European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - April 20, 1968, Darmstadt, Hesse On the Campaign Trail v the reluctant candidacy of a Imp it --Tfc,--.ita.at by Saul Pett a staff writer Phe candidate listened. Issues Al aside do you want to be presi Dent 1 emphasize the word , i Don t suppose you want it in that Way said Eugene Joseph Mccarthy his coat off his Long legs stretched against the Cabin Wall of the plane his Gray eyes idly searching the heavy Mist you re in politics 15 or 20 years you kind of respond to then you re willing to have a try at it. Do 1 want it for myself s no personal need driving me toward it. But if the situation compel you and you re in politics you go he he was running in 1960, John Kennedy used to say he was drawn tothe presidency because that s where the Center of action is. Does the Job have that kind of pull for you no said the senator from Minne Sota. I d just As soon not be where the Center of action is. My Persona Choice. Well 1 was quite Content working in the Senate working on the Structure of government and the proc esses by which decisions Are made i foreign Gene Mccarthy who appears Mohave a great sense of urgency about his country s needs but not about the own Slid lower in his seat languidly shifting his position and ," he said with the Mildest of afterthoughts and most casual of under statements you can see where the Job of president could be kind of and he talked of current trends i government by which legislative Deci Sions become relatively unimportant and executive decisions loom larger. In the seats behind him two aide were furiously discussing the Day s Campaign crisis. The candidate himself remained utterly relaxed. F Arther Back in the plane a re Porter was kidding Parker Donham 22,one of the platoon leaders of Mccarthy s children s like most of Heyoung people around the candidate Don Ham is terribly serious about the issues but not Stuffy. He had dropped out of Harvard and shaved off his Beard to work for Mccarthy and for peace in Viet Nam. His Job is assistant press Secretary or As the press Call him the Parker asked the reporter what do you want out of All this do you want to be Secretary of state hell no. 1 just want to be chairman of my local draft Cool of the candidate and the compelling Elan of the College kids work ing for him Combine to give Mccarthy s Campaign for the democratic presiden tial nomination a flavor unique in poli tics. Despite their earnestness despite the fact that it was Mccarthy who first encouraged them to give the establishment one More try instead of March Page 12 Triumph in Wisconsin primary brought a for Victory sign from Happy the senator takes a shot at q different kind of goal As Wisconsin students watch. The stars and stripes up Sci ing on the Pentagon the Leader often seem like not serious than a popular professing an exuberant class on a fee i but Between them they have convulsed the politics of 1068,unique which other Candy president of the United states speeches and rallies and Strat Ferencek is disposed in moments in planes or hotel write poetry serious poetry other candidate when he can dined to seek relaxation and a Active beyond the Campaign Din typing into a biography of yeat Sil Brecht s Tive forms of truth in which other Campaign head que ters can you find vote canvassers reorganized by a Young pad from Coll Bla whose specially is chinese the Eolior an Iowa mathematician stuffing i Delopes and wondering aloud if of Hiis t a More efficient Way. Or a 19-yes old boy in charge of messengers Sideny announcing jeez i got two Distant professors working for me which other Campaign head Quai ters do you see the volunteers Arm with sleeping bags and Young men i ing their beards to impress thet orate with their wholesomeness other Young men relegated to the rooms because they can t part with i beards or a shy 16-year-old boy High school dropout who has diagnosed by his collegiate Boss very nonverbal and was Given a j appropriate to his personality Runny mimeograph machine in a hotel else do you see the name Oul Public room in a hotel now Jumpie with envelop stuffers changed for the colonial room to the colonial room or Campaign bulled boards with such proclamations please leave the pen for the impoverished student volunteers if you have a car please Tell one. Volunteers please ask yen family not to Call unless it s reach urgent. Your mothers Are Jan the office the students Supply the infantry the excitement the legwork and on flavor of this Campaign. The top ministrative and advisory jobs we been handled by older people but of these have had professional we ence in politics. Thus the Mccaja Campaign has had its Radical a hmm ties underexposure bad scheduling too Many student audiences Ana him in Jfe a vat. by candidate Mccarthy of you can see where the Job of president could be kind of were too serious for emotional Harangue and he gives the impression that theatrics would insult the intelligence of audience and speaker alike especially the speaker s. Far from shouting he rarely lifts his voice above a professorial tone. He does t rend the air with clenched fist or pointed Finger and generally confines his hands to roaming Over the ignored papers on the lectern. He Seldom milks a line or phrase with pause or emphasis. But he is capable of a quiet eloquence As he Speaks of the conscience of the nation torn and sore of the need to recapture the decent opinion of Man kind of the need to rid ourselves of the old simplifications of innocence in assuming we Are a nation says America must seek a reconciliation of age groups and economic groups and races a reconciliation of purpose and conscience of reason he says the True test of Patriot ism is not to serve your country Rightor wrong but to serve it in a speech in Detroit before an adult audience of dissident democrats was one of the few occasions in which Mccarthy allowed himself the luxury of firing up his followers. Breed to wait in the wings during anly Long Overly ornate introduction. E was so impatient he kicked a paper Mccarthy realizes his biggest Owem is to make his name and face tier known. In the beginning in new a share he could walk through an Ort or Down a Street and nobody old recognize him. Now there Are Ople who turn to look at the Tau Man with the steel Gray hair eyebrows and Broad i ask for his hand and autograph. It he is still a Long Long Way Froming mobbed in the streets or enjoying recognition Factor favouring Robertn Nedy or Richard Nixon. Ne4re is some basis for optimism,"4 y to wry Way. Of i a he a we Vav a life v.�. Enough people of voting age Ana u in travel and hotel Titan Gemeno a Dione visit to Detroit the advanced had forgotten to Reserve hotel space a the the organization had Stormy intramural a15 i even resignations but tl�1-pu8hi sluts fuss he is said to retain his Poyet closest he came to blowing a say his aides was the night be saturday a before l make a speech the is Are setting Shorter. More a my the television networks Noger feel obliged to move my name Oss my with the Public is of course thing new to this 51-year-old poll Yho used to teach sociology Inland has served 10 years in and to in to Senate. But those years in extroverted Pur. It re Remais one senses much Tolj 1 i co than is usual in politics Ween the inner Man and the Public he remains an intellectual with Quick intelligence a distinct sense of privacy even in Public a distaste forthe obvious and a Low tolerance for the hoopla and ritual of ?" he once asked some photog Raphers imploring him to pose yet again. 4 also Mccarthy has a Candor that May not always win votes. Most Candi dates for Public office even while seek ing to save the country from wrack and ruin inevitably get bored now and the because of the dreary need to repeat themselves Day after Day. But most candidates Don t show it and certainly Don t admit it. Mccarthy realize that when you commit your self to a cause it has to be total he said. But no one really wants to spend hours shaking hands or Rushing through factories with scarcely time to really talk with necessity to repeat yourself in speeches brings on an inevitable feeling of boredom a feeling of Here we go again anybody would feel that Way unless he was a madman or an enter Tainer. But you have to do it and generally do what 1 have to on another occasion chewing a col Sandwich in a car Between speeches he allowed himself a Small smile and said it almost drives you to say something irresponsible just to say something Dif to the despair of his speechwriters Mccarthy rarely follows the text written for him. His Basic speech delivered and lib from just a few words of notes Calls for Dee Scala Tion in Vietnam an end to the bombing a pullback to the cities and then forma Tion of a coalition government with the Viet Cong the War Over he says there would be Money to fight the problems of the cities. In this he generally endorses the recommendations of the president s riot commission to spend vast sums on jobs housing and Educa Tion. He rarely uses the word negro. He Seldom has Many negroes in his audience and has been criticized for not making More appearances in negro areas. S e rarely throws his audience any red meat. He is Seldom emotional in his Appeal and almost never seriously personal. He does not like Robert Ken Nedy extend his Arm and beseech the electorate to give me your personalization one gathers would Appal the senator from he began his Campaign he prom ised i will not shout at the voters of new the issues he Felt the stars and stripes he said in the name of god say the Bishops of South Vietnam let the killing Stop. In the name of he South Vietnam let the killing Stop. An now is the time to say in the name of America let the killing crowd came off their chairs and gave the candidate a standing the demonstration seemed to Puzzle or Embarrass Mccarthy and after Only few seconds he waved the audience Back Down. He returned to his speech in even a lower key. His talks and especially his an Swers to questions from the floor or from reporters Are laced with finely spun strands of humor and irony All delivered in Folksy . Will your Campaign and Kennedy s become abrasive a. Well i think we re More or less agreed on the issues. Then i suppose it becomes a question of personality and competence. I Don t know what else you argue about. If he wants to pick on us Over size i m willing to use that Asa determinate. Mccarthy is much taller. He plays touch football i play foot Ball. He plays softball i play baseball. He skates in Rockefeller Center i play hockey. A. Are you saying Kennedy plays girls games a. I did t say that. Q. You Are saying that if it get rough you re prepared to get rough too a. Well my sister used to say when i used to play hockey that she did know what it was that happened but More of the other team fell Down. Well we better Cut this Short. Someone say thank you or. . Thank you senator. Page 13
