Nation: Among the Others

> Former Vice President Richard Nixon, celebrating his 51st birthday, said of his political role: "I'm staying not on the sidelines but in the thick of the battle." His main concern, he said, was to see that the G.O.P. gets the "strongest possible candidate," and to that end he was "prepared to make any sacrifice"—which most observers took to mean that he would give up his law practice and run. Meanwhile, the Gallup poll showed him leading all others as of now. >Before Washington's National Press Club, Michigan's Governor George Romney was asked if he would accept a draft. "I have no way of knowing whether such a demand might develop. It would be presumptuous to assume that it will. However, if it should, like any other concerned American I would have a duty to accept." Back home, the Detroit News growled: "Governor Romney has impaired his re-election chances in Michigan. He has brought dismay to a state party just organizing in his image after 14 years of defeat." Romney replied that his remarks were no more than "the normal reaction of any red-blooded American." > Pennsylvania's Governor William Scranton was having trouble fighting off his followers. He told a Harrisburg news conference: "I've been doing a great deal to discourage them. I've discovered that some of them have done things without my knowledge, and they've heard about it. I think the discouragement is beginning to take effect." Wrong. Last week the Pennsylvania congressional delegation formally declared its support for him, and Pennsylvania G.O.P. Chairman Craig Truax announced at the same time that he was determined to sell Scranton's candidacy in other states.