(9 of 10)
In the general elections, Anderson faced an attractive liberal Republican, Douglas M. Head, the incumbent attorney general. There were two pivotal points in the campaign. One was Anderson's appearance in TV spots. He is a startlingly effective TV performer, one of the best since John Kennedy. His frank blue eyes, framed by a rugged, rectangular face, came across and reversed the polls that had favored Head. The second crucial point was his endorsement of a tax-reform program suggested by the Citizens League, a plan calling for the state to take over a large share of the school-financing burden from local districts, mandating a huge increase in the state budget.
The Republicans thought that Anderson had blundered fatally. That they were wrong is an excellent example of the sophistication of the Minnesota voters. They were willing to elect a man who promised to raise some of their taxes in return for larger overall gains. When he took office, Anderson proposed a $762 million boost in state taxes—roughly a 30% increase in the biennial budget. Eventually, he got through a $588 million compromise package, with substantial increases in the taxes on liquor and cigarettes, and in corporate and personal income taxes, along with a 1¢ rise in the sales tax. With such state revenues he increased state aid for education from 43% to 63% in the first year, and now to 70%, thereby decreasing the real estate tax burden by an average of 11.5%.
It was a major piece of social legislation, for within a six-year period, it will virtually equalize the per-pupil spending for education throughout the state and thus go a long way toward equalizing education in the cities, suburbs and rural areas. Anderson has had other victories. All legislative meetings of any kind must now be open to the public—no more private executive sessions in the legislature. A full-time ombudsman has been established in the corrections department. The magnificent St. Croix River has been added to the National Scenic River System. Voter registration has in effect been abolished. Anderson has also started a massive reorganization of the executive branch in Minnesota, establishing a department of state planning designed to decentralize and coordinate management of the state's various agencies.
Astonishingly, the huge tax increases did little to diminish Anderson's popularity. Though detractors call him "Spendy Wendy," a recent Minnesota poll showed his level of approval at 50%—with 22% unfavorable.
Anderson's personal habits are conservative. His strongest expletives are "Sugar!" and "Son of a biscuit!" and the most damning thing he generally says—this time about a Democratic Senator—is that "he is a weak tinkler." Anderson still plays hockey in an oldtimers' league, jogs daily, packs golf clubs for his out-of-town trips and likes to open the fishing season, although he has had little time for the sport otherwise. He is a staunch civil libertarian, and while he would not think of going to see Deep Throat, or even Last Tango in Paris, he would never consider trying to shut them down either. Throat, in fact, has been playing for weeks in