The Week

■ Why is it that, no matter what the election and who the candidates, the New York Times always ends up coming out against fascism and the Ku Klux Klan?

■ Nothing special to remark about the TV election coverage. Eric Sevareid chewed his gloomy cud as usual, mooing about “how far we’ve drifted to the right.” Roger Mudd found the growing Brock majority “ominous,” and Lucille Rich, also of CBS, kept reminding us that Jim Buckley really lived in Connecticut. Charles Kuralt surveyed the scene at Buckley headquarters, and came up with: “There’s a great feeling of expectancy here in the air here. . . . The people, and I don’t see a black face in the crowd, sense that their man is going to win. . . and made sure the message got through: “The crowd here senses victory in the air. . . . There’s a great deal of merrymaking. The band is playing. It’s played ‘Dixie’ a couple of times. It’s that kind of crowd. . . .” Over at NBC David Brinkley kept up a running monologue with the ghost of Chet, assuring us that Nixon and Agnew had blundered, that Republicans really weren’t winning anywhere, occasionally slipping Freudianly: “Buckley refused to withdraw,” he blurted, “refused to give his head to Spiro Agnew on a silver platter.” The ghost didn’t correct him. But all in all, it could have been worse. And there was a curious restraint whenever the Vice President’s name was mentioned. Did somebody tell them something?

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■ Why is it that, no matter what the election and who the candidates, the New York Times always ends up coming out against fascism and the Ku Klux Klan?

■ Nothing special to remark about the TV election coverage. Eric Sevareid chewed his gloomy cud as usual, mooing about “how far we’ve drifted to the right.” Roger Mudd found the growing Brock majority “ominous,” and Lucille Rich, also of CBS, kept reminding us that Jim Buckley really lived in Connecticut. Charles Kuralt surveyed the scene at Buckley headquarters, and came up with: “There’s a great feeling of expectancy here in the air here. . . . The people, and I don’t see a black face in the crowd, sense that their man is going to win. . . and made sure the message got through: “The crowd here senses victory in the air. . . . There’s a great deal of merrymaking. The band is playing. It’s played ‘Dixie’ a couple of times. It’s that kind of crowd. . . .” Over at NBC David Brinkley kept up a running monologue with the ghost of Chet, assuring us that Nixon and Agnew had blundered, that Republicans really weren’t winning anywhere, occasionally slipping Freudianly: “Buckley refused to withdraw,” he blurted, “refused to give his head to Spiro Agnew on a silver platter.” The ghost didn’t correct him. But all in all, it could have been worse. And there was a curious restraint whenever the Vice President’s name was mentioned. Did somebody tell them something?