(8 of 9)
"There is a political atmosphere that is plowed by those who appeal to baser instincts. As a result, people turn inward and away from the problems of the country. It's very dangerous for our society. But I find people are prepared to respond to these problems. There's a sensitivity about responsibilities. People are thinking more about some of these questions and problems, and are concerned about them. It comes down to a question of leadership, sensing the concerns of the time and developing a view about these issues. It's sharing the passion of the times and the ability to develop responses to the problems.
NIXON'S LEADERSHIP. "I would list a kind of balance sheet on particular issues, both pro and con. I applaud his efforts to reduce tensions internationally, his new China policy and the Nixon Doctrine in the Far East. But a basic question is whether the country is coming to grips with the more essential problems we have at home. There is no sense of where the country is and where it is going. The basic catalyst for leadership is the President, and the failure of Nixon is in leadership.
"I don't think that he has ended Viet Nam as an issue. Have we fulfilled our responsibilities if the violence continues? On the economy, all we have is a blueprint of a plan—Phase II. There are many pieces still to be filled in. Nixon has put the economy through the wringer. Things were bad in 1969, they grew worse in 1970, and now in 1971 we have the freeze and Phase II. I hope it works; I think it may. But no amount of rhetoric can mask the fact that the Administration should have acted long ago, in 1969.
NIXON'S VULNERABILITY. "I think it's going to be difficult to beat the
President under any circumstances. It would be extremely difficult to defeat him if, for instance, he ends the war. If the SALT talks succeed. If the trip to Peking is effective. If the cities are quiet. If the economy recovers and unemployment goes down. But if the war drags on, if the economy lags, if the trips are only smokescreens, if deep-seated divisions continue in the country, then . . .
"You can make a case that a Democratic victory is possible. Don't you think that anyone who voted for Hubert Humphrey in 1968 will vote for a Democrat next time? And what if we can get 8,000,000 young voters to the polls out of the 25 million who will be eligible? But I don't underestimate the strength of the President's appeal."
Kennedy has gone through metamorphoses. He was the heedless Kennedy kid brother who left Harvard for two years after he got a friend to take a Spanish exam for him. When he ran for the Senate in 1962, Harvard Law School Professor Mark DeWolfe declared: "His academic career is mediocre. His professional career is virtually nonexistent. His candidacy is both preposterous and insulting." But he has become a skilled student of the Senate, and Jack once called him "the family's best politician."
A Personality Contest