MANCHESTER — Fifty years ago this week, he cried. Or maybe it was just the snow melting across his face. What happened that day on Amherst Street doesn't matter now. It mattered then.
Two weeks before the 1972 New Hampshire primary, the front-running candidate, Edmund Muskie, stood before the office of the Manchester Union Leader to respond to a letter to the editor, which charged that he laughed about the characterization of French-speakers — an important constituency in the state — as "Canucks." Though the NHL's Vancouver franchise today uses that term, it was regarded as a slur then, and the letter, planted by Richard Nixon's "dirty-tricks" team, provoked the Maine senator into an angry response that might have doomed his presidential candidacy and surely changed the trajectory of the Democrats' race to select a nominee to oppose Nixon's reelection bid.
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Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.