Show and Tell

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Politics being politics, many Republicans are delighted by the Democrats' difficulties. Their partisan pleasure may be brief. If the scrutiny Ferraro is undergoing now becomes the new national bench mark, future G.O.P. candidates and spouses will not be spared. Moreover, thoughtful people in both parties are concerned about the longer-term effects. They are worried that post-Watergate laws, combined with informal standards intensely applied by the press, could be creating a glare so fearsome that even scrupulously honest people hesitate to seek public office or accept major Government positions. Ferraro's special candidacy, with all the extra attention it naturally receives, has made the problem plain. —By Kurt Andersen. Reported by Robert Ajemlan/Washlngton and David Beckwlth with Ferraro