[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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