Nation: And the Senate Bids Farewell

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Floyd Haskell, 62, was described by Jimmy Carter as "a national treasure." But Coloradans disagree. By a 59%-to-41% vote, they rejected Democrat Haskell's try for a second U.S. Senate term and in his place elected G.O.P. Congressman William Armstrong, 41.

During his six years in the Senate, Haskell did little to capture public attention. In 1976 he was one of the leading critics of Ford Campaign Manager Howard ("Bo") Callaway for trying to influence Government policies to benefit a Colorado ski area owned by Callaway's family. This year Haskell sponsored legislation that would have set up a new Government agency to regulate imports of sweeteners, and thus benefit Colorado's sugar beet growers by, in effect, raising domestic sugar prices.

Haskell's contest with Armstrong was along clear-cut liberal-conservative lines. Haskell never found a way to overcome charges that he favored Big Government and opposed tax cuts and key defense measures. During one debate, Armstrong pointed a finger at his opponent and declared: "Inflation is double digit again and it is caused by Senator Haskell."

Thomas McIntyre, 63, has been pulverizing ultra-rightist opponents in New Hampshire since his first election to the Senate in 1962. But last week, in a stunning upset, Democrat McIntyre was ousted. By 49% to 51%, he lost his Senate seat to conservative Republican Gordon Humphrey, 38, a co-pilot for Allegheny Airlines.

McIntyre was an extremely cautious Senator, hesitating before opposing the White House even when it was in Republican hands. On the Armed Services Committee, he supported military aid to Saigon during the Viet Nam War. But he also favored trimming expensive new weapons programs like the Navy's Trident missile.

As in the past, McIntyre this year relied almost exclusively during his campaign on radio, print and personal handshaking, but not TV, which may have been his most serious blunder. He also erred in feeling that voters would view this race in the same way that they had his earlier elections: as a challenge by a dangerous extremist. But unlike McIntyre's earlier opponents, the attractive aviator did not come across as a radical. This apparently was enough to prod moderate Republicans to return to the G.O.P.