AS he has in the past, President Nixon referred again last week to the three hats he wears as President, Commander in Chief and politician. Yet it is increasingly obvious that more than ever, those three hats are merging as they each take on a distinctly political cut during his re-election campaign.
The politician in Nixon was especially flattered by the turnout of some 400 stage, screen and television celebrities for a party he and the First Lady gave at their San Clemente home. They included such oldtime stars as John Wayne, Jack Benny, George Jessel, James Stewart, Joan Blondell, Ray Bolger, Jimmy Durante and Lawrence Welk, as well as some Democratic turncoats: Frank Sinatra, Jim Brown, Charlton Heston and George Hamilton. (Remember George and Lynda Bird?) The President was in high spirits, chatting amiably and expressing his gratitude "for what you, the people of Hollywood, have done for America and have done for the world."
That over, Nixon headed west for Hawaii—a symbolic site for a meeting with Japan's new Premier Kakuei Tanaka. Before the meeting began, he attended another grand party at the Kahala home of Clare Boothe Luce, where more than 600 business, civic and political leaders of Hawaii enjoyed a mixed buffet of sushi, sashimi, shrimp, king crab and smoked salmon. Everyone laughed when Nixon declared: "This is not a political affair."
Yet even in what appeared to be strictly an affair of state as Nixon met Tanaka for the first time since the blunt and hearty Premier replaced Eisaku Sato last July, the major topic of discussion carried domestic political overtones for Nixon. His Administration is vulnerable to Democratic attack for the huge balance of payments deficit (4.1 billion in the first six months of 1972 and nearly $30 billion in 1971) that the U.S. faces. No other nation holds such a large advantage in its trade with the U.S. as Japan, which is expected to sell some $3.5 billion more in goods to America this year than it buys. In the pre-summit preparations, Nixon's negotiators, most notably Kissinger, hoped to get the Japanese to cut that deficit to under $3 billion by next March 31 (the end of the Japanese fiscal year) and to $2 billion the following year.
Although there was much fanfare over the issuance of a "shopping list" of products and services valued at over $1 billion that Japan intends to buy from the U.S., only $440 million would be paid for by the March goal. The goods include $320 million worth of air buses, $50 million worth of grains, plus $390 million in increased purchases of agriculture, forestry and fishery products. Also included was $320 million for the enrichment of uranium to be used in Japan's nuclear power plants. The tough, gravel-voiced Tanaka declared his intention to reduce the long-range balance "to a more manageable size within a reasonable time."
Of less political consequence to Nixon, although not to Tanaka, the two leaders agreed that both Nixon's overtures toward Peking for better relations and Tanaka's impending visit to China in the same vein (probably about Oct. 1 ) are healthy developments that need not strain U.S.-Japanese ties. The U.S. raised no formal objection to the rupture that undoubtedly will result in Japan's diplomatic relations with Taiwan.