In his acceptance speech , Agnew told the convention he had " a deep sense of the improbability of this moment " . Agnew was not yet a national figure , and a widespread reaction to the nomination was " Spiro who ? " In Atlanta , three pedestrians gave their reactions to the name when interviewed on television : " It 's some kind of disease " ; " It 's some kind of egg " ; " He 's a Greek that owns that shipbuilding firm . " In 1968 , the Nixon-Agnew ticket faced two principal opponents . The Democrats , at a convention marred by violent demonstrations , had nominated Vice President Hubert Humphrey and Maine Senator Edmund Muskie as their standard-bearers . The segregationist former Governor of Alabama , George Wallace , ran as a third-party candidate , and was expected to do well in the Deep South . Nixon , mindful of the restrictions he had labored under as Eisenhower 's running mate in 1952 and 1956 , was determined to both give Agnew a much freer rein and to make it clear his running mate had his support . Agnew could also usefully play an " attack dog " role , as Nixon had in 1952
a convention
1968 Democratic National Convention
Spiro Agnew