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What was happening—and not happening—among Democratic leaders around the country was more significant than any single poll. Johnson's sudden pullout, the new possibility of Viet Nam peace negotiations, the upsurge in popularity for the Administration, the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. and the violence that followed, all combined to force a political pause. Kennedy and McCarthy, deprived of their most conspicuous personal target, and with their attacks on Viet Nam policy at least partially undercut, were not in a position to capitalize on events. But Humphrey was. "The old impetuous Humphrey," he observed, "would have announced from Mexico City" (where he learned of Johnson's noncandidacy on radio). Instead, he bided his time, dropped mega-hints that he would indeed run, scouted for allies, tested the air, and found strong breezes running his way.
Cocker-Spaniel Cut. TIME correspondents around the country also detected growing support for the Vice President. Chicago Bureau Chief Loye Miller reported that out of 14 states surveyed in the first week of April, significant Humphrey strength was apparent only in Kentucky, Minnesota and the Dakotas. Last week's report: "We find that Humphrey's stature and potential delegate strength have multiplied almost magically."
St. Louis Mayor Alfonso Cervantes explained: "Humphrey has become seasoned now into a middle-of-the-road candidate. Businessmen like myself can accept him, and he has enough imagination and knowledge of social problems to satisfy the liberals." Both in the South and in the Middle West, Humphrey was benefiting from animosity toward Kennedy and the belief that McCarthy, despite his brave performance, was not getting anywhere.
Democratic National Committeewoman Maurine Biegert of Nebraska said Kennedy was now inheriting much of the "hard, calculating, hatchet-man image" that Johnson had suffered from. In Kentucky, A.F.L.-C.I.O. Executive Secretary Sam Ezelle expressed the gut reaction of much of organized labor's leadership: "We remember how Bobby abused us before the McClellan Com mittee. Bobby Kennedy, with his cocker-spaniel haircut, tries to tell us he's now our friend, but we remember."
Surprise. An effort to whip Ohio's 115-vote delegation into a solid Kennedy block has so far failed, and that key state, like Michigan and Illinois, remains up for grabs by either Humphrey or Kennedy. In the West, Kennedy is holding his lead in both California and Oregon, where the last two important primaries will take place. Impressive victories in these, and in Indiana and Nebraska, would give Kennedy's campaign a tremendous lift (Humphrey entered the race too late for inclusion on any of the presidential-primary ballots). In most of the smaller Western states, Humphrey seems well ahead in potential delegate strength.