For the Record

Confusing, that’s what the polls have been. Lou Harris reports that until very recently his polls showed Jimmy Carter coming “across as more conservative to conservative voters, more middle-of-the-road to middle-of-the-roaders, and more liberal to liberals.” More recent poll however showed Carter being perceived by more people as liberal now (26 per cent) than in July (20 per cent); fewer (17* per cent) perceived him as a conservative in August than (19 per cent) in July. . . . Pollster Sindlinger was not surprised by the 23-point drop in Carter’s popularity between late July and late August. The July polls, he says, were artificial. “People were asked to choose between Carter and Ford before they knew they would indeed be the choice. Such polling is an exercise in futility.” . . . Patrick Caddell, the pollster who works for Carter, professes to be happy that the drastic drop in ratings came earlier rather than later; says what he worries most about is that Carter will come across as either “fuzzy” or “shifting” on the issues. . . . Fuzziness over the abortion issue is giving Carter big trouble already. He had to move one meeting with community leaders in Philadelphia from a Catholic to a Lutheran church because his people refused Cardinal Krol’s request that abortion be added to the agenda. . . . When Carter was asked by pro-lifers about the pro-abortion plank in the Democratic platform, which had been drafted by former ADA chairman Joseph Duffey, he replied: “I think Joe Duffey happens to be a Catholic,” which got him off the hook not at all since Duffey is an ex-Congregationalist minister. . . . How will the third-and fourth-party candidacies of Eugene McCarthy and Lester Maddox affect the election? In a three-way battle (Ford, Carter, McCarthy), most polls give McCarthy between 5 and 10 per cent of the vote and the indications are that between 70 and 80 per cent of that five-to-ten would be Democratic or liberal independent votes, enough to turn the tide in states where the balloting might be close. . . . Doesn’t that make McCarthy a spoiler? If so that’s OK, says McCarthy. “If there was a year when it didn’t matter if you spoiled things, this is it,” which statement won him the Churl-of-the-Year award from liberal TV. Y. Post columnist Harriet van Horne. . . . Kevin Phillips doesn’t think Lester Maddox’ American Independent Party will get more than 2 to 3 per cent of the vote, but he thinks Maddox’ nomination is a net gain for Ford. Where, he asks, do the disgruntled Reaganites have to go now? . . . American Independent Party Chairman William Shearer is impartial: asked if he wouldn’t welcome the death of the Republican Party, he replied: “I guess so, but I feel the same way about the Democratic Party.”

New York’s Democratic senatorial primary wound up with blood all over the floor. Bella Abzug was mad because only three of her New York state colleagues in Congress supported her: the two woman Representatives from Brooklyn, Shirley Chisholm and Elizabeth Holtzman, were among the 25 abstainers. . . . The Communist Daily World was indignant at Pat Moynihan backer Albert Shanker of the American Federation of Teachers for having attacked Bella as a “scab”—she once crossed a picket line. This, said the World, was low blow even for that “racist and blustering anti-Soviet antiliberation-movement spokesman [Moynihan].” … In Arizona it was a victory for Barry Goldwater when conservative Sam Steiger beat out conservative John Conlan in GOP senatorial primary for the seat of retiring Sen. Paul Fannin. Goldwater, breaking a tradition of 24 years, had endorsed Steiger over Conlan, a man whom he described as “never honest in politics … he just doesn’t keep his word.” . . . Also winning in Arizona primary, former presidential candidate Rep. Mo Udall, and Republican minority leader Rep. John Rhodes.

Featured Tags

Presidential Election

Confusing, that’s what the polls have been. Lou Harris reports that until very recently his polls showed Jimmy Carter coming “across as more conservative to conservative voters, more middle-of-the-road to middle-of-the-roaders, and more liberal to liberals.” More recent poll however showed Carter being perceived by more people as liberal now (26 per cent) than in July (20 per cent); fewer (17* per cent) perceived him as a conservative in August than (19 per cent) in July. . . . Pollster Sindlinger was not surprised by the 23-point drop in Carter’s popularity between late July and late August. The July polls, he says, were artificial. “People were asked to choose between Carter and Ford before they knew they would indeed be the choice. Such polling is an exercise in futility.” . . . Patrick Caddell, the pollster who works for Carter, professes to be happy that the drastic drop in ratings came earlier rather than later; says what he worries most about is that Carter will come across as either “fuzzy” or “shifting” on the issues. . . . Fuzziness over the abortion issue is giving Carter big trouble already. He had to move one meeting with community leaders in Philadelphia from a Catholic to a Lutheran church because his people refused Cardinal Krol’s request that abortion be added to the agenda. . . . When Carter was asked by pro-lifers about the pro-abortion plank in the Democratic platform, which had been drafted by former ADA chairman Joseph Duffey, he replied: “I think Joe Duffey happens to be a Catholic,” which got him off the hook not at all since Duffey is an ex-Congregationalist minister. . . . How will the third-and fourth-party candidacies of Eugene McCarthy and Lester Maddox affect the election? In a three-way battle (Ford, Carter, McCarthy), most polls give McCarthy between 5 and 10 per cent of the vote and the indications are that between 70 and 80 per cent of that five-to-ten would be Democratic or liberal independent votes, enough to turn the tide in states where the balloting might be close. . . . Doesn’t that make McCarthy a spoiler? If so that’s OK, says McCarthy. “If there was a year when it didn’t matter if you spoiled things, this is it,” which statement won him the Churl-of-the-Year award from liberal TV. Y. Post columnist Harriet van Horne. . . . Kevin Phillips doesn’t think Lester Maddox’ American Independent Party will get more than 2 to 3 per cent of the vote, but he thinks Maddox’ nomination is a net gain for Ford. Where, he asks, do the disgruntled Reaganites have to go now? . . . American Independent Party Chairman William Shearer is impartial: asked if he wouldn’t welcome the death of the Republican Party, he replied: “I guess so, but I feel the same way about the Democratic Party.”

New York’s Democratic senatorial primary wound up with blood all over the floor. Bella Abzug was mad because only three of her New York state colleagues in Congress supported her: the two woman Representatives from Brooklyn, Shirley Chisholm and Elizabeth Holtzman, were among the 25 abstainers. . . . The Communist Daily World was indignant at Pat Moynihan backer Albert Shanker of the American Federation of Teachers for having attacked Bella as a “scab”—she once crossed a picket line. This, said the World, was low blow even for that “racist and blustering anti-Soviet antiliberation-movement spokesman [Moynihan].” … In Arizona it was a victory for Barry Goldwater when conservative Sam Steiger beat out conservative John Conlan in GOP senatorial primary for the seat of retiring Sen. Paul Fannin. Goldwater, breaking a tradition of 24 years, had endorsed Steiger over Conlan, a man whom he described as “never honest in politics … he just doesn’t keep his word.” . . . Also winning in Arizona primary, former presidential candidate Rep. Mo Udall, and Republican minority leader Rep. John Rhodes.