"Winning Isn't Everything. It Is the Only Thing."

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Nixon risked much of the political reserve that a President possesses and created new problems for himself. Despite his claims of having achieved an ideological "working majority" in the Senate, few major issues have been close enough to be affected by a minor shift. An exception was the 50-50 tie by which an attempt to block ABM was defeated. The only major fight he lost by a narrow vote was the nomination of G. Harrold Carswell to the Supreme Court; the four appropriations bills Nixon vetoed had all been passed by overwhelming margins, and he was able to sustain the veto in two cases. The Democrats whom Nixon tried to defeat are now much less likely to work with him, and Republican moderates and liberals are incensed about the elimination of Goodell. "There're going to be fewer Pavlovian responses around here," predicted one senatorial assistant.

Partisan Rhetoric. Did Nixon and Agnew misread the conservative trend? Probably not. But they apparently underestimated the quality of American conservatism and held it cheap. A great many American voters who are determined to defend U.S. institutions and values against the attacks of the youthful counterculture seek effective programs rather than partisan rhetoric.

In stirring up the voters, Nixon seemed to forget that his is a minority party—and the high voter turnout worked against him. In several races, the Administration misgauged the independence of many voters, who picked and chose in an unusual display of ticket-splitting. Observes TIME Washington Bureau Chief Hugh Sidey: "Never has the American voter so totally thumbed his nose at outside interference, money, buncombe, hate and the lofty lamentations of the pious. Particularly in the last ten days, Nixon's campaign was an appeal to narrowness and selfishness and an insult to the American intelligence. He diminished the presidency."

Campaign wounds, of course, heal quickly, and a certain amount of rhetorical violence is accepted and forgiven in U.S. politics. By lowering his voice —as he surely will—and turning to the daily task of building a record on which he can run in 1972, the President can control many of the events that will shape his re-election chances. He must act to get the economy under control, and he must move back toward the center, where majority opinion in the nation lies. It would be surprising if he did not learn from this election that divisive politics do not work and that he must become the politician, as well as the President, of all the people.