Nation: NEW YORK: THE REVOLT OF THE AVERAGE MAN

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middle-class fences. After his defeat in the Republican primary he reverted momentarily to high-flown calls on conscience, charging that the Marchi and Procaccino victories meant that "the forces of reaction and fear have captured both major parties in our city. They offer two candidates who appeal to fear, who appeal to the worst instincts in man." Now Lindsay has moved toward massaging the middle rather than assaulting it.

Although both Procaccino and Marchi have obviously benefited from white backlash, neither is a racist. Further, the white voters whom Lindsay needs are not in the mood to have their consciences addressed. Jews, in particular, feel that for many years they have supported legitimate Negro demands by voting for liberals and financing civil rights causes. It was all very well for Lindsay to be one of the most assertive members of the Kerner Commission and for his aides to take as gospel the commission's key argument: that white racism is at the root of much urban turmoil. Except for the intellectuals and the ultra-liberals—who are already Lindsay supporters—most white New Yorkers do not accept that contention. Marchi says that the commission report was "useful." But he adds: "Unlike some other people, I feel no personal sense of guilt. I have no personal hang-up about it. My parents were eating spaghetti in Italy, remember." Procaccino, when asked last week if he agreed with the commission's racism argument, replied: "Absolutely not, although I realize that there have been instances of discrimination. We have to have someone in office who can understand what it is like to be discriminated against." What this attitude ignores, of course, is that blacks face handicaps not suffered by earlier underclass groups. Further, as long as they remain submerged, most of the city's problems will be insoluble.

Antiwar Sentiment

Lindsay's strategy in these circumstances is to prove that he really is mindful of middle-class and working-class needs, that he is politically independent, that he is still a rallying point for the forces of good government. Many prominent Democrats have come out for Lindsay, and he has endorsed the candidacies of a number of Democrats running for local office who have so far remained uncommitted to him. Rather than emphasizing traditional street campaigning and set speeches, Lindsay has been using the perquisites of office to make points. He has been appearing at groundbreaking ceremonies and assorted dedications, visiting police precincts, attending meetings of Jewish groups. He also attacked the Viet Nam war for what must be the hundredth time, appealing to the antiwar sentiment that runs high among New York's Jews. To Procaccino and Marchi, Viet Nam is not a proper city issue.

In recent weeks, the mayor has announced a variety of improvements in city services, including stepped-up police patrols and accelerated garbage cleanups. One press conference was arranged to allow the mayor to be photographed with a rabbi on one side, the police commissioner on the other and a row of uniformed police commanders in the background. Procaccino, too, knows where the votes are. Any Democrat in New York starts with a huge advantage because his party's enrollment outnumbers the Republican and fringe-party membership by 3 to 1. Defections from the Democratic left