The same question had come up hundreds of times since the final count was finished on that bleak November day. And each time, Richard Nixon gave the same answer: "I'm not a candidate."
But last week Nixon was touring the Midwest on a G.O.P. fund-raising mission —and looking more and more like a once and future candidate for President of the U.S. In Detroit, he learned that the Salvation Army mistakenly expected him to attend a dinner honoring the 28th anniversary of its local residence for women. Nixon cut short a midafternoon press conference, dashed a dozen blocks across town...