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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (April 19, 1972)
editorial jptefii janet white C25CJ53 Presidential Power . Not at all a surprise to most people, the Nixon Administration is expected to oppose a bill restricting the president's war-making powers. The bill passed the Senate last week by a substantial margin, but is expected to meet more than casual opposition when it comes up for debate in the House of Representatives. One of the xiot-so-surprising opponents of the bill in the Senate was Barry Goldwater from Arizona. In debate he called the legislation unrealistic, unwise and unconstitutional. Oting many historical instances in which Congress had continually given monetary support to armed conflict at the request of the President, Goldwater emphasized that the legislative branch already has "basic control over the size and strength of the military sinews with which the president can wage war." Jacob Javits, a Senator from New York who is sponsoring the measure argues that the President will still have the authority to call in forces in time of emergency or attack, but his power to see that the forces remain in action after 30 days will be subject to Congressional approval. The passage of this bill is important to the security of our nation today. Maybe a President in time of conflict will, out of conscience or even pride, think twice before he commits men and materials whose activity will be rigorously scrutinized for 30 days by all of Washington. I Porque? On Thursday, the Arts and Sciences faculty win meet again to deliberate on proposed changes in the group requirement scheme snow mandatory for each student pursuing a degree in Arts and Sciences. On today's editorial page, an argument in favor of greater flexibility in the undergraduate curriculum is presented by Tom Weist.- Weist is a member of the group that drafted the proposals the faculty is now considering. Foreign languages, or any other course for that matter, is valuable only if the student takes the course by choice. To be forced to complete a four-semester sequence that most often results in nothing more than 16 hours of credit on a transcript is certainly not in keeping with scholarly tradition.. The responsibility for conscription of foreign language students rests with the high school. A general area-of'study outline is best for the undergraduate. Let the students make the most of their educational experience. They are the ones, who live with it the rest of their lives. Barry Pilger It has become painfully apparent that the American public is easily misled. Reading the newspaper is nearly as stimulating as watching the third act in a mystery play. But the dramatic Teversals are hardly entertaining. Some recent third-act Teversals: Dita Beard appears not to have heart trouble after all; President Nixon is instructing his staff to .emphasize Soviet support of Hanoi in order to wheedle public support for the escalated air war; Henry Kissinger was lying about Pakistan and India; the Pentagon is selling itself; President Johnson, peace candidate, surreptitiously escalated the Vietnam war. It's an election year. With exposes a daily event, people are confused about whom to select for president-reluctant to change for fear things will get worse. The confusion -of the public is aggravated by its size and diversity, and its special interest orientation. This is an election year; the men running must be scrutinized Tather than the issues they are espousing. And if the men are to be scrutinized, the scrutiny must go deeper than the ephemeral public image. What is the candidate's political history? Does it teveal consistency, integrity and foresight? The White House resident in the next four years must be -a man who is willing to lose sight of his chances for re-election and pay attention to the crises in the country. It must be a man with enough vision to make decisions that will be defensible and credible 10 years from now. The man is George McGovern. He is becoming a more believable candidate and a more logical choice daily. McGovern's political foresight is startling. In a May 1971 news article, McGovern predicted that by the time the primaries rolled around, the race would be narrowed to Muskie, Humphrey and himself. Muskie, he projected, would win in New Hampshire, hut he, McGovern, would take him in Wisconsin and become a "'serious contender" in the Democratic primary. Perhaps McGovern's foresight iis another name for a seldom violated honesty. His 1963 stand -against the Vietnam war is somewhat overworked as a selling point, but it is an unmistakable indication -of his ability to act without popular -support, which is Tapidly becoming indispensable lor intelligent political leadership. Public policymaking today has multiplied implications ibr the future community because legislators are dealing with larger -numbers of people, greater sums of money and increased measures of power. The highest public official does not have the resources of time and energy to do the wisest thing in every situation as well as woo the public opinion. Nixon's most conspicuous mistake is his overconcern with fluctuating and elusive popular opinion. The same concern is visible in Muskie's cautious attitude. McGovern says of him: "I like Ed, but the first time 1 remember Ed saying anything at all about Vietnam was at Chicago, where he was the leader in the floor fight against the peace plank. Everybody's against the -war now, and it requires neither courage nor intelligence to speak .out. The .question is whether we can afford that excessive caution when we'll he facing other problems where we can't wait 1 0 years to decide what the right course is.'" McGovern's approach to his campaign is a clear Tendering of his character. He announced his candidacy January 18, 1971. The polls showed he had two per cent of popular .support. With aggressive .campaigning he gained three percentage points in the polls by mid-March of 1971. In the first two months of his campaign he had received $25X1,000 an c o n t Td b u i i t n sf hree-f o urt hs of contributions were between $5 and $15. The South Dakota senator is not intimidated fcy the odds against him. That attitude has paid off with a substantial iiisrgin cof votes in ?4ew SLiniptiliire, a victory in Wisconsin and the lead in the most Tecent poll taken in Boston, i(site of an upcoming primary) . His gradual hut steady gains in public favor are as unexpected today as was his election in a solid Republican state (Wisconsin) in 1963. McGovern's "toughness and tenacity," as he describes it, are working for him. The Democratic candidates are very similar in their liberal stands on domestic issues. For that Teason the character of each candidate is thrown into high Telief . In this TeBpect, McGovern has the distinct advantage. His character, as clear in his campaign as in his Tecord, makes him the unquestionable choice for next President cf the United States. THE DAILY NEBRASKAN WEDNESDAY, APRIL 39,1972