THE ELECTION: CAMPAIGN KICKOFF

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There was the same sense of tension, the same feeling of rising excitement, the same hope of glory to be won, as though the two teams were poised for a kickoff.

In the hamlet of Plains, Ga., where the jungle heat of August still hung on, Jimmy Carter was tanned and rested from his long midsummer idyl and eager to go. When the word came that the debates were on—that he would be able to meet Gerald Ford face to face while tens of millions watched on television—Carter was delighted, confident that he would do well in the duels that could decide the campaign.

As for Ford, he was in a euphoric and combative mood, still cheered by his victory over Ronald Reagan in Kansas City. Talking to Republican legislative leaders gathered in the Cabinet Room, the President refused to surrender any section of the country to Carter—even the South. Warned Ford: "If I find anybody on the staff promoting that line, he'll be fired." Said one Congressman later: "I've never seen the President so vehement."

Although Ford clearly starts out as the underdog—trailing in the latest Gallup poll 37% to Carter's 52%—the struggle with Carter promises to be the most exciting and fascinating since John Kennedy edged Richard Nixon in 1960. In fact, in its patterns and subtleties, it may well be even more complicated than that epic contest. As the man who is trying to reunite the old Democratic coalition, Carter chose the site for his Labor Day speech with special care for its symbolism: Warm Springs, Ga., where Franklin D. Roosevelt often visited and where he died in 1945. In his address, Carter will argue that only someone who has not been in Washington for most of his adult life—as Ford has—can provide the new ideas and fresh vision demanded by the times. Carter also plans to go this week to Chicago, where Mayor Richard Daley is whumping up a mammoth torchlight parade to spark a drive aimed at capturing Illinois and its 26 electoral votes.

Officially, Ford will not begin his campaign until the week of Sept. 12, when he will speak at the University of Michigan, his alma mater. The President intends to talk of his plans for the future of America, hoping to make a favorable contrast with the evocation of the past created by Carter's pilgrimage to Warm Springs. But officially or not, the President will be campaigning hard this week. An edited version of his socko acceptance speech will be shown on CBS-TV. The President Ford Committee bought the air time, for $86,000, because the speech was delivered at 10:30 p.m. in Kansas City—a time when untold millions in such pivotal Eastern states as Pennsylvania (27 electoral votes) and New York (41) had already gone to bed. Then, staying in Washington and acting "presidential"—a major theme of his campaign—Ford will address the B'nai B'rith convention, a speech that will be closely studied by key Jewish leaders. Ford will also meet with the same Roman Catholic bishops who last week got into yet another squabble with Carter over the abortion issue (see story page 21). All in all, quite a week of campaigning for a noncampaigning President.

What makes the coming election so gripping is that it is much more than a contest between a conservative President and a moderate challenger with liberal leanings. Issues and