Evening star., 1944-06-14


ample time to Frank 4. Kent.
arrange his campaign 'setup," pre-
pare his platform, select his man
ayers and advisers, map out speeches
and strategy.
On the other hand, when his
opponent became the Republican
candidate, he had not had minute
to think of any Of these things, and
did not, in fact, ever get properly
organized. He had put 50 much
energy In the preconvention strug-
gle that he was never able to get
going afterward. The result was he
made an ineffective campaign.
Gov. Dewey is in much better po-
sition. He has expended neither
time nor energy in seeking the
nomination. Yet it has been clear
since early in April that he was
going to be drafted" Thus, when
it happens (and it will be the near
est thing to a genuine draft in our
political history he will have had
nearly three months to reflect upon
what he wants to say, whom he
wants in the managerial posts and
what kind of campaign he wants to
make.
Difficulties Cited.
1t is not too much time and Mr..
Dewey cannot give too much thought
to these things. For, 1t Is going to
require all his skill, courage and
force to meet the attack which viii
be made and to overcome the weight
which the war and his White House
occupancy give the President. Al
ready the lines upon which the
fourth term strategy will be laid are
becoming clear. 1t is planned as Q
dual affair. On one side there viii
be the President, supposedly living
on q plane high above politics and q
candidate only because Of his sense
OF duty to the country and the
world.
The effort will be to justify his
attempt to stay In the White House
by insisting upon his indispensable
ity not only for winning the war but
also for making the peace. And Mr..
Roosevelt, himself, will follow the
line Of his last campaign. With
oiympian detachment, he viii avoid
all discussion Of politics but In his
role Of Commander In Chief, he Is
expected to take few trips Of in
spection" as he did before and, per-
haps, make q dramatic visit to
England II the invasion Is going well.
And, al through, he will ignore his
opponent-feplying to no challenge
and never mentioning Mr.. Dewey's
name. 4aEEsT M
That WAS what he did to Mr..
-Willkie Ia 1910. He treated him with
complete contempt, assigned : his
subordinates to answer his charges
and personally pretended he did not
know he was living. Mr.. wilIkie
could not prevent him from getting
away with that and Mr.. Roosevelt
greatly enjoyed doing II. There isn't
the slightest doubt that he win try
TO repeat that act. with Gov. Dewey.
but there II . good deal Of doubt
that 1t viii 90 over as well. The Ger.
tain thing, however, IL that he will
avoid and evade all discussion OF
domestic issues, pose as having
neither time nor inclination TO con-
slider politics and try to concentrate
public attention on the war and
peace problems.
Speculation on Campaign.
And, while the President holds
this noble and aloof attitude, the
real managers of the fourtl1-term
campaign, chief Of whom is the CIO
will operate on very different lines
The detectives OF the CIO manage
rnent. ably supported by the left
wing press and publicists, are two:
Cd To build Mr.. Roosevelt up, (2) to
tear Mr.. Dewey down. So far as the
first Is concerned, the effort will be
to credit the President with single
handedly winning the war, to laud
his prewar record and. by endowing
him with all virtue and wisdom, i'm
press the people with the notion
that 1t would be calamitous to elect
any one else President. The ex-
traordinary publicity facilities of the
CIO-administration combination are
well fitted for this job.
Concerning the business Of tearing
Gov. Dewey down, the fourth-term
journalists are hard at it now. One
set Of these sayagely attacks him as
tnsincere and untrustworthy. They
alleged that he has no convictions
and try to stir class and racial feel
ing against him. The effort of the
other set is to belittle Gov. Dewey
personally-for example, by refer
ring to him as Little Tom" or "the
little Governor" or "the dream boy
or by smart-alec cracks about his
having to sit on two telephone books
to see over table. This is extremely
cheap stuff. but 1t is Illuminating.
For one thing. it Is indicative OF
the caliber of the men upon whom
Mr.. Roosevelt depends for political
support. For another. it shows that
very little will be left undone by
the practical fellows who have a
vital personal stake in keeping Mr.
Roosevelt in. In the third place, II
presents a sharp contrast to Mr.
Roosevelt's personal pose of being
far removed from politics and not
knowing the name Of the man run
ming against him.
In brief, while the President takes
his position on the highest plane
his "close friends" are playing