For the Record

Two weeks ago they were eight; by March 14 they were only four, or was it three and a half? Super Tuesday knocked out George McGovern, who this time round couldn’t score better than third in Massachusetts. . . . And once the votes were tallied, John Glenn’s handlers, campaign manager Jerry Vento and campaign consultant Robert Keefe, urged Glenn to get out. Among other things, Glenn’s cupboard is bare. . . . After Super Tuesday, Walter Mondale was still leading Gary Hart in delegates, approximately 333 to 212, but nearly two thousand are needed to win. . . . What’s with the Hart phenomenon? Political analyst Everett C. Ladd calls it “dealignment” and finds it the dominant trend in American politics today. . . . Washington Post editorial-page editor Meg Greenfield calls it the “Someone Else” Syndrome, and names as past Someone Else candidates Stevenson and Ike, JFK, Goldwater, McGovern, and Carter. . . . Fascinating insight on candidacy of candidate of New Ideas: L.A. Times interview of voters at time of Iowa caucus found issue of major importance to Mondale supporters was the economy; of major importance to McGovern and Cranston supporters, nuclear war; of major importance to Hart supporters: nothing, no issue.

Down with the establishment. In Georgia, Alabama, and Florida, blacks pretty much ignored their establishment leaders—Benjamin Hooks, Thomas Bradley, Andy Young, Coretta King, Rep. Charles Rangel—by giving Jesse Jackson between 50 and 61 per cent of their vote. . . . Jackson got more than 20 per cent of the vote in Georgia, enough to keep the federal bucks rolling in, which is bad news for Walter Mondale. Exit polls in South indicate Mondale is second choice of most blacks who are not Yuppies (young urban professionals), so as long as Jesse stays in the race—and he’s in to the finish line—votes Mondale might be getting against Hart will be diverted. . . . Down the line, too, Jesse could spell big trouble for Democrats with his demands for a woman as Vice President, tougher enforcement of civil-rights laws, and an end to run-off elections (in which blacks usually do badly). If the convention refuses him these goodies, he could take a walk.

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Two weeks ago they were eight; by March 14 they were only four, or was it three and a half? Super Tuesday knocked out George McGovern, who this time round couldn’t score better than third in Massachusetts. . . . And once the votes were tallied, John Glenn’s handlers, campaign manager Jerry Vento and campaign consultant Robert Keefe, urged Glenn to get out. Among other things, Glenn’s cupboard is bare. . . . After Super Tuesday, Walter Mondale was still leading Gary Hart in delegates, approximately 333 to 212, but nearly two thousand are needed to win. . . . What’s with the Hart phenomenon? Political analyst Everett C. Ladd calls it “dealignment” and finds it the dominant trend in American politics today. . . . Washington Post editorial-page editor Meg Greenfield calls it the “Someone Else” Syndrome, and names as past Someone Else candidates Stevenson and Ike, JFK, Goldwater, McGovern, and Carter. . . . Fascinating insight on candidacy of candidate of New Ideas: L.A. Times interview of voters at time of Iowa caucus found issue of major importance to Mondale supporters was the economy; of major importance to McGovern and Cranston supporters, nuclear war; of major importance to Hart supporters: nothing, no issue.

Down with the establishment. In Georgia, Alabama, and Florida, blacks pretty much ignored their establishment leaders—Benjamin Hooks, Thomas Bradley, Andy Young, Coretta King, Rep. Charles Rangel—by giving Jesse Jackson between 50 and 61 per cent of their vote. . . . Jackson got more than 20 per cent of the vote in Georgia, enough to keep the federal bucks rolling in, which is bad news for Walter Mondale. Exit polls in South indicate Mondale is second choice of most blacks who are not Yuppies (young urban professionals), so as long as Jesse stays in the race—and he’s in to the finish line—votes Mondale might be getting against Hart will be diverted. . . . Down the line, too, Jesse could spell big trouble for Democrats with his demands for a woman as Vice President, tougher enforcement of civil-rights laws, and an end to run-off elections (in which blacks usually do badly). If the convention refuses him these goodies, he could take a walk.