Humphrey Was Urged to Pick Sen. Inouye

HONOLULU -- President Lyndon B. Johnson urged Hubert Humphrey in 1968 to consider picking U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye as his vice-presidential running mate, newly released tapes from the Johnson library reveal.

The Hawaii Democrat, then 43, was a serious enough prospect that Johnson had the FBI run a background check on him. Humphrey was serving as Johnson's vice president at the time.

Jennifer Sabas, Inouye's Hawaii chief of staff, said Friday that the senator knew at the time he was being considered for the job and was aware of the background check. But she said Inouye told Humphrey that he was not interested.

"He was content in his position as a U.S. senator representing Hawaii," Sabas said.

On Aug. 29, 1968, three days after Inouye delivered the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Johnson was recorded telling Humphrey that Inouye had "cold, clear courage" and that he had never known the Hawaii senator to make a mistake.

The president told Humphrey that Inouye's World War II injuries -- he lost his right arm fighting in Italy -- would silence Humphrey's critics on the Vietnam War.

"He answers Vietnam with that empty sleeve. He answers your problems with Nixon with that empty sleeve," Johnson said, referring to the Republican nominee, Richard M. Nixon.

Southerners loved Inouye, said Johnson, adding the senator would win minority votes because he is Japanese American.

"The South can't get mad at him because he's colored. And he would appeal to every other minority because he is one," Johnson said.

Humphrey said "yes" several times as Johnson spoke. But he was lukewarm to the idea overall, prompting the president to ask, "Inouye doesn't appeal to you?"

Humphrey replied: "Well, I just don't believe so. He does, Mr. President, but I guess maybe it just takes me a little bit too far, too fast. Old conservative Humphrey."

Humphrey later picked Edmund Muskie, a U.S. senator from Maine, as his running mate. But he lost the election to Nixon.