Evening star., 1948-10-04
The Political Picture

presidential campaign has ended the po-
litical picture can be seen a little more
clearly. In the four weeks which remain
for campaigning it is possible that some
thing will happen to produce a material
change in the outlook. But this is not
likely.
After tours of the West in which each OF
them covered some 5000 miles, President
Truman and Governor Dewey are catch
ing their breath and planning strategy for
the next round In the encourages of each
of the major candidates there are "ex-
pertS" whose function it is to distill en-
couragement from the reaction of the vot-
erS to the campaign speeches And these
gentlemen are running true to form. They
weigh this factor and balance that, and
come up with the conclusion that their
respective principals are gaining ground.
But it is hard for the layman to follow
them President Truman has been lash
ing out with both fists and not worrying
too much whether the verbal blows fall
above or below the belt. If these tactics
have won him some votes, they certainly
have alienated others, and the chances are
that Mr.. Trumans political standing when
he came back to Washington was just
about where it was when he set out.
1t is hard to believe that Governor
Dewey's campaign has produced any diff
ferent result. He started out with COM
manding lead and his strategy obviously
has been to protect it. His speeches sound
good, but when they are read carefully
there is not much in them. He has dealt
with broad principles on a lofty plane. The
possible embarrassment of dealing spe-
cifically with difficult issues has been care
fully avoided. All in all, the fair inference
is that the Republican candidate remains
we'll out in front of the procession.
An interesting byproduct of the cam
paign has been the decline in Henry Wal
lace's fortunes. When he sounded his first
call for a Gideons Army it looked as
though the Wallace vote might be sig
ni1cant factor. But not many people still
think so. Instead of gaining strength, WAL
lace has fallen far behind. His basic thesis
that the governing powers in the West
ern countries are trying to provoke war
with Russia-has been torn to shreds by
the activities of the Soviet government,
and although Mr.. Wallace continues to
plug away at This discredited theme very
few voters are paying any attention. If
people would stop throwing eggs at him,
most Americans would hardly know or
care that he is still in the race.
The campaign of South Carolina's Gov
ernor Thurmond, in it's own way, affords
another interesting insight into American
politics.
Governor Thurmond is going to win
some electoral votes. If he gets as many
as 100. which he says he expects, he may
even wind up the second man in the race
IN terms of electoral votes. But his cam
paign is not commanding any important
share of national public attention.
Last week he spoke in Baltimore. The
Baltimore Suns H. L. Mencken, who
usually takes very dim view of politicians.
had some nice things to say about Cover
nor Thurmond. He conceded that the can
didate had made "dignified and intelli-
gent" speech, that there was no hint of
demagogy in it, and that Governor Thur
mond Is very much a gentleman, with
nothing of "the low down Southern poll
tician about him."
There is but one issue in the campaign
for Governor Thurmond and that is the
issue OF States rights. How much power
can the Federal Government exercise?
How far, under the Constitution, can it in
trude itself into the regulation of mat
tiers that heretofore have been within the
province of the States? This is an import
ant issue, and it may well assume in
creased Importance in the years to come
as we struggle with the problem of effec-
tive government In complex economy.
But this issue is attracting very little
attention. Governor Thurmond's Balti-
more audience was polite but certainly not
enthusiastic. In the South, where he has
his real following, there is also little in
terest in the constitutional issue as such.
What interests the people there is the
so-called civil rights program, and the
supporters OF Governor Thurmond are not
deserving the Democratic Party on any
constitutional ground, but as result of
an emotional reaction to an attempt to
disturb a long established social pattern.
So as the campaign goes into its closing
stages this, in brief, is the picture: Gov
ernor Dewey holding his lead over the
President, Mr.. Wallace fading, and Gov
ernor Thurmond hammering away on the
issue Of States rights and attracting
Southern support for a reason that is only
indirectly related to that issue. In its en-
tirety, the l948 campaign is not doing the
country any good, and most people will be
glad when it Is over