Now the curtain rises on Act II of the quadrennial American drama. Scene: the conventions. Enter the delegates — the most courted, yet least known supporting players in presidential campaigns.
The delegates are creatures of paradox. For months, the candidates have wooed them; for a glorious week, they will stand at the whirling hub of decision. Yet they are widely described as mere tools of the true decision makers. The great scholars of American politics have largely ignored them: neither Tocqueville nor Lord Bryce nor Sir Denis Brogan take them very seriously. Yet these seemingly faceless men and women are now at the focus of national attention.
Who are the delegates? There will be 4,322 of them—1,333 Republicans in Miami, 2,989 Democrats in Chicago, plus nearly as many alternates. Along with varying ideologies, there are clear contrasts between the parties. Reflecting their longtime power, more than one-third of the Democratic delegates are apt to be public officials, compared with one-fifth of the Republicans. If past conventions are any guide, three out of ten Democratic delegates will be lawyers or judges, against two out of ten Republicans; similarly, the Democrats will have many more union members and officials. Only about one-quarter of the Democrats will be businessmen, compared with one-third of the Republicans. About 20% of the Republican delegates and alternates will be women—almost twice the Democrats' proportion. Though one in every nine Americans is a Negro, less than 5% of those attending the Democratic Convention will be Negro, and less than 3% of the Republicans.
Despite party differences, and the intriguing fact that most of this year's delegates (82% of the Republicans, for example) will be attending their first convention, past statistics paint the portrait of a kind of composite delegate. He is a white, middle-class male of about 50. He is more than likely a college graduate. He lives well: the median income for Democratic delegates in 1964 was over $18,000 a year and for Republicans over $20,000. About 10% of the Democrats and 14% of the Republicans earned more than $50,000.
The Activist Loyalist
For all his comparative wealth, the typical delegate can hardly be accused of buying his convention seat. To be sure, the nation's political-finance reporting laws are notoriously lax. But at least on the record, the median contribution by 1964 delegates of either party to their state organizations was under $240 a year; less than 30% gave as much as $500. What really marks the typical delegate is a long record of giving time and energy to the party of his choice. This is what may pin the hack label upon him—though it also clearly demonstrates a continuing concern, whether base or altruistic, that makes him feel far more entitled to shape the political process than his long-indifferent neighbors.
Even if he's sometimes a hack, he's seldom a boob, He knows more about the issues, and has much stronger opinions about them, than the overwhelming majority of ordinary voters. He has seen and heard the candidates in person, even if through a smog of rhetoric. He is worried about the war and the riots and his own role in nominating a President. Inevitably, he values party loyalty and remembers long service. He reads the polls and weighs what he wants against who can win.