The Presidency: Protecting the Flank

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third day, and make several calls in Texas and Tennessee before returning to the White House on election eve.

Lyndon Johnson obviously hopes that his mission to Asia will have served the dual purpose of covering an international flank for his country and a political one for his party. The G.O.P. is frankly concerned that the last-minute "Johnson blitz," as Richard Nixon labeled it last week, may have a major effect on the outcome of the elections. As if anticipating criticism that his Asia tour was planned solely for political advantage back home, Johnson admitted to Premier Ky in Manila: "People may say it's just propaganda, but let's hope it's more than that. We're putting our word before the world." The U.S. citizen, no matter how he might vote on Nov. 8, could only share the President's hope that the long-term results of the Asian venture would prove more important than politics and more enduring than propaganda.

* Not yet. The U.S. has 336,000 troops there; Webster's has 450,000 words.