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It is not likely there will be a second ballot. The Republicans will nominate Richard Nixon for President, it seems safe to say, before the first rollcall is over. So the question becomes, Is there anything useful conservatives can do, or try to get done, on the first ballot?

Some think not. Since Nixon has it all wrapped up, they say, the only thing todoisto get into line—or, depending on the view, to pull out of the game altogether. There is another view, however, which holds that a spirited conservative affirmation on the first ballot, though only a gesture, would be a meaningful political act. Those who take this view include Convention delegates from South Carolina (13) and Arizona (14) who are pledged to Senator Goldwater. Several dozen delegates from other states may eventually join them. The view makes sense for a number of reasons—most of them symbolical, but some of them practical.

LB

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L. Brent Bozell Jr.

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Presidential Election

Conservatism

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It is not likely there will be a second ballot. The Republicans will nominate Richard Nixon for President, it seems safe to say, before the first rollcall is over. So the question becomes, Is there anything useful conservatives can do, or try to get done, on the first ballot?

Some think not. Since Nixon has it all wrapped up, they say, the only thing todoisto get into line—or, depending on the view, to pull out of the game altogether. There is another view, however, which holds that a spirited conservative affirmation on the first ballot, though only a gesture, would be a meaningful political act. Those who take this view include Convention delegates from South Carolina (13) and Arizona (14) who are pledged to Senator Goldwater. Several dozen delegates from other states may eventually join them. The view makes sense for a number of reasons—most of them symbolical, but some of them practical.