National Affairs: How They Run

Fascinated followers of the public-opinion polls over the past six months have noted one consistent fact: Vice President Richard Nixon’s trip to Russia last July (TIME, Aug. 3 et seq.) may have been the most popular political move he ever made. Before July 1959 Nixon ran a faltering second against leading Democratic candidates, but after his return from Moscow last summer, he vaulted the magic numbers and has consistently led all comers by a substantial margin. Last week, in a new sampling, Gallup reported that Nixon still holds a commanding lead (55%) over Adlai Stevenson (45%) and a slightly smaller lead (53%) over front-running Jack Kennedy (47%).