(3 of 10)
His appeal is not entirely limited to the lower middle class, however. Wallace draws some support from propertied and professional people. Most of his contributions, officially estimated at $70,000 a day, come in small bills at rallies, at $25-a-plate dinners, and in checks through the mail. Affluent backers pay $500 and up to join Wallace "Patriots' Clubs" and lunch with the candidate when he comes to town. In Dallas last month, Wallace dined with such "plain folk" as Mrs. Nelson Bunker Hunt, daughter-in-law of Oil Billionaire H. L. Hunt; Paul Pewitt, who has a $100 million fortune from Texas oil and Idaho potatoes; and M. H. Marr, an oilman worth about $10 million. However much money he has, the average Wallace booster is what Political Analyst Samuel Lubell calls a "recent getter," someone who has worked hard for what he has and is fearful of losing it.
Almost all Wallaceites believe that there are simple solutions for complicated problems. In his platform, released this week—just 22 days before the election—he says that if peace negotiations fail, he would solve the war by turning it over to the generals. Law and order would be maintained by eradicating an "unexplainable compassion for the criminal evidenced by our executive and judicial officers and officials." He would seek an amendment to the Constitution that would require the Senate to reconfirm "at reasonable intervals" members of the Supreme Court and federal appeals courts.
His followers all have their own complaints and their own reasons for believing that Wallace can help. The addition of LeMay—Wallace's Agnew, in the view of many critics—will probably add to his appeal, particularly with those who are frustrated by the war. The general's inspection trip to Viet Nam this week will doubtless help Wallace's effort to convince voters that he has a grasp of world affairs—and, in fact, last week's speech on foreign policy before the National Press Club in Washington was reasonably restrained and cogent.
Who Will Be Hurt More?
Nixon has always conceded Wallace Mississippi, Louisiana and, of course, Alabama. He gave up Georgia some time ago. Now he is seriously concerned about his chances against Wallace in Arkansas, Florida, Tennessee and North and South Carolina. Kentucky and Virginia, once considered promising for the G.O P., are less than firm. No one in either of the major parties gives Wallace even an outside chance of carrying any state outside the South.
No one can tell at this stage where or how the Wallace role will affect the major parties, but it could tip the balance in several key states. In Texas, where a Democratic poll puts Humphrey a notch ahead of Nixon, Wallace at present has 26% of the vote. In Missouri, also a tight race, he has 22%. In Michigan and Pennsylvania, where Humphrey, according to the Democrats, is also slightly ahead, Wallace pulls 15% and 12%.
Which