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Trying to be too many things to too many people can deprive a family of its own integrity. Such is the theme of Frank Hogan's recent play Finn MacKool, in which campaigning is equated with the devil's own work. Under a satanic compulsion they are too vain to resist, a Kennedy-like family drives one member after another into the hell of politics. In fact, campaigning is more purgatory than hades, and families are more likely to be consumed by television coverage than hellfire. Still, the extensive use of the family as campaigners smacks of cynical exploitation, a show-business gimmick calculated to dazzle and distract. And what of the politician who (Nielsen forbid!) has a homely wife or less than bright children? The day seems not far off when he will be barred from running. Should families skulk back to the home or suppress their need (if it exists) to express themselves? That is one possibility. But even short of such drastic action, it might be useful to remember that it is the candidate who is running for the presidency. He is the one America wants to measure.
Edwin Warner