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The Daily Nebraskan
Monday, October 7, 1968
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Our man Hoppe ...
Tlie case of the
undecided voter
You may recall the case last year of Hirschel
I n. Rightly, 42, of South Menachee, Wis. Mr. Rightly
achieved a fleeting moment of fame when reports
discovered he was the only man in the country
who liked the war in Vietnam.
; Unlike the Hawks who wanted to end it through
escalation or the Doves who wanted to end it
through de-escalation, Mr. Rightly wanted to keep
it going because he liked it.
WHAT'S SO odd about that?" he said on Face
the Press. "After all, if we're spending $30 billion
a year on it, somebody must like it."
Mr. Rightly was released last month from the
Flowery Dales Sanitarium. Since then, in an effort
to return to a normal life, he has been following
the election campaign. And, like millions of normal
Americans, he became an undecided voter.
Indeed, he seemed well on the road to full
recovery until his last visit with his psychiatrist,
Dr. Zang Roid.
"Well, well, weH," said Dr. Froid, "you've
become an uncommitted voter. That shows good
judgement in this peculiar election year. I can't
make op my mind myself."
"I'm glad to hear that, Doctor," said Mr.
Rightly. "My friends kind of shake their heads
. when I say it."
"Shake tbeir heads?"
"YES. FOR example if I say I'm thinking
of voting for Mr. Nixon ..."
"But it's perfectly normal, Mr. Rightly, to want
to protest Humphrey's obsequious ties to the
disastrous Johnson Administration."
"The what? No, it's Mr. Nixon's chrisma that
gets me. I start jumping up and down when he
passes by. Of course, I my support Mr. Humphrey
instead."
"Because you suspect Nixon's still the same
old Tricky Dick?"
"Not at all. It's Mr. F.umphrey's impressive
stature, noble features and firm grasp of our pro
blems that stirs me. But I may end up voting for
Mr. Wallace."
"You've got a death wish?
"OH, NO. ITS his courage in saying what
he thinks. The way he's built his campaign from
scratch. What a man of the people!
"Please lie back on the couch, Mr. Rightly."
"And to think, Doctor, that no matter which
we choose, he will impose law and order, end
the war in Vietnam and bring us peace and pro
sperity. Oh, thank God that one will win!'
"I'm afraid that does it, Mr. Rightly," said
Dr. Froid with a sigh. "It's back to good old
Flowery Dales.'
"Oh. I've said the wrong thing again," said
:Mr. Rightly with a puzzled frown. "But with the
three candidates spending more than $50 million
to convince us of tbeir leadership qualities, isn't
it normal to thank God that one will win?"
"The normal response this year, Mr. Rightly,"
said Dr. Froid, busily signing the re-commitment
papers, "is, 'Thank God that only one CAN win.' "
Chronicle Features
Tom and Dick
Jpne more time
""" by John Zen
College Press Service
"The war's still on, the country's still divided,
and we're still here," went the song, and sure
'. enough, the Smothers Brothers were back for their
' third season.
', Same time, same channel, but not the same
t Smothers Brothers, and not quite their same Com
', edy Hour. Tom and Dick now sport mustaches
and sideburns, and their show seems a bit more
free of CBS censors' bluepenciling.
"OFTENTIMES we have trouble giving out
thoughts because sometimes it makes people
think," Tommy quipped. He looks less innocent
with his mustache, and is no less serious about
; jsetwork meddling with his material. The firm
stands he and his brother have taken, along with
the growing candor in all the mass media, have
; been responsible for CBS's new liberality.
While tbere was at least cnc phrase edited
out, the season's opener Sunday was laced with
innnrndo and direct references to such subjects
once verbotea en prime time TV as interracial
marriage, homosexuality, race, lingerie, and
education.
Jokes about touchy subjects pervaded the hour,
'. and were all tied together in a skit spoofing NBC's
"Bonnanza" the Brother's competition in the Sun
. day, 9 p.m. EDT time slot.
; Mama Cass Elliott played "Hass"ofthe
"Cartwrong" family, inspiring the line. "You're
; real smart, Hass." And giant pro footballer Rosy
Grear appeared as the long-lost Mrs. Cartwronj.
; Her son Little Jerk (Harry Belafonte), seeing her
for the first time, said, "You're a big mother."
Suggestive spice like that is rare, even on the
Tonight Show.
I . "THE SMUT BROTHERS," played by guess
who, showed up in bad-guy black with bandannas
saying "censored" across the mouths. They had kid
r?pped the Nielsen family. The Cart wrongs were
, upset about losing their neighbors the "Nielsens"
audience ratings, that is.
With the black Greer "married" to white B?n
(Paulsen), the Cartwrong brothers lamented, "Now
we'll never get the Nielsens back."
That line was an excellent siam at the American
viewing public. If the Smothers Brother lost the
rating game because of their subject matter, it
wUJ be the viewers' fauit, not the program's.
: mWiOT TOW
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In. defense of student publications
by Don Rubier
Reprinted from the
University of Illinois DAILY
ILLINI:
It is a quiet week at The
Daily Hlini when we don't get
at least two or three calls
and letters from irrate
readers complaining about
the news we are printing or
its accuracy. Five times last
year, we reached a "new
low" in journalism.
"Crime, violence and unrest
that's all I read," one angry
woman told me on the phone
the other day. "That's getting
more publicity than the good
people who win scholarship
awards." Yes man, those
things do. And at the risk of
sounding cynical, crime,
violence and unrest also get
more coverage than the pom
pom squad, the cheerleaders
and the local Kiwanis Club
because there is so much of
it
SHE DOES have a point,
however. The press does
emphasize the sensational
rather than the significant
and the exceptional rather
than the representative, as
more than one study has
shown. But why? Part of the
answer lies with what the
reader wants and what the
industry has classically con
sidered "news."
News is the new, unusual,
different, exciting and im
portant. News sells papers
and the sale of papers and
ads makes a newspaper
autonomous and free from
financial pressures from
those whom it may criticize.
If this were the only reason
however, the newspaper in
dustry and with it. The Daily
Hlini, could be ranked with
the most infamous panderers
in history.
Just as important as finan
cial independence through
advertising and circulation, is
social responsibility. It is
necessary to bring disquieting
incidents before the eye of the
public so that remedies can
be found for current problems
and future misfortunes can be
averted through an alert, in
forced and prepared public.
Can you imagine the state our
society would be in if the local
ladies auxiliary meeting was
bannered across the front
page while the Detroit riots,
Kerner Commission Report or
Chicago demonstrations were
buried somewhere beyond the
center fold?
Tbere Is, of conrse, and in
creasingly, critical demand
for editorials, news analyses
and in depth reporting to put
in perspective, to interpret
and expand en these and
hundreds of other events that
make the news.
The most critical, urgent
and pressing issues and
events of the day have always
rated a better position in any
newspaper than the library
guild or church box lunch.
Only in this way can the press
fulfill its obligation to inform
the public.
Warren IL Storms . . .
Proud to be
an American
The trend of things among students these days
seems to be a mass hysteria and fear of reality
due to the threat of being inducted into the armed
forces.
Many students here on campus no longer
associate themselves with the patriotic virtues of
which our nation is founded upon. They would
rather associate themselves with draft avoiding
revolutionaries under the guise that they believe
in making love not war.
THE MEMBERS of these various peace and
freedom movements are more often than not more
militant than our Army, Navy, and Marines,
especially when it comes to avoiding the draft.
As for making love not war, I can truthfully
and honestly say that the Viet Cong do not share
this idealistic view. It is time we recognize and
wake up to the fact that as long as there are
people on this earth there will always be conflict,
especially when there are countries who seek to
rule the world and place freedom loving people
under the heel of dictatorship.
We have the greatest nation on earth and many
thousands have given their lives to keep it free.
I feel that perhaps those students who have sent
or have avoided the draft by other means, should
re-examine their own feeljn?s by realizing that
what America stands for and the freedom we enjoy
today is worth fighting for. is worth dying for.
And 1. for one, am proud to call myself an
American who has fought to keep our nation free.
And still thousands daily
shirk their responsibility to
their society by ignoring the
news entirely or reading the
sports pages exclusively.
WHAT ABOUT accuracy? A
newspaper can be as
crusading and well meaning
as Sir Galahad, but muddle
or distort the facts so terribly
that the harm done far
outweighs the initial benefits
which could have come from
the original accurate and
truthful article.
The DI gets more than its
share of letters from students,
faculty and administrators
complaining about misleading
headlines, bad stories or
misquotations. We print them
all, and if the editors believe
a story was erroneous, a
retraction. or explanation is
also printed.
But this policy can hurt as
well as help our reliability.
Everyone reads complaint
letters in the DI but rarely
sees them in other papers or
national weekly magazines
simply because they refuse to
print them. Omission in this
case is considered a sign of
perfection and reliability
rather than an infringement
on the public's right to know
and consider both sides.
We not only admit our
mistakes, but also grant
anyone who feels he has been
misquoted or misrepresented,
rebuttal. This is more than
you can say for many of our
fellow newspapers in town
and across the nation.
"Ah, but they're just kids,"
our critics say, implying that
we can't be trusted to get
the facts straight or even
get the facts. Yes, most of
us are just kids who can't
even vote yet. We're kids who
don't know what it is like to
be bored with the world and
her affairs. We're kids who
do not know when to quit so
we keep en trying and
sometimes make it. We bug
people because that's part of
the job and we're too young
and idealistic to know bow
to compromise onr ethics or
to lie yet.
So people say things they
don't mean or don't realize
the importance of until after
they have read their
statements in the morning
paper and received a phone
call from a superior. Then,
since the DI is just a college
newspaper and not "really
professional," they come
running down screaming
"retraction" and "misquote"
as if hell's howling banshees
were harbored in their
mouths.
Amateurs? If two, three or
four years of experience
makes one an amateur, then
we all are. But check the
average tour of duty on any
town daily to see how long
their help stays.
HONEST? TO the point
where we print any
reasonable, signed challenge
to our credibility. Honest to
the point where most serve
with little or no pay.
Biased? Yes so much
that the far right labels us
communist and the far left,
fascist.
Finally, remember that a
newspaper whether it is
the New York Times or The
Daily Hlini, is not, for the
most part, a canned, product
which can beorganized.
planned, filled with news and
marketed like a car or new
improved can of beans. It is
a comparatively complicated,
interlocking network of peo
ple, ideas and machines
working around the clock
against countless deadlines
turning out anywhere from
one to ten editions daily.
We aren't chemists wbe
deal with pure samples la
carefully measured quantities
to obtain expected reactions.
We aren't engineers wbe can
calculate the stress of a beam
to the millionth of an inch
and tell yon if It will support
a load. We are working with
the most variable, fickle, flex
ible, two faced and
mysterious substance en the
earth, buman beings. Oar
failures mirror the failures of
the species.
1 think it was the late Frank
Lloyd Wright who said,
"doctors can bury their
mistakes but architects can
only plant shrubs." He might
have added that journalists
mass produce theirs and
place it on your doorstep. It
is a responsibility we must
live with, and a risk we must
always try to minimize.
Daily Nehrankan
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Editorial Staff
ROilm Jck Xaot; MariMing UMUx waHi; Editor Ln Gottorhntk ;
M.irt f,diu M lift mm. bditorUI fur kmlUMM U;ly Murrell; AwHuUiat
KieM nrwt C4ilm Phil Mr'fJll. porw (CdltM Mark Gordon. 4Wul KporU lull lor
Rmv Verki snfar Vft A'rHr Jo Dvorak Larry eflattoM, Oaora Kauliraa,
Ju Murria. Jim rrrkra. Jut! tor Matt Wrtlar Bart f-ant, larry Crrrha. Holly
ftftwrtb-rtei Hill 4rntihermafl- rmMr mjiBtar. -nU pt d)tor Juaa Waarirrr;
VSin llirlilii UtMt, Dave Piiij. imr Waoa, ndraa Wotxh; ttn"v
(rap t'htn liaa Ladrtyi fhotorranrwr Jim ihar; rutt Hraof Sfc1rtar and ai!
Business Staff
fkHtiAt Mmttimr i L. Vtimldi; uwkkepi Kijjrr toy; fntdiM-tutn Hnnrnm
CtitwiHird V tAiuim Or; ubj ttnum Mfu.fr an tionuimo; Cimtiaovti Mua
er ftua f'vvWUu Unk Uuru; tiulttm s4g Ikcmn, Joel Lfevi. Cicaa KrieiHtt.
Inside report
Right-winger vs.
moderate GOP
by Rowland Evans and
Robert Novak
Los Angeles Dr. Max Rafferty's textbook
version of a right-wing campaign based on fear
and powered by the most hypnotic voice in politics
today is in deep trouble, only partly caused by
a massive defection of moderate Republican voters
who don't want him in the U.S. Senate.
But Rafferty, who is California's Superintendent
of Public Instruction, has been in deep trouble
before. He overcame a huge deficit in the polls
to beat Sen. Thomas Kuchel in the primary.
POLLS CONSISTENTLY fail to show the hidden
strength of Rafferty, and Democratic nominee Alan
Cranston knows it. A rather pedestrian, unexciting
former State Controller (who helped found and
has now left the ultra-liberal California Democratic
Council), Cranston is importing Sen. Eugene
McCarthy next weekend for at least two major
speeches. He went to Washington three days ago
for the endorsement of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy
and returned with a Kennedy film-clip which will
now get heavy use.
Moreover, Cranston is well-financed and staff
ed His campaign director, Sanford Weiner,
managed Sen. George Murphy's successful cam
paign against Pierre Salinger in 1964. Weiner 's
basic theme is to beak down credibility in the
silver-tongued Rafferty, and he is getting valuable
help from California's newspapers.
For example, a well-researched series by the
Long Beach Independent claimed that Rafferty ha J
dodged the draft in World War n (bitterly denied
by Rafferty). It has been reprinted by Cranston
in the thousands.
What makes this campaign important is Rat
ferty's brand of far-right politics. Unlike Cranston,
Rafferty is the most exciting stump-speaker in
the country and he Is depending heavily on the
adrenalin of fear into his audiences.
"We've been suckered by the smoothest snake
oil coc job in history," be told an audience A
businessmen here last week. He slashed at "hate
contorted figures of lunatic blacks" and "bigoted
whites" in attacking riots and disorder. He hit
the "predatory packs of punks" making American
streets unsafe for walking and lashed out at "hairy
disheveled activists" of the campus.
"Let's not kid ourselves," he said, "that we
can deal with anarchy by playing footsie with the
anarchists."
Some of Rafferty's own advisers say privately
that be is "too hot" for television and frightens
viewers with bis dark image of America and his
strong-arm panaceas. But when we watched hi a
tape a half-hour TV show, the rough edges uf
his rhetoric had been smoothed and be talked ef
fectively, more in sorrow than anger.
BUT RAFFERTY'S political problems are
large. After his primary win against the liberal
Sen. Kuchel (who has flatly refused to endorse
him), Cranston operatives estimated a minimum
20 percent of the Republican vote would swing
to Democrat Cranston and against Rafferty. They
have now raised that estimate to at least 30 percent.
Some well-known Republican figures, including
Sidney Levin of Beverly Hills and Mrs. Nicholas
Trutanic of Los Angeles, a wellheeled backer of
Richard Nixon, are publicly endorsing Democrat
Cranston.
Furthermore, Nixon's whole effort out here
one oi the most expensive in the state's history'
takes minimum notice of the Rafferty campaign
At a recent Nixon rally in Fresno, a Rafferty
financial angel tore tip a $5,000 check made out
to Nixon when Nixon failed to mention Raffertv
in his speech.
Raflerty money was very scarce until after
the Republican convention. Right-wing dollars were
held la abeyance for Gov. Ronald Reagan to win
the presidential nomination. Nw, however, money
is coming to and Reagan himself Is campaigning
hard for Rafferty.
Finally, a nasty dispute between Rafferty and
hu primary campaign chief, the shrewd Robert
McGee, forced McGee out (he's managing Nixon's
campaign in Washington and Oregon), which mea.it
paratus Wn C'Se for Dcw campaign ap-
'y1 Cranston now fears is that some external
events, perhaps a major campus blow-up at
Berkeley, will shift thousands of last-minute votes
to Rafferty.
Failing that, it seems unlikely that the dark
shadow Rafferty is now casting over California
will reach as far as the United States Senate
(c) 1968 Publishers-Hall Syndicate