act in 1970, Senator 
     Eugene McCarthy said to Senator in the elevator, he said 
     ``Ed,'' (he could call him Ed) he said, ``Ed you found an 
     issue better than motherhood, there are even some people 
     opposed to motherhood.'' So everyone here, please take a 
     deep breath, and while holding that breath think just for 
     a moment that each of us, our children, our grandchildren 
     and the children of centuries yet to come, owe a single 
     debt to you, Senator Muskie.
       Sometimes working for you wasn't a day at the beach. But we 
     were rewarded by your brilliance, your courageousness and 
     your creative public policy mind. You evinced incredible 
     loyalty. People stayed with you for years, for decades. What 
     a luxury it was to be associated with someone about whom 
     there were no doubt, no doubts about intellect, commitment 
     and integrity. And Senator you gave us a lifetime of stories. 
     Some are even repeatable. Each of us has a favorite and I'm 
     going to tell a couple. Senator Muskie was an avid fisherman 
     and though I was never invited to accompany him, I want to 
     recall two occasions both of which involved President Carter. 
     On the way back from the funeral of Prime Minister Ohira in 
     Japan, the President and Senator Muskie went fishing in 
     Alaska. And when they came back I learned that the President 
     had caught many fish, and the Senator got one. I asked him to 
     explain the difference and he said gruffly, ``its easy to 
     catch them if the secret service ties them down.'' And you 
     know that's all the explanation I got!
       On the other occasion, and this will be particularly 
     memorable to some of you who are on the Senate staff. I was 
     on the Senate floor during a budget debate and he called me 
     over. I assumed he wanted my advice on the issue at hand. He 
     said, ``I can't find my fishing pole.'' He said, ``President 
     Carter is coming to Maine to fish and I can't find my fishing 
     pole.'' So I called Gayle Cory, the longest and the loyalist 
     of the Muskie staffers. She was out at his house and I asked 
     her to find the pole and I went back and said, Gayle is at 
     the house and she'll find the pole. And he said, ``Gayle 
     wouldn't know what a fishing pole looks like.'' Needless 
     to say, Gayle found the pole, I didn't have to go out to 
     the house to look for it, and I never learned how many 
     fish he caught on the trip.
       I want to close with one story which will be poignant to 
     those who had the opportunity to travel with the Senator, and 
     particularly to Jane, I think. The Senator always took the 
     window seat on the airplane and the staff, and Jane, sat on 
     the aisle to ward off intruders. It was his want to get on a 
     plane and lose himself in a book or magazine and sometimes 
     not talk to anyone for the entire five hour trip. On the 
     occasion that Eliot Cutler remembers on a trip to Los 
     Angeles, the Senator said not a word and at the end of the 
     trip as they arrived to the gate, Eliot got up to proffer him 
     his coat and he looked at Eliot and he said ``what are you 
     doing here?'' He is smiling now, because I suspect he would 
     say to us today, ``what are we doing here?'' Senator we came 
     here to say good-bye. We came here to say thank you for five 
     decades of public service and personal friendship and most of 
     all, we came here to thank you for being the first steward of 
     the planet earth.

                     Remarks by Madeleine Albright

       Dear friends, my heart is sad for I have lost a friend. I 
     asked myself why I feel such a void. Its not only the 
     personal memories, memories that I share with many of you, 
     although that is surely a part of it. It is also the fear 
     that what Edmund Muskie represented, what he lived for and 
     stood for, might somehow go with him. He has been our 
     connection to each other, he has been our link to a proud 
     democratic heritage. He gave validity to a vision of our 
     country and service to it that has influenced each of our 
     lives. There is an army of us in Washington, Maine and around 
     the country who worked for him as he rose through the ranks 
     of service to America. Whether we were interested in state 
     government or just plain good government, clean air and 
     water, a budget process that worked, a generous foreign 
     policy that reflected our goodness and strength or just 
     because we believed that politics and principles go 
     together. He attracted us. Even today, when members of the 
     Muskie team see each other any where, we exchange the 
     political equivalent of the high-five. The reason that 
     such a diverse group would have so much in common is that 
     Ed Muskie didn't see his public service as 
     compartmentalized. The federal government was not the 
     enemy of state government. Democrats could work with 
     Republicans. A healthy environment was important not only 
     here, but globally. While as budget chairman, he often 
     asked what was so liberal about wasting money, he worried 
     about jobs and he never denied the resources needed to 
     keep America strong. Can you imagine that he actually 
     believed in the United Nations and Foreign Aid, not only 
     when he was Secretary of State, but even when he was in 
     the Senate. Edmund Muskie made history because he 
     understood history. A lot of it he read, a lot of it be 
     experienced personally and what he didn't know, he asked 
     about. All of us who have been on the receiving end know 
     how persistently he could ask questions. The look on his

[[Page S3616]]

     face or the ``not so gentle'' reproach when we didn't know 
     the answers became an enormous incentive to learn. As a 
     result, we grew with him, In his book we all, but mostly 
     he himself, were accountable. His roots became ours. The 
     great American leaders and their principles became ours. 
     When he arrived at the State Department in May 1980, 
     having been named by President Carter, he brought with him 
     his capacity for endless questions. He brought Leon, 
     Carole, Gayle and Berl. The foreign policy bureaucracy had 
     a bit of trouble with the approach, not to mention with 
     Leon. In the department and over at the national security 
     council, there were rumblings. ``Why all these questions 
     about environmental consequences, fiscal implications, 
     congressional consultations and public opinion.'' As 
     Secretary of State he did not leave his old identities 
     behind. He was still Mr. Clean, the father of the budget 
     process, the chief sponsor of the War Powers Act, an 
     elected official responsive to the people. Still he 
     insisted on looking at all sides, still he wanted to 
     reason everything out. That is why he got along so 
     famously with his deputy, Warren Christopher, another who 
     values principle and reason. Together, they worked 
     patiently to answer the questions and solve the problems 
     our nation faced. Most important they negotiated the safe 
     return of the hostages from Iran. Reuniting families and 
     leaving for the successor administration a clean slate 
     from which to begin. When he left his official foreign 
     policy post, along with the rest of us in January, 1981, 
     he simply began pursuing public policy by private means. 
     Although he was quite in the opposition he did not use his 
     various platforms or chairmanships, of the Center for 
     National Policy and Georgetown's Institute for the Study 
     of Diplomacy to mention two of my favorites, for the 
     politics of protest but characteristically for the 
     politics of healing. For example to consider mending 
     relations with Cambodia and Vietnam, and in this, as in so 
     many other things he was often ahead of his time.
       Before I end with a personal message from President 
     Clinton, I must say one more thing. I would obviously be here 
     in my capacity as a proud member of the Muskie political 
     family no matter what. But I would definitely not be here or 
     anywhere else representing the President of the United States 
     if it were not for Ed Muskie. It might not be the right 
     answer for feminist groups and I do love Eleanor Roosevelt. 
     But the truth is that this man was my role model. While we 
     all had a good laugh when he sometimes slipped into political 
     incorrect vocabulary or shielded his female staff members 
     from some of his salted language, he was the man who earlier 
     than others enabled women to take their place as public 
     servants. Because he had faith in us, we had faith in 
     ourselves. He was the first to name a woman, Karen Hastie-
     Williams, Chief Counsel of the Budget Committee, as head of 
     the Congressional Budget Office, Alice Rivlin, he gave me the 
     responsibility as his chief legislative director, for 
     coordinating Leon, Al From, Doug Bennett and John McKvoy. The 
     U.N. Security Council is a piece of cake. No wonder I learned 
     about the politics of foreign policy. Finally I want to 
     read a letter:
       ``Dear Jane: Hillary and I were so sorry to learn of Ed's 
     death and our hearts go out to you. Our nation was blessed to 
     have Edmund Muskie in public service for so long. As 
     governor, as Senator and Secretary of State. He was a leader 
     of conscience and conviction and I will always be grateful 
     for his wise counsel. His broad knowledge of both 
     international and domestic affairs. His stalwart protection 
     of our precious natural resources and his unshakable 
     integrity as a public figure and private citizen earned him 
     support of millions of Americans and the respect of all of us 
     who were privileged to know him. As a mark of that respect, 
     citizens across our country and around the world are lowering 
     the American flag to half staff today. Hillary and I extend 
     our deepest sympathy to you and your family and we hope you 
     will take comfort in remembering that your husband has left 
     an enduring legacy of public service that continues to 
     inspire us all. We are keeping you in our thoughts and 
     prayers.
           ``Sincerely
       ``Bill Clinton, President of the United States.''
       Dearest Jane, thank you for sharing this great man with us.

                       Remarks by George Mitchell

       Jane, Steve and Lexi, Ellen and Ernie, Melinda and Eddie, 
     Martha, Ned and Julia, and other members of the family, 
     Cardinal Hickey, Bishop Gerry and other members of the 
     clergy, President and Mrs. Carter and other distinguished 
     guests and friends of Ed Muskie. Senator Muskie once said 
     that he didn't like being called ``Lincolnesque'' but it fit. 
     With his lanky frame, his long and craggy face, his powerful 
     voice, he was an imposing figure. He was loved and trusted by 
     the people of Maine because they saw in him the qualities 
     they most admire, independence, fairness, the lack of 
     pretense, the willingness to speak the truth even when it 
     hurt. He was plain spoken even blunt at times and they 
     admired him for it. He had his faults and he made mistakes 
     as do all human beings but he conquered his faults and he 
     learned from his mistakes and as a result, he became the 
     greatest public official in Maine's history and one of the 
     most effective legislators in our nation's history. He 
     accomplished much in a long and distinguished career. In 
     that impressive record, nothing surpasses what he did to 
     protect America's natural environment. Harry Truman once 
     said that men make history, not the other way around. In 
     periods where there is no leadership society stands still. 
     Progress occurs when courageous skillful leaders seize the 
     opportunity to change things for the better. Ed Muskie 
     changed things for the better. When he went to the Senate, 
     there were no national environmental laws, there was no 
     environmental movement, there was hardly an awareness of 
     the problem. Industries and municipalities dumped their 
     wastes into the nearest river and America's waters were, 
     for the most part, stinking open sewers. The air was 
     unhealthy, the water polluted, Ed Muskie changed that. 
     It's one thing to write and pass a law, it's another thing 
     to change the way people live, it's yet another and a far 
     more difficult thing to change the way people think. Ed 
     Muskie did that. With knowledge, skill, determination and 
     patience he won approval of the Clean Air Act and the 
     Clean Water Act and America was changed forever for the 
     better. Any American who wants to know what Ed Muskie's 
     legacy is need only go to the nearest river. Before Ed 
     Muskie it was almost surely not fit to drink or to swim or 
     to fish in, because of Ed Muskie it is now almost surely 
     clean. A source of recreation even revenue. Despite the 
     efforts of some to turn back the clock, these landmark 
     laws will survive because the American people know what a 
     difference he has made in their lives. It has been said 
     that what we do for ourselves, leaves this world with us, 
     what we do for others remains behind. That's our legacy, 
     our link with immortality. Ed Muskie's legacy will stand 
     as a living memorial to his vision. It is his immortality. 
     Each of us could say much more about Ed Muskie's public 
     career but we are here today to pay tribute to Ed Muskie 
     the man, so I would like to say a few words about the man 
     who was my hero, my mentor, my friend. Thirty-four years 
     ago this week, I received a telephone call that changed my 
     life. It was from Don Nicoll, Senator Muskie's 
     Administrative Assistant and close friend who is here 
     today. He invited me to come to Capitol Hill to meet the 
     Senator who was looking for someone from Maine to fill a 
     vacancy on his staff. To help him evaluate me, Don asked 
     that I prepare a memorandum on the legal aspects of an 
     issue that was then being considered by the Senate. I 
     prepared the memo and went up for the interview. I thought 
     the memo was pretty good, but unknowingly I had made a 
     huge mistake. I reached a conclusion that was the opposite 
     of the Senator's. I had never met him but he didn't bother 
     with any small talk. Within minutes of our introduction, 
     he unleashed a ferocious cross-examination. He came out 
     from behind his desk, he towered over me, he shook his 
     finger at me and he took my memo apart, line by line. I 
     was stunned, so intimidated that I couldn't control the 
     shaking of my legs even though I was sitting down. I tried 
     as best as I could to explain my point of view and we had 
     what you might call a lively discussion. As I left he said 
     the next time you come in here, you'll be better prepared. 
     That's how I learned I'd been hired and I sure was better 
     prepared the next time. Ed Muskie was even more imposing 
     intellectually than he was physically. He was the smartest 
     person that I ever met with an incisive analytical mind 
     that enabled him to see every aspect of a problem and 
     instantly to identify possible solutions. He challenged 
     everyone around him to rise to his level of excellence. No 
     one quite reached his level, but those who took up the 
     challenge were improved by the effort. Those who knew him 
     learned from that relationship, those of us who worked for 
     him, most of all. Just about everything I know about 
     politics and government I learned from him. Just about 
     everything I have accomplished in public life, can be 
     traced to his help. No one ever had a better mentor or a 
     better friend. No discussion of Ed Muskie would be 
     complete without mention of his legendary temper. After he 
     became Secretary of State, a news magazine in an article 
     described his temper as entirely tactical, something that 
     he turned on and off at will to help him get his way. I 
     saw him a few days later, he showed me the article, in 
     fact he read it to me, and then he said laughingly, ``all 
     these years you thought my temper was for real.'' Well, I 
     said, you sure fooled me, and a lot of other people. I 
     think the reality is that it was both. When he yelled at 
     you it was terrifyingly real, but you could never be sure 
     that it wasn't also a tactic to move you his way, to get 
     you to do what he wanted done and that's the way he wanted 
     it and liked it. Almost as unnerving as one of his 
     eruptions was the swiftness with which it passed and was 
     forgotten. He was a passionate man and expressed himself 
     with emotion. His point having been made, he moved on, he 
     didn't believe in looking back or nursing grudges and 
     maybe that's how he got past the disappointments he 
     suffered. It surely also helped that he was a secure man, 
     confident in, and comfortable with his values. Those 
     values were simple, yet universal in their reach and 
     enduring in their strength. They were faith, family and 
     country. He was constant in his faith. He was comforted by 
     it and he was motivated by its message. The prayer printed 
     on the back of the program today written by Senator Muskie 
     more than a quarter century ago with its emphasis on 
     compassion and tolerance was the essence of his faith. He 
     was totally devoted to his family, especially to Jane. 
     They would have celebrated their 48th anniversary in May 
     and for all those years, she supported him, she comforted 
     him, she helped him. He was a

[[Page S3617]]

     passionate believer in democracy and especially in 
     American democracy. I had the privilege of traveling all 
     over Maine and all this country with him. Back when I was 
     on Senator Muskie's staff we didn't have the resources 
     available today so we used to share a motel room in small 
     towns all across Maine as I drove him from one appearance 
     to another. And I can recall the many times he spoke of 
     his Father who he greatly admired and who he was very 
     influenced by. His Father was a Polish immigrant who, like 
     many others who fled from tyranny, flourished in the free 
     air of this blessed land. No person I have ever heard and 
     few in our history could match Ed Muskie's eloquence on 
     the meaning of America. Once in public office, his 
     profound respect for American democracy led him to act 
     always with dignity and restraint, lest he dishonor those 
     he represented. As a result, he was the ideal in public 
     service, a man who accomplished much without ever 
     compromising his principles or his dignity. Character is 
     what you are when you are alone in the dark as well as 
     with others in the daylight. Ed Muskie's character was 
     strong. Strong enough to light up other people's lives. He 
     taught us that integrity is more important than winning. 
     That real knowledge counts more than slogans or sound 
     bites. That we should live our values rather than parading 
     them for public approval. Many years ago, Maine's greatest 
     poet, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, wrote of another great 
     man these words: ``Were a star quenched on high for ages 
     would its light still traveling downward from the sky 
     shine on our mortal sight. So when a great man dies for 
     years beyond our kin, the light he leaves behind him lies 
     upon the paths of men.'' A great man has died and for 
     years his life will shine upon our paths. Goodbye Ed, may 
     God bless you and welcome you.

                   Remarks by President Jimmy Carter

       Ed Muskie had the appearance, the mannerisms, the actions 
     of a true statesman. I first knew about him was when I became 
     Governor and faced the almost overwhelming lobbying pressure 
     from the power companies with their smokestacks spewing forth 
     back smoke and the thirteen pump mills in our state that were 
     destroying our rivers. I saw the difficulty then of an 
     incredible political battle. But there was a hero in 
     Washington which has been mentioned several times who faced 
     much greater lobbying pressure from nationwide pollutants 
     of our streams and air. Ed Muskie changed all of that. One 
     of my heroes in Georgia was Dr. Benjamin Mays a graduate 
     of Bates College which was very close to Ed Muskie. And in 
     an unpublicized way, Ed Muskie was also a champion of 
     basic civil rights at a time when it wasn't popular to be 
     so. And he and Dr. Benjamin Mays worked hand-in-hand to 
     inspire people like me and other governors and public 
     servants around the country who looked on him with great 
     admiration. I hope everyone here will read the prayer on 
     the back of the program that George just mentioned that 
     was given by Ed Muskie at a Presidential prayer breakfast 
     in 1969, and see how pertinent it is to our nation's 
     capital today, how Ed Muskie is needed. We saw then a 
     budget problem in Washington and he decided to do 
     something about it. He helped orchestrate and get passed a 
     new budget law. He became the first Chairman of the Budget 
     Committee and despite the equally formidable challenges 
     that we now face, that he faced then, he was able to bring 
     order out of chaos and to work harmoniously not only with 
     the Senators, but members of the House of Representatives, 
     jealous of their own prerogatives and with the Presidents 
     who served with him. Democrats and Republicans, President 
     Nixon, President Ford, and President me. I think that Ed 
     was so successful in bringing this coalition together and 
     healing the disparities between Capitol Hill and the White 
     House, because when he spoke you knew at least three 
     things: First, he deeply believed what he said, second, he 
     knew what he was talking about, and third, it was the 
     absolute truth. So I admired him from a distance until the 
     Spring of 1972 when Ed was campaigning for President and 
     he came down to Atlanta for a fund-raiser. I very eagerly 
     invited him to spend the night with me at the Governor's 
     mansion because of my admiration and because I had in the 
     back of my mind, you won't believe this, the thought that 
     he was going to get the nomination and he might be looking 
     for a southern governor to be his running mate. So I 
     wanted to make a good impression on him and I wanted him 
     to think that I was a little more sophisticated than I 
     was. So that night in the so-called Presidential suite in 
     the front of the Governor's mansion, late at night he was 
     very tired, he had been campaigning all day, and I said 
     ``Senator would you like to have a drink?'' He said ``yes 
     Governor I believe I would.'' I said ``well what would you 
     like,'' he said ``I'd like Scotch and milk.'' I was taken 
     aback. I knew about Bourbon and Branch Water and a few 
     other drinks of that kind but I tried to put on the 
     appearance of being knowledgeable and I left him in the 
     room and went down to the kitchen to prepare a drink. I 
     got about halfway down the hall and a terrible question 
     came to me and I went back into the room and I think 
     ruined all my chances of being on the ticket. I said ``is 
     that sweet milk or buttermilk?'' He very gently said 
     ``sweet milk.'' Later when I was elected President, I 
     turned to Ed Muskie as one of my closest and most valued 
     advisers. He was still a hero to me and I turned to him 
     often. In 1980, as some of you would remember, my 
     administration was in trouble. Fifty-three hostages were 
     still being held by militants in Iran. In April we tried 
     to rescue them and my Secretary of State in protest 
     resigned with a great deal of public fanfare. I was facing 
     a revolution in my own party from Senator Kennedy and 
     others who were more liberal than I and it seemed very 
     doubtful that I would even be renominated as an incumbent 
     President. I turned to Ed Muskie who had a secure seat in 
     the U.S. Senate and I ask him if he would serve as 
     Secretary of State, and after checking with George and 
     others, he said ``yes.'' In a way I thought that I was 
     doing him a big favor but when we had the little ceremony 
     in the White House, I introduced him as the new Secretary 
     of State being willing to serve and his comment was, ``Mr. 
     President, I'm not going to say thanks, I'm going to wait 
     a few months and then make a judgment about whether I 
     thank you or not.'' But he brought to the State 
     Department, as Madeleine just pointed out, his formidable 
     knowledge as a long-time Chairman of the Budget Committee, 
     of every domestic and foreign policy program that our 
     nation had and that statesmanship from Maine that let the 
     members of our Congress, the people of our nation and 
     leaders throughout the world know, that here was a man who 
     spoke with absolute integrity. When the Prime Minister of 
     Japan passed away, Ohira, who was one of my closest 
     friends as Leon has pointed out, I wasn't going to mention 
     this, we went to the funeral with a very devout expression 
     on our face but arranged to stop in Alaska for a day of 
     fishing which Ed suggested as a way for me to forget my 
     troubles. I don't guess he was worried about his own 
     troubles. We went to a little lake about an hour and one-
     half helicopter flight from Anchorage and were fishing for 
     Grayling and I have to confirm part of Leon's story, I did 
     catch 15 or 20 Grayling, the Secret Service were quite a 
     distance from me I might add, and Ed only caught one fish. 
     So after we got through fishing, Ed came up to me and said 
     ``Mr. President, I'd like to make a comment about the 
     trip'' and I waited for his approval and he said ``you 
     really need to practice your cast'' and I said ``thank you 
     very much, Mr. Secretary.'' Later he sent me a wonderful 
     fishing rod that I still have Leon. In the last few days 
     of our administration it was Ed Muskie's integrity, his 
     sound judgment, his wisdom and his determination and his 
     patience that had made it possible for us to bring every 
     hostage home, safe into freedom. Typically, Ed Muskie did 
     not seek any credit for that achievement, he let others 
     take the credit. I looked up last night the citation I 
     read when I gave Ed Muskie the Presidential Medal of 
     Freedom. ``As Senator and Secretary of State, candidate 
     and citizen, Edmund Muskie has captured for himself a 
     place in the public eye and in the public's heart. Devoted 
     to his nation and our ideals, he has performed heroically 
     and with great fortitude in a time of great challenge.'' 
     His response was you forgot that I was also Governor. This 
     week I made a statement about my friend Ed Muskie and I 
     closed the statement by saying of all the people I've ever 
     known, no one was better qualified to be President of the 
     United States but Jane, I'd like to say now that I don't 
     believe many Presidents in history have ever contributed 
     as much to the quality of life of people in our nation and 
     around the world as your husband, Edmund Muskie. I am 
     grateful to him. Thank you very much.

                    Remarks by Edmund S. Muskie, Jr.

       I could not be more proud than to be here to read to you a 
     prayer that my father wrote. He delivered this prayer at the 
     Presidential Prayer Breakfast here in Washington, DC in 
     January of 1969.
       ``Our father, we are gathered here this morning, perplexed 
     and deeply troubled. We are grateful for the many blessings 
     You have bestowed upon us.--the great resources of land and 
     people--the freedom to apply them to uses of our own 
     choosing--the successes which have marked our efforts. We are 
     perplexed that, notwithstanding these blessings, we have not 
     succeeded in making possible a life of promise for all our 
     people. In that growing dissatisfaction threatens our unity 
     and our progress towards peace and justice. We are deeply 
     troubled that we may not be able to agree upon the common 
     purposes and the basis for mutual trust which are essential 
     if we are to overcome these difficulties. And so, our Father, 
     we turn to you for help. Teach us to listen to one another, 
     with the kind of attention which is receptive to points of 
     view, however different, with a healthy skepticism as to our 
     own infallibility. Teach us to understand one another with 
     the kind of sensitivity which springs from deeply-seated 
     sympathy and compassion. Teach us to trust one another, 
     beyond mere tolerance, with a willingness to take the chance 
     on the perfectibility of our fellow men. Teach us to help one 
     another, beyond charity, in the kind of mutual involvement 
     which is essential if a free society is to work. We ask it in 
     Jesus' name, Amen.''

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