Democrats: Unforeseen Eugene

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Finally, at the end of November, he took the plunge himself. The Administration, he told newsmen, evidently intended "to escalate and to intensify the war in Viet Nam," and showed no disposition "for a compromise or for a negotiated political settlement."

Courageous or Foolhardy? His colleagues did not exactly flock to his banner. Of 247 House Democrats, only one—California's Don Edwards—came to his support immediately. Despite the sizable dovecote in the upper chamber, not one Senator endorsed him; McCarthy was alone in the arena. He might well have recalled a fourth-grade treatise that his son Michael,* now 16, had written about the early Christian martyrs—from the viewpoint of the Colosseum lions. "Who was that we had for dinner?" asks the first lion.

"Christians," replies the second. "Well," muses the first, "I admire their courage, but I'm glad I'm a lion."

After his initial forays into New Hampshire, McCarthy seemed less courageous than foolhardy. His dry, scholarly addresses turned off audience after audience. He seemed impatient with the routine requirements of campaigning. In the midst of a handshaking session, he blurted, "This is sort of a strange ritual." Several 6 a.m. factory-gate tours were scrubbed because, he protested, "I'm not really a morning person." When former White House Speechwriter (for John F. Kennedy and Johnson) Richard Goodwin joined the entourage in February, he found that "there wasn't a single reporter, no speechwriter, no secretaries, not even a typewriter."

McCarthy was more interested in the issues than in the mechanics of the cam paign. At first there was only one theme —the war. He urged a bombing pause (except, possibly, against enemy supply lines), a halt to search-and-destroy operations, a pullback to populated enclaves and determined efforts to open negotiations. "I don't know how you negotiate this thing," he said candidly. "But the alternative is worse."

Later, McCarthy began exploring the whole galaxy of problems troubling the U.S., from the economy to the urban crisis. Said he: "The great issue in this contest between President Johnson and myself is not Viet Nam. It is not rising violence in the cities or rising prices. It is one of leadership and the direction of our nation."

Low Crouch. Slowly, his campaign gathered momentum. "You fight from a low crouch," he explained. "You wait for events." Sure enough, events began breaking his way: the Communists' bloody Tet offensive; rumors that upwards of 200,000 more U.S. troops would be sent to fight in the war; a new round of Viet Nam hearings in the Senate and talk of higher taxes.

The President's inept operatives also helped. Johnson "pledge cards," designed to ensure a big write-in, irked many voters. Capitalizing on the resentment, McCarthy posters proclaimed: