hance of receiving the nomination, perhaps even becoming the next President of the United States. President Nixon knew that Muskie had a good chance of winning and felt he had to do something to get Muskie out of the race. Nixon had seven men who were loyal to him make up false press releases about Muskie, and his wife. These press releases claimed that Muskie had had affairs with both men and women, that he beat his wife, and then the topper which claimed that Muskies' wife was an alcoholic. These false statements destroyed Muskies' campaign and reputation of being a calm trustworthy candidate. Then one day "mounting the bed of a truck parked outside the offices of the archconservative Manchester Union Leader, Muskie launched an attack on the paper's publisher, William Loeb. As he spoke of Loeb's unflattering remarks about Mrs. Muskie, the senator's voice cracked, and the crowd saw tears form in his eyes."1 This incident badly dented Muskie's image. After that event, people saw Muskie as a weak person. They didn't want a weak person running the country. "Muskie had finished fourth in Pennsylvania, behind winner Humphrey, Wallace, and McGovern, and a distant second to McGovern in Massachusetts. He then withdrew with dignity." 1 Muskie later said of this incident: "It changed people's minds about me, of what kind of a guy I was. They were looking for a strong, steady man, and here I was weak." " (Congressional Quarterly, "Chronology of Presidential Elections", Fourth ed. 1994, pg.329-330)6 After a long primary campaign, and all the primary elections, Senator ...
