MOST presidencies develop their own interior rhythms, cycles of public motion and private labor, of crisis and calm. Last week Richard Nixon began a new round of intense activity. At summer's end, congressional elections loomed in the middle distance, and for the first time Nixon saw his popularity in opinion polls dip below 50%. Campuses were reopening, bringing uneasy possibilities of violent dissent. The auto strike diluted optimism that the economy was at last beginning to right itself (see BUSINESS). And in the Middle East, earlier hopes for peace were rapidly unraveling. Nixon moved almost simultaneously on all fronts.
At the center of his concern was the Middle Eastern balance of power. As Palestinian guerrillas menaced the government of Jordan's King Hussein, Nixon met in Washington with Premier Golda Meir to discuss new United States aid to Israel. A day earlier, in an off-the-record meeting with Chicago newspaper editors, the President mentioned the possibility of American intervention in the Jordan crisis (see WORLD). His remarks amounted to a calculated leak warning Arabs to move cautiously. The Chicago Sun-Times published a story on it, which the White House made no real effort to deny.
Showing the Flag. In his broader Mideastern policy, the President advanced a strategy of somewhat less pugnacious pressures to persuade Russians, Arabs and Israelis alike of U.S. determination to find stability in the Mediterranean area. Even before the Jordanian outbreak of civil warfare, Nixon announced that he would leave at the first of next week for a nine-day European tour—his third trip overseas since he took office—that would deliberately take him around the Allied perimeter of the Mediterranean.
Nixon had been talking about the journey in general terms since the spring. Now it took on a special urgency. By his presence, the President means to show the flag in the Mediterranean, where Russian naval strength has been growing. The point will not be lost when he appears at sea on the bridge of the guided-missile cruiser Springfield, a flagship of the Sixth Fleet, or when he calls on NATO's southern headquarters in Naples. His visit with General Franco in Madrid will be a much publicized reminder of the renewed agreement on American military bases in Spain, just across the water from the Russian missiles.
Three I's. Some other stops on Nixon's tour will be politically eclectic. In London, he will meet with British Prime Minister Edward Heath for the first time since-Heath took office. In response to a longstanding invitation, Nixon will call on Yugoslavia's President Tito, underscoring the Administration's desire for good relations with Communist regimes of all stripes and at the same time its support for Yugoslavia's independence. Nixon is also hoping to repeat in Belgrade the exuberant success of his Rumanian visit of 14 months ago.