Why was Muskie picked as VP in 1968 and a leading contender for the Democrats in 1972?

[ReaganLimbaugh]

I have seen a good many of his videos and campaign commercials during that time.  Not even counting the Canuck letter incident, he seems very boring and condescending much like a dusty old college professor.  No charisma (even compared to HHH)

your thoughts.....

[darklordoftech]

I think that him having been Humphrey’s running mate lead to him being seen as the heir apparent in 1972. He was also seen as a compromise candidate for the Humphreyites and McGovernites.

[Sumner 1868]

That's very simple; Humphrey knew the entire South minus Texas was lost, so his goal was winning through locking up the North (which he almost did). Muskie was liked by most of the party and picked largely on that basis. Muskie was actually a lot like Scoop Jackson, in not being very grand, but doing well with small crowds and getting along his fellow Senators. And he was respected in the party for having chipped away at the Maine GOP WASP machine.

The "compromise" darklordoftech references regarding Muskie's 1972 bid was also present in 1968. Muskie was a moderate between the hawks and doves on Vietnam, and this was crucial in his selection.

[Agonized-Statism]

Probably his biggest street cred was putting an end to the Republicans' century-long stranglehold on Maine, one of the most Republican states in the country. He was also instrumental in two of the foremost measures in US environmental policy: the Clean Air Act of 1970 and the Clean Water Act of 1972 (the former nicknamed the "Muskie Act"), both of which were credited as the first major step to launching the modern environmentalist movement in the Western world.

[Republican Party Stalwart]

Probably his biggest street cred was putting an end to the Republicans' century-long stranglehold on Maine, one of the most Republican states in the country.

Being singlehandedly (or nearly so) responsible for "flipping" a state from one party to the other (or almost doing so) is always a surefire way to become one of the most intra-partisanly respected politicians nationwide. Hence how the likes of Glenn Youngkin, Stacey Abrams, Lee Zeldin, Chris Christie, Doug Jones, Phil Scott, and arguably even George McGovern, to use just some examples all from living memory, all became nationwide household names within their political careers.

[KaiserDave]

Probably his biggest street cred was putting an end to the Republicans' century-long stranglehold on Maine, one of the most Republican states in the country.

This. Being singlehandedly (or nearly so) responsible for "flipping" a state from one party to the other (or almost doing so) is always a surefire way to become one of the most intra-partisanly respected politicians nationwide. Hence how the likes of Glenn Youngkin, Stacey Abrams, Lee Zeldin, Chris Christie, Doug Jones, Phil Scott, and arguably even George McGovern, to use just some examples all from living memory, all became nationwide household names within their political careers.

Nobody knows who Phil Scott is - and he did not flip Vermont, he merely follows in an existing tradition of moderate R Governors, he's only notable because he's more moderate then usual.

[Senator Incitatus]

I can't believe nobody has pointed to the actual reason for his selection and appeal; he was Catholic (and Kennedy didn't run).

[wnwnwn]

Outside of MS and RI, the northeast was seen as competitive by republicans. Humphrey won NY and CT by 5%.

[Fuzzy Bear Loves Christian Missionaries]

He was picked because he was a Catholic and from the Northeast.  The Democrats opted for a Northeast/Midwest axis in 1968 that was not successful in the past and was not successful then.

1968 was the last time Southern conservatives played a big role in securing the nomination.  Texas Gov. John Connally personally controlled 500 delegates and wished to be the VP nomination, or to at least procure the nomination for a Southerner.  HHH apparently believed that the South was a lost cause, and that all of the South would have gone for Nixon or Wallace.  This I do not believe to have been the case.  The selection of Connally may have secured Arkansas over Wallace.  The selection of NC Gov. Dan K. Moore (whose name was placed in nomination for President and who won NC's delegates as a Favorite Son) may have secured NC, AR, and possibly one other state.  There were others as well, although no one was going to win any states in the DEEP South for the Democrats.

Muskie was a Catholic, but from a small state.  He got good reviews for his performance in 1968; in retrospect, that was because he was up against Spiro Agnew, who was a poor candidate who got stronger in office.  The media (which hated Nixon) swooned over Muskie, thinking him the best bet to unseat Nixon.  CBS correspondent Eric Sevareid flat out said in 1971 that Muskie would go all the way; it was really an audacious prediction.  On the basis of this, Muskie lined up the endorsement of a slew of Democratic Governors in 1971, and I mean Southern and Border State Governors as well as other Governors.  He was the establishment candidate.  And then he collapsed.  It wasn't just the crying incident; it was that Muskie, in truth, was not particularly likeable.  He was also not fully prepared to deal with the McGovern phenomenon.  McGovern, who was NOT liked by his fellow Democrats in 1972, nonetheless wrote the new rules (along with MN Rep. Don Fraser) and knew the new rules better than anyone else.  Muskie destroyed in 1972 the pretense that he was a "strong candidate" that he created in 1968.