Nation: WHAT SHOULD HUMPHREY DO?

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Almost every parlor pundit in the country has his own theory about how—if at all—Hubert Horatio Humphrey can manage to save the day for the Democrats. The armchair strategy, which could be called Operation Resuscitation, would commit the Vice President to one of three more or less clearly defined alternatives:

1. The Shock Ploy. This is the most extreme version of the theory that Humphrey must above all dissociate himself from Lyndon Johnson. He resigns forthwith as Vice President (this has been seriously considered by Columnists Clayton Fritchey, Ted Lewis and others) and proves that he has at last become his own man. He calls for an immediate, unconditional bombing halt in Viet Nam and phased withdrawal of U.S. troops. He possibly balances this dovish move in Asia by getting tough with the Russians in Europe, issuing stiff warnings to Moscow against any more dangerous moves on the Continent. He further breaks with the President by declaring that the Great Society is a shambles and publishing his own detailed domestic program. The essential speech accompanying this scenario might go something like this: "This election is about the future. I ask the country to judge me on my personal record—on the fact that my ideas have always centered on goals attainable despite the obstacles of the moment. My yesterdays have been dedicated to today. Today, I still dream of our tomorrows and here, specifically, are the things I will strive to achieve . . ."

2. The Candor Caper. Conceding that Plan No. 1 is too extreme, Humphrey resuscitators consider this a more reasonable and plausible version of the shock ploy. After hymning the Democratic record under such great Presidents as Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson, Humphrey announces that it is indeed time for a change—a Democratic change. He analyzes the nation's discontents, proposes root-and-branch cures, and submits a list of priorities based on de-escalating a war that, however noble its original aims, has become irrelevant to the more pressing needs of a divided America. The line would go something like this: "To recognize past imperfections, my friends and fellow Americans, is only to recognize that we can achieve perfection in the future. Viet Nam has become an occlusion of our best aspirations. It must be settled justly and promptly. True, most of us have never had it so good as under our present Administration. But what was good for most in the '60s is not good enough for all in the '70s. I pledge myself here and now not only to a new day but to the Democratic Decade that will see an end to violence, the draft, ghettos, poverty, inadequate educational and health services, inflation, pollution, corruption and the dismaying concentration of power in the White House that began with a Republican President."