Fifty years ago this month Maine was headed into the final weeks of a political campaign that resulted in one of the most astounding electoral upsets ever. The September 1954 election of obscure Waterville attorney Ed Muskie over Republican Burton Cross was the only time since l916 when a sitting incumbent was denied re-election to a second term and also heralded the rejuvenation of two-party competitive government in Maine.
The 1954 election was not only symbolic for what it meant to Maine but is also critical to an understanding of Ed Muskie himself -- the most influential Democratic party leader in Maine history. Years later, speaking to a crowd in Texas when he was the 1968 party vice-presidential nominee, Muskie recalled his 1954 upset election. "I never had an experience like that. If I win elections from now until the year 2000, this election, if we win it, wouldn't be nearly the exhilarating experience of that one. We won against hopeless odds."
The 50-year anniversary of this milestone is an occasion to not only recall the event itself but is also a time to reflect on a few other aspects of Muskie himself and his career as governor.
http://morningsentinel.mainetoday.com/view/columns/872~~~.shtml
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