1972: Nixon vs Muskie

[TransfemmeGoreVidal]

My best guesstimate, maybe Muskie could pull off upsets in Wisconsin and Illinois if he brings out higher then usual Polish-American turnout.

[Agonized-Statism]

Still bad for Democrats with their disarray. Nixon's paranoia about Muskie was just that, paranoia. He could use Muskie's clout as an environmental law champion to hurt him with organized labor in natural resources industries, i.e. West Virginia's gone, blast him for his very public support of black power, and levy anti-Catholic sentiment. You're right about the Polish vote though, and that with a more industrial labor-friendly campaign probably gets him Wisconsin and Michigan.


President Richard Nixon (R-CA) / Vice President Spiro Agnew (R-MD) ✓
Senator Edmund Muskie (D-ME) / Senator Fred Harris (D-OK)

[Fuzzy Bear]

My best guesstimate, maybe Muskie could pull off upsets in Wisconsin and Illinois if he brings out higher then usual Polish-American turnout.

Muskie would not have carried Illinois; it was much more Republican, Presidentially, back then, as opposed to now.

[Fuzzy Bear]

People in 1971 were speaking of the inevitability of Muskie in 1972.  He was the overwhelming favorite for the nomination; he had gotten all the important endorsements from Governors.  Some believed him to be favored over Nixon.  Voters in 1968 were not as inelastic as they are now.  The standard view for Democrats going into 1972 was that (A) California would be the major battleground and (B) Labor would be solidly being the Democratic candidate.

The canvas threw Muskie.  He was hyped during the 1968 campaign; he was really an awful pick that brought little to the ticket, but he did look good when compared to Agnew and LeMay.  He also turned to the Left after McGovern got the upper hand, which gave Jackson and HHH openings to be the McGovern alternative.  No one viewed him as a guy that would ever run for President prior to 1968, and he ended up being another VP candidate who wasn't up to running for the Big Job.  He was better, as a candidate for VP than Lodge, Miller, Dole, Ferraro, as a losing VP candidate, but he was not as good as Bentsen, Kemp, or Lieberman.