r
. KM
john
vhsfadt
Hh7?
v 1 HJ L
J Jo
1 1
The game of vice presidential speculation has
always been more risky than presidential guessing
when it comes to predicting who will be on the
tickets of the major parties every four years. What
with all the chaos and conflict occuring on the
Democratic side in 1972, prophesizing for second
man this year will be even more difficult than usual.
At first it appears there are few concrete historical
precedents or patterns that emerge when examining
vice presidential selections. Sometimes governors are
chosen (Agnew in '68, Warren, in '48), sometimes
senators (Kefauver in '56, Nixon and Sparkman in
'52), sometimes congressmen (Miller in '64), and
occasionally, well-known people who held no elective
office at the time (United Nations Ambassador Henry
Cabot Lodge in '60).
On closer look, we find the choice for second spot
to be a careful calculation on the part of the nominee
to a) "balance" the ticket politically and appease
warring factions and t) picK someone ot proven
vote-getting power and leadership capacity, and
secondarily, someone who could best govern the
country if he himself should die. What could be
better "balance" than an Episcopal Senator from the
Southwest and a Catholic congressmen from New
York, as was the case with the Goldwater-Miller
ticket in 1964? Or a young Eastern Catholic liberal
paired with a Protestant moderate from Texas, like
Kennedy-Johnson in 1960?
If Minnesota Democrat Hubert Humphrey should
end up getting his party's nomination, as now seems
more and more likely, several possible choices for
veep come to mind. The primary contender is
freshman Sen. Adlai Stevenson III of Illinois. He is
young (42), has the requisite good-looking family, a
famous, politically potent last name, and comes from
an electorally pivotal state. Winning a term for state
treasurer in the otherwise strongly Republican year of
1966, he beat incumbent Sen. Ralph Tyler Smith in
1970 by over 500,000 votes, piling up heavy
majorities in crucial suburban and small town areas in
addition to the large cities.
Stevenson is regarded as a liberal, but occasionally
strays to cast pro-administration votes-he supported
Rehnquist for the- Supreme . Court, defending his
"yes" vote by saying that the Senate cannot deny the
President his own appointments on clearly partisan,
political grounds, distinguishing Rehnquist from the
obviously faulty Haynsworth and Carswell. He would
help HHH in the suburbs, with youth, almost insure
the ticket of the Land of Lincoln's 26 electoral votes,
and provide a fresh face with a well-known name.
Sen. John Tunney of California is also a
possibility. Coming from the largest state in the
Union, his Catholicism, leftist voting record, and
-ffr y
CZ3
BOB
conn
Kennedyesque personality would provide a neat
balance to the Midwest moderate Protestant Hubert.
There is speculation that Sen. Kennedy might serve
under Humphrey. This would enable Teddy to show
his stuff the hard way and reserve himself a place in
the catbird seat for '76 or '80, when the memory of
Chapaquiddick will have further faded. Still, Kennedy
is not a man who likes to play second fiddle to
anyone, and since the President will no doubt be
re-elected, there is no reason for EMK to tarnish his
record with a loss.
It now appears that South Dakota's . George
McGovern has at least a conceivable chance of getting
the nomination, and he will need to pick a moderate
to conservative for second place if he is to have a
prayer of winning in November. Prime prospects
include either Florida governor Reuben Askew or
Sen. Lawton Chiles, Arkansas governor Dale Bumpers
or Sen. Lloyd Bentsen of Texas.
There is the ever-present danger, however, that
McGovern's hardcore supporters and his friends in the
ADA and the leftist intellectual establishment could
block this type of nominee, forcing McGovern to
accept another member of the radical fringes as his
running mate. Or, feeling that half a victory is just as '
bad as none at all, the liberal purists could go the way
of a fourth party, insuring the Democrats of a 1964
in reverse.
If Muskie is able to pull through to the
nomination, he would do well to consider a
Mid westerner such as Stevenson. Ohio governor John
Gilligan, or Sen. Birch Bayh of Indiana. Bayh would
still be in the presidential race today if it weren't' for
his sick wife. Forgotten should be Iowa's Harold,
Hughes, who is through from contention due to his
recent revelations that he believes in ghosts,
communication with the dead, and an occasional
marijuana cigarette. Oklahoma Sen. Fred Harris
cannot be counted out. While not going far on his
"New Populism" approach before he withdrew his
candidacy last November, other candidates seem to
be taking up his cry.
As for current Democratic Presidential hopefuls
who might prove advantageous if they can be induced
to accept second place, House Ways & Means
Committee Chairman Wilbur Mills of Arkansas, either
Rep. Patsy Mink of Hawaii or Shirley Chisholm of
New York.
On the Republican side, there will no doubt be a
repeat of the 68 Nixon-Agnew ticket. Unless, of
course, Agnew is judged to be more of a liability than
an asset to the President. Then Spiro could be
replaced by four-term New York Gov. Nelson
Rockefeller, who recently let it be known that he
would consider second place, Sen. Edward Brooke of
Massachusetts, or-just maybe-Treasury Secretary
John Connally, who, however, is not due to change
parties until 1974. Like Harold Stassen's comical .
attempt to have Nixon purged from the Republican
ticket in 1956 in favor of Bay State governor
Christian Herter, any outside or individual move to
discredit Agnew is doomed to failure.
ALL THE
eoo:cs you
CAN CASIMY $1
NEBRASKA
BOOKSTORE
anyone interested contact
QM& mm I
Placeman t Office-Union
Hours: I
Wed. , 1:30-5:00 p.m.
1
1
THURSDAY, APRIL 13. 1972
Tbun. i: 00-5. 00 p.m.
10 SPEED BIKE
4 UM
Soo your
John Roberts spokes -mon
oc cho
University iooftsfore
lower Level Heir, Umm
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY
NEED NOT BE PRESENT TO WIN
1
GN UP AT THE JOHN ROBERTS RIMG DISPLAY
THE DAILY NEBRASKAN
PAGE 5
v"
r;
fa
If
p
V?-
h
h
I"
?