California: Who Is the Good Guy?

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"The Overall Impression." Come November, Salinger should benefit from the fact that he is a Democrat in what shapes up as a big Democratic year. Lyndon Johnson has a healthy lead in California over Barry Goldwater. The state's registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by a big margin: 4,736,906 to 3,182,397. Even accounting for ticket splitting and other vagaries of the California voter population, Pierre should be a safe bet.

But in recent weeks he seems to have hit a plateau, while Murphy has been climbing uphill. Can George close the gap? Says he: "My job is to paint a positive picture. Most of the people already have their minds made up. I'm gonna try to talk to the undecideds. They are more interested in what a guy looks like. I think the overall impression is the big thing. If the undecideds think a guy is honest and on the level, he's ahead of the game. My big drawback is the song-and-dance-man label. If I can overcome that, I'll be in good shape. If I can get the undecideds to think 'This guy knows a lot,' that's a plus. If I can show them I'm honest, that's a plus. Experience, that's a plus. If they think the other guy has not been around for too long, that's a plus for Murph."

And Pierre Salinger's job is to put across his image as an important candidate of experience and influence. Says he: "The very years of my life Murphy most objects to—those spent in the Senate and the White House—have given me a grounding in Government, a knowledge of Washington, that not even as nimble a fellow as Murphy could pick up on a Hollywood sound stage."