Nation: THE POLITICS OF RESTORATION

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It was yet another display of Kennedy's extraordinary emotional impact on Negroes. In the early days of the Kennedy Administration, both Jack and Bobby were criticized by black leaders for inadequate and tardy attention to civil rights. That attitude changed gradually, so that now, when Kennedy visits Watts, the word is "Make way for the President." In Washington's ghetto recently, he was greeted as a "blue-eyed soul brother."

While Columbus Negroes were demonstrating that brotherhood, the Ohio delegation cooled its heels for two hours in the Neil House Hotel. Kenny O'Donnell had sent word: "Be on time. These are delegates." But for Kennedy, it was more important to bring out the crowds, to show the Ohio politicians his pulling power on the streets. The delegates, he figures, will come over only if he proves to them that he can electrify the electorate. Until June 4, his aim is not to wrestle delegates to the ground in non-primary states, but merely to keep them out of Humphrey's hammerlock.

"I'm not going to ask for your support on the basis that you were friendly to a relative of mine eight years ago," he told the Ohioans. "I'm asking for a fair shake, and when this is over, I'm coming back to Ohio and hope to talk about my record then." This is a far cry from the Kennedys' bone-crushing approach to Ohio in 1960, when they virtually forced Governor Mike Di Salle to stand aside as a favorite son so that Jack Kennedy could have the field to himself. Di Salle cooperated and, despite his hurt feelings, is a Kennedy backer today.

Old Enmity. As Kennedy strategists view the race, McCarthy is finished as a serious candidate, although he might still give them competition in Oregon next week and California the week after. Kennedy studiously avoids taking any pokes at McCarthy in the hope that eventually he will inherit some of the delegate strength remaining in the

Minnesotan's quiver. From McCarthy himself, Kennedy can hope for little. The two men's long-standing antipathy —going back to McCarthy's anti-Kennedy stand in 1960—has not softened at all this year despite their similarity of views on Viet Nam. While Kennedy has been needling Humphrey, McCarthy has been complaining that some Kennedy supporters have distributed nasty half-truths about his record as a Senator. "It is not the kind of politics," averred McCarthy, "to which I would lend my name or allow to go on without repudiating it."

But McCarthy does not rule out the possibility of a coalition with Humphrey: "It all depends on the progress of the peace talks, on Humphrey's positions, and on the progress of the campaign." Just how many delegates McCarthy would actually be able to transfer, however, is uncertain. If he fares poorly on the first ballot in Chicago, his control over those bound to him either by loyalty or law could disintegrate completely.

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