Nation: No. 22

It seemed routine enough: the White House last week announced the appointment of Ambassador to Chile Robert F.Woodward, 52, as Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs. But behind that appointment lay five months of incredible confusion and frustration within the New Frontier. Before Woodward, no fewer than 21 persons had been sounded out for the Inter-American Affairs job. Such candidates as Ellsworth Bunker, retired Ambassador to India, and Carl Spaeth, dean of the Stanford University Law School, had politely but firmly rejected it. And Bob Woodward accepted only because, as a career diplomat, he had little choice.

There was plenty of...

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