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In that potentially violent environment of change and challenge, Dean Burch's refusal to step down has now reached absurdly tempestuous proportions. Moderates have begun to realize that if the oust-Burch campaign gets out of hand, the result might alienate G.O.P. conservatives—perhaps even precipitate a third-party movement. Thus, the moderates were hoping that Burch might be eased out with a minimum of fuss and a minimum of bruised conservative feelings.
Time to Withdraw. That could be accomplished next month when the 132-member National Committee meets in Chicago. A key item on the agenda will be a vote of confidence for the chairman, and, as of last week, a weighty majority of members were ready to vote no. Indeed, right now seemed to be a fine time for the young lawyer from
Tucson to make a strategic withdrawal and allow his party to settle peaceably on a chairman who stands for more than one faction of the Party.
Once the mechanics of Burch's departure are accomplished, the G.O.P. can begin again to focus on the infinitely more meaningful task of finding a man who can reflect the realities of presidential success. One measure of that success, as the last three Presidents of the U.S.-Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson—have shown, is the ability to speak out more or less like a liberal and then, once elected, to act more or less like a conservative. With a leader like that, the Republican Party can once again become strong enough to enter a campaign with confidence.