POLITICS: The African Question

The edgy jockeying going on in both presidential camps could be seen in all its angry and ridiculous aspects last week in a row over a remote question: Who would have the privilege of paying for $100,000 worth of plane fares to the U.S. for 250 African students? What made the question politically explosive was that the two rival contenders for the privilege were Richard M. Nixon (through the U.S. State Department) and John F. Kennedy (through his family's charitable foundation).

A Matter of Policy. After months of turndowns, small hellos and evasions, the sponsors of the student airlift found...