Hot on the Campaign Trail

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to an unfair trade disadvantage. In a line that echoes throughout his campaign he says: "I'd tell the Japanese that unless they opened up to more American products they'd better be prepared to sit on the docks of Yokohama in their Toyotas watching their Sony sets, because they aren't going to ship them here." And the Soviets, he says, are heading toward a strategic arms superiority. "I assure you, my friends, those Soviet missiles are not aimed at Mexico or Canada, they're aimed right at us." He tells them that Jimmy Carter is an amateur and that Congress must be led, exhorted, punished if need be. He talks of a Government-business partnership to lead the economy and the world.

The crowd roars. Many in the audience see Connally as a powerful, take-charge leader who can get things done.

His is a forceful style that seems attractive to many, including blue-collar workers who might be expected to disagree with him on many issues. There is a widespread sense that the U.S. is no longer in control of its destiny, pushed to and fro by forces that it once dominated. Could a tough President reassert America's role in a world that has become increasingly reluctant to be led by the U.S.? Is forceful leadership enough to re-establish confidence at home and overcome the negative influence of strong, single-issue groups? Republican supporters claim Connally has precisely those abilities.

Says New York Republican National Committeeman Richard Rosenbaum:

"What people seem to like about him is they think he can walk into the Oval Office and turn things around right away."

Says New Hampshire Republican Marshall Cobleigh: "The minute Connally conies into a room, you can feel he's a leader." Adds Gay Suber, a 1976 delegate for Gerald Ford from South Carolina: "He's got something this country sorely needs—strong, dynamic leadership and charisma."

But when the cheering stops, the questions begin. Dynamism begets polarity; what some see as leadership, others feel is Texas-style manipulation and opportunism, even menacing egotism. And there are those "myths," really four stubborn problems that come up again and again. "They all ask the same questions," says Connally's wife Nellie, her pert face wincing slightly. But Connally welcomes the questions, knowing that he must turn the negatives around by meeting them headon. So he has a careful response ready for each of them:

1) The wheeler-dealer image. One of the first questioners in Chicago uses that very term and asks Connally how he answers the charge. "If you mean someone who knows how to deal with Congressmen and Senators," he says, jutting his jaw, "then I plead guilty, I'm a wheeler-dealer. If you're talking about someone who can negotiate with world leaders on an equal basis and not be a tail-end Charlie, then I'm a wheeler-dealer. If you're talking about someone who is smart enough to go into a horse trade with a good, sound horse and not come out with one that's one-eyed and spavined, then I'm that."

2) The turncoat charge. As late as 1970, then Democrat Connally told a group of Texas moneymen that they should not defect and support Republican Senate Candidate George Bush. Said he: "Some of you are inclined to feel at home in the Republican Party.