Republicans: The Citizen's Candidate

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∙ Rockefeller remains by every standard the front runner for the Republican nomination in '64. Last week he won re-election as Governor by 518,000 votes over U.S. Attorney Robert Morgenthau, about as pitiable a candidate as any party ever put up for office in a major state. Because this plurality was down from Rocky's 573,000-vote margin over Averell Harriman in 1958, many analysts argued that he had suffered a loss of prestige. Yet. in fact, he not only survived the handicaps of a tax increase and a divorce from his wife of 32 years, but took 53.5% of the total vote, nearly equaling his 1958 percentage. Among Rocky's major assets for the 1964 presidential nomination: he is one Republican who acts as if he thinks he can beat Jack Kennedy.

The Schizophrenic State. Michigan's Romney denies any presidential pretensions. Yet whether he likes it or not—and he is not the sort to stay awake nights worrying about it—Romney will certainly be talked about, along with Rocky and Scranton. More important, he is an activist Republican whose views will certainly be a major influence upon the national Republican Party.

In the 14 years that Michigan Democrats held the Governor's chair (twelve under ''Soapy" Williams, two under Swainson). Michigan's economy went to pot, largely as a result of political schizophrenia. On one side were the Democrats, monolithically supported by the United Auto Workers and other unions. On the other side was the rural-dominated state legislature, a kind of feudal barony perpetuated by malapportionment and chartered by an antiquated state constitution. Over the years, the bickering and battling between the two sides put Michigan $85.6 million into debt. Auto companies began building new assembly plants in other states; the population explosion and the absence of industrial diversification added further economic headaches. Michigan was ripe for change.

Selling Power. George Romney had experience in the business of change. Back in the '50s, while the Big Three auto companies patiently explained that the U.S. could not market a small family car to compete with European imports. American Motors President Romney led a lone revolution, put over the Rambler with such success that it revitalized his foundering company and forced the automotive giants of Detroit to bring out their own compacts. Romney sold the idea—and he is a super salesman. He went out on the road in a crusade against the "gas-guzzling dinosaurs" in the big-car field. That was the same sort of zeal that he applied to politics.