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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 23, 1974)
7 ' f i VlcGovern positions 'unchanged' "Tile tpxi driver said, 'I sure am. ' Anybody would be better than that guy we got in there now.' " Although McGovern asserts he has not changed his positions since 1972,, ' there has peen a change on the question of amnesty. Supports conditional amnesty In 1972, McGovern favored uncon ditional Amnesty for Vietnam draft 'dodgers. A month ago, McGovern said he supports President Ford's condi tional amnesty. y The question of amnesty is a presidential one, McGovern says, and should not be an issue in a Senate race. "I really haven't had to change my positions on anything," McGovern says. '.'The people of South Dakota are .beginning to accept a, number of positions nook in 1972. "The rhajority now agree that the military budget should be slashed. They're ready for open government, the disclosure of campaign financing, A lot of the thirigs that we did in '72 are now very acceptable in this state." McGovern never mentions Water ' gate. v. "I'm just letting the course of events make the: point. There is an old Irish .saying," McGovern says, "that time is a great storyteller. I've found that true , in South Dakota. "They feel bad about (Watergate) .they'd feel worse to have somebody telling thepn how wrong they were." Low regard for Nixon About Nixon, he says: "My views haven't changed, t have " never had' a veryigh regard for hjnJt alvfays puzzled rho? now Nixon .got elected. I can understand "younger people supporting him when they didn't know the history of his rise to power, but people who knew that story and then thought he was competent to be prds!dent . t -v . e . t McGovern s Voice trife'orfc ,VV l": "I sorrjehow feel the" people were' misled in '72 of the real character of Nixon. I don't quite know how he pulled it off. I ;also think they got a very distorted picture of me. "They! somehow felt that I had changed dramatically from the person they sent to Washington a few years ago. That was a kind of by-product of the Nixon propaganda. They saturated ? this state, as they did others, with cleverly devised television commercials, direct mail, and other things, to depict me as an unstable radical, and they got , away with! it. ' "It wasn't so much that the people were all that enthusiastic about Nixon; jt's that th'ey had frightened them about me. ! People warming to him "But I can see the thing turning around, the people are warming up to me once again," McGovern says. . , At the Elks Club in Hot Springs, a man and' his wife timidly approach McGovern. The man leans forward and confides, ("I didn't vote for you last time, and am really sorry." ' No com;ment from McGovern, just a handshake and a smile, t "An average of 10 or 12 people a day vciuntce? that kind cf pcnilmsnt," -McGovern says. 1 "; The Elks Club appearance-ends a , 14-hour day that included breakfast with ' - Rapid Cijty civic leaders, a second " breakfast With builders, handshaking at a shopping center mall, lunch with senior citizens, an adress to the opening 'of an American Legion post in Hermosa, dinner with county Democratic candi dates, a public meeting on a local water 'controversy and a quick visit to another r ; American Legion post. At Hermosa, an aide parks their car 'on a dirt road across from a one-time ' Storage bin, now the American Legion "hall.' McGovern surveys the deserted . streets, looks at the closed shops on ..main street and shakes his head. As he enters the building, a woman says, "HI, Sen, McGovern. Do you my son an Force Aca- How remember me? You got annnintment to the Air demy." "Sure I do," McGovern says did he like it?" "He never went." she says. Eleanor selling 'Uphill In his address, McGovern apologizes for the absence of his wife, Eleanor, saying she was in Pierre for a children's conference. And she has been busy selling her book, "Uphill," an auto biography. The legionnaires seem more con cerned with the presence of the state Legion commander than with McGov ern 's presence. But McGovern 's reception is warm. There is no mention of amnesty. On the way out of Hermosa, McGov ern asks the aide to drive past a church. The church, at the top of a hill overlooking junked cars and empty houses, has a sign in front of it that reads: "Calvin Cooiidge went to church here in 1927." Then, heading back to Rapid City at the close of the day, McGovern stares out the window suppressing yawns. He and an aide review the day and talk about the future. McGovern says he doesn't like to talk about the past. He has tried to put it behind him. No presidential plans for 1976 McGovern seems confident the future will include re-election to the Senate, but he says he has no plans for the 1976 presidential race. "I have no intention of running again, I haven't even given it any thought. I-'-- I have felt all along that it's a mistake for the Democrats to be to such a sweat this early 'abduUhe presidential candidate. "Everybody thought I was announc ing incredibly early, when I announced in January of 1971. Now,- you have -' pedpfe announcing right after the 1972' election." ' "The least we can do is wait until the congressional and senatorial races are out of the way." But McGovern has not closed the door to running again for the Democratic nomination in 1976. "I certainly wouldn't run again for the exercise." "I'd have to be convinced there was some kind of strong movement in that direction if people wanted me to run and there wasn't some other person who could fill that bill, I could run. But at this point, I think somebody's going to emerge as a candidate." Future easier than past For McGovern, discussing the future is easier than talking about 1972. But it is hard because there are so many reminders. Reminders like the left over 1972 posters taped to storefront windows. And the stream of letters he gets from 1972 supporters. Voters remind him, too. Voters like the Republican rancher who said of Mcgovern: "You know, I don't like a lot of his ideas, I den't always agree with him, but by God, I got to respect the guy. . When I think of everything he went thrCwy"" ' " w " M South Dakota is send him back to Washington." ' ' And the Rapid City woman who said, "We took a trip to California last month and when peoole saw our South Dakota license plates,' they would honk. Every where we went people would say, 'That's George "Mctiovern's state-he should have been president.' He put us on the map in '72, and we're proud of him." With the liahts of Rapid City coming into view, McGovern looks at his watch. It is 11:30 p.m. He has been meeting people since 7:30 a.m. And the people have been respond ing. Maybe not all of them, and maybe not completely, but-with the pain of 1972 behind himthis land is his land again. pm ilm ms m& mm w mm m mm mtamtwmimms mm ess tsa ss ess mm 35 1 1 , -'p , n L. tit)!fH i(l"fl!illti M"Mi!!tl!t , , , I, U . . 4 .1,, 1i -1 '!' i 'i - n I, , i r t f j I - . 1 ' i , ycDdJ 0 - Q (( (! . U .::..L '' If you haven't entered,. .' your guess of how much the clotbiiig "Minnie Maiiiiequiii" k wearing, ':v- Hurry! You vim win ail Minnie's clothes , or. v anything clothing at y Quentink of the same price. So enter your guess soon. And tvin! O all that's missiii h Ui 1229 'E' contest ends Oct, 31 Ml!! I f .f . .3 t 3 tX i i .S f : 1 n h H l!n , .! ( , j y jj xjj l zi pari lOl 32uB ii 1 THEJA XI FRAT ..Ui'-Brt, 7:30 - 11:30 p.m. Oct: 24,. 25, & 26 , ; ALL PROCEEDS TO OSCULAR DYSTROPHY iOMTIOfl GUIIIARY . II! FEOCQi; THURSDAY ONLY, OCTOBER 24, 9-1 1 pm Space Donated by Bartlett's Red Barn - yv V tLx S W f M 'j 9 x ' t , i .. . jr. S . m ( I I J- its' fv w s la to. .v;jt ss jtnball RecitalHall . Friday, Oct. 25 . 8:00 p.m.:- "Students $1.25 . : Regular $2.50 Tickets: Kimball Box Office Rni. 1 1 3 Music Bldci, The residency by the Cleveland Quartet is supported by th Nebraska Arts Council, t e-s utn . swt ra so sms tent sua sm ma mm saw sea max mas mm m page 1Q daily nebraskan Wednesday, October 23, 1974 ,-f..S -..f yA- Mt -ft.,'1 ' 1 i j j i Ji J i.i n .. . ji . t x $ . .".,.. . ?. , ,:s 3.,.