Edmund Muskie Dies At 81

WASHINGTON (CNN, March 26) -- Former Secretary of State Edmund S. Muskie died early today at Georgetown University Hospital from heart failure.

The longtime Maine senator, known as "Mr. Clean" for his efforts to curb air and water pollution, was 81.

Last year, Muskie warned of Congress' attempts to weaken the environmental laws he helped author.

"Some members of this Congress seem so eager to change Washington that they are losing sight of how damaging their changes can be to people's every day lives," Muskie said.

Congressional proposals "would halt 25 years of accomplishment and turn the clock back to the days when the special interests made the rules and the people absorbed the risks," he said.

Muskie underwent successful surgery last week to clear a blocked artery in his leg, but suffered a heart attack and a stroke while still in the hospital, said his assistant, Carole Parmelee from the Chadbourne & Parke law firm.

Hospital spokeswoman Lauren Shaham said Muskie died at 4:06 a.m. EST, just two days before his 82nd birthday.

Muskie received a law degree from Cornell University, served in the Navy in World War II, and entered politics in the Maine Legislature before becoming the state's governor in 1955.

He was a Maine senator from 1959 to 1980, and was the first elected Democratic U.S. senator in Maine's history. Before his tenure in the Senate, Muskie was governor from 1955 to 1959.

In 1972, Muskie was the early front-runner as a Democratic presidential hopeful, but he lost the nomination to George McGovern. Muskie's career as a politician ended as secretary of state under Jimmy Carter in 1980-81.

Muskie considered it ironic that his final months in public life were spent in that office, working for a president.

"It's funny," he once confided to an interviewer. "Of all the jobs I've been ambitious for, this is one that never crossed my mind."

Lincolnesque Mannerisms Caught Nation's Attention Muskie, a World War II veteran, first gained national prominence in 1968, when Democratic presidential nominee Hubert Humphrey chose him as running mate.

Though the Democratic ticket lost to Richard Nixon and Spiro Agnew, Muskie captivated the nation, sometimes inviting hecklers to share the speaking platform with him.

With his lanky 6-foot-4 frame, his craggy appearance and his modest manners, Muskie caught the imagination of political analysts, who dubbed him "Lincolnesque."

Blessed with a dry sense of humor, an outgoing personality and eloquent speaking abilities, Muskie emerged in 1972 as the early favorite to win the Democratic nomination. But he lost presidential ground one snowy Saturday while campaigning for the New Hampshire primary.

Speaking from a flatbed trailer outside the Manchester Union Leader newspaper, Muskie denounced a story critical of his wife, Jane, then openly weeped (182K AIFF or WAV sound).

Although he won the New Hampshire primary, the episode came to symbolize the collapse of Muskie's quest for the White House.

"It changed people's minds about me, of what kind of guy I was," he later told author Theodore H. White. "They were looking for a strong, steady man, and here I was weak."

Small-Town Roots Muskie was born in the small paper mill town of Rumford, Maine, on March 28, 1914. His father was a Polish-born tailor whose name had been shortened by immigration officials from Marciszewski to Muskie.

Muskie was a leading voice on domestic issues during his 22 years in the Senate, and was known for his hard-line environmental stances.

During the mid-1970s, he became the champion of fiscal discipline as Congress created its own budget-making process. Rarely would Muskie flinch on issues.

"Too often in the past, members of Congress have won re-election with a two-part strategy: Talk like Scrooge on the campaign trail. Vote like Santa Claus on the Senate

floor," he once said.

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