Evening star., 1952-11-02
Moves
Continued From First Page.)

Continued From First Page.)
reasons which no one can entirely
explain. people are suddenly wear
ing their Stevenson buttons, talk
ing up their man and talking as
If they understood as we'll as most
politicians who they planned to
vote for.
| But if the campaign leaders did
not foresee this new enthusiasm
they are not slow in taking advan-
tage of it. r
Band on Two Requirements.
The Democratic campaign was
based on two fundamental politi-
cal requirements. First. Gov. Stey-
enSon had to be established as a
public personality strong enough
and appealing enough to compete
with man whose name was a
household word and whose repu-
Itation was a formidable asset.
After that, the Democrats could
not concentrate on the issues. If
the general could be cut down to
size and the decision based on the
issues. they thought, the odds were
in their favor.
The tactics to put their man
across was to get the Governor
on national television and radio
hookups as frequently as time and
the Democratic campaign budget
would allow. The tactic to whittle
down the opposition was to link
THE general as closely as could be
with the most reactionary and
least popular elements of his
party.
At this point. the Democratic
strategists believe they have sue
ceeded on both counts-thanks to
the performance of the governor
and to cooperation from the gen.
eral.
Increase In Stature.
They feel, in fact, that when 1t
comes to considering the campaign
as a personal beauty contest be-
tween the two candidates, Gov
Stevenson has effectively turned
the tables on Gen. Eisenhower, at
least with a large part of the
electorate. They are sure the gov
ernor has grown wonderfully in
public stature since the conven-
tion and has displayed qualities
of leadership that have taken hold
OF the public imagination. Even
his most partisan opponents seem
to find little about him person.
ally to criticize.
On the other hand, the Demo-
cratic campaign leaders are con-
vinced that, as the generals po-
liMcal personality has unfolded
he has lost stature immeasurably
There is genuine confidence that
in any sober appraisal of quail
fications, their man would get the
nod.
Oddly enough, there is less as
Surance now about the debate on
the issues. The Democrats would
very much have liked to see the
campaign resolve itself into a
fight between the slogans: "You
never had it so good" and "Time
for a change" They have been
disconnected by the growth OF
foreign policy as the big question
particularly the latter-day Re-
publican emphasis on the Korean
war issue.
Democrats on Defensive.
In the final round of the cam
paign, the Republicans have, in
fact, put the Democrats on the
defensive. Just at the time they
were planning to deliver their
Sunday punch they have been
kept busy parrying an attack.
the political possibilities OF
which they realize all too we'll.
! In ther brighter moods. to be
sure, the campaign managers
speak of their basic faith in the
voters. They hope that in a show
down most of the people will be
guided by their understanding OF
the issues and will vote - on
Korea and everything else-more
according to their intelligence
than according to their emotions.
This is the origin of the "talk-
sense" issue that the governor
has plugged.
There is general agreement that