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THE SOUTH. The fact that Lyndon Johnson has not been able to deliver the South as a bloc is a big disappointment, and the situation in Texas, where the LBJ machine is caught between rebellious liberals and suspicious conservatives, is worrisome. Operation Kennedy still expects to carry a nucleus of 50 electoral votes in the Deep South, hopefully upped that ante last week with a request to the Southern Governors' Conference for a minimum of 75.
ECONOMICS. Jack makes the most of spot unemployment and local hard times, but so far has carefully not shouted "recession." Though a stock market drop may inspire Republican jitters, the Kennedys do not expect that anything can happen before November to give them a hot economic issue.
Third Phase. Between them, Jack and Bobby have worked out an elaborate, three-phase program for the campaign, unwritten but completely understood, and last weekend Bobby called his high command together in Hyannisport to bring it up to date. The first phase, the time of preparation and organization, ended on Labor Day. The second, the period between Labor Day and the World Series, is coming to a close. In the second phase, the Kennedys believe, the public has been preoccupied with football and baseball, the new school year, and other seasonal interests (including the U.N.), and the campaign has been kept at a high level —outlining the issues, establishing the Kennedy stance, getting ready for the final drive.
The countdown phase, beginning next week, will continue down to Election Day, with Jack waging a tough, no-quarter fight (as he expects Nixon to do). In the last, crucial 18 days of the campaign, Kennedy will concentrate on the pivotal states. In preparation, Ted Sorensen, Jack's chief lieutenant, has been poring over a large, black-covered book called the "Nixonpedia." which contains every detail of Dick Nixon's public life, hundreds of past Nixon quotes. Prime television time (as much as $2,000,000 worth) has been ordered, the last-minute programing has been settled, and the Kennedy brothers are prepared to make it an all-out political Donnybrook.
This week, as his drive for the presidency picked up momentum in the aftermath of the television debate and the mob scenes of Cleveland and Buffalo, Jack Kennedy was ready for the final act. Public interest in the campaign was aroused, despite the distractions of the U.N. and the ballparks. Much would depend on the public's impression of Candidate Kennedy in his last-act campaign appearances and his final TV clashes with Dick Nixon. For Bobby Kennedy the party was nearly over. Nearly every voter would be registered in two weeks. All that remained was the get-out-the-vote drive on Election Day.