US History Trivia: What Presidential candidate supposedly cried while defending his wife from press attacks?

days, it's considered an asset, not a weakness, if a politician cries.  However, decades ago, a politician couldn't cry - it was considered a sign of weakness and of not being ready for prime time.  However, one candidate for President once cried in public, and it help to derail his ambitions.  So, from Pocket Trivia: US History:  What Presidential candidate supposedly cried while defending his wife from press attacks?  John Lindsay, George McGovern, Edmund Muskie or Henry Jackson?

The correct answer for this one is Edmund Muskie.  Muskie was a Senator from Maine when he ran for President as a Democrat in 1972 (not a good year for the Democratic Party, to say the least).  In the race, the Manchester Union-Leader, a New England newspaper, published a story that said that Muskie's wife, Jane, used "off color" language and drank on the campaign trail.  In response, Muskie held a press conference outside of the newspaper's offices in which he defended his wife.  The press conference, however, was held during a snowstorm.  Muskie would say later that snowflakes hitting his face made it seem that he was crying, but the reporters at the event stated that Muskie cried while defending his wife.  This was the 1970s...a man who was running for President couldn't cry!

The crying was the final nail in the coffin for a campaign that was already faltering.  Muskie continued to serve in the Senate and was appointed Secretary of State by Jimmy Carter in 1980, a position he held for the remainder of Carter's Presidency.