NIXON WINS REPUBLICAN NOMINATION Great Political Return

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31753, 9 August 1968, Page 11

NIXON WINS REPUBLICAN NOMINATION Great Political Return

(N Z P.A.-Reuter—Copyright) MIAMI BEACH (Florida), August 8. Mr Richard Milhous Nixon, aged 55, who had battled against a loser’s image to build a political come-back, swept to his second Republican Party Presidentianl nomination early today. It was when the rhythmic roll-call of the States reached Wisconsin, that Mr Nixon's vote reached the 667 majority which won him the prize, his party’s twenty-ninth nomination for the Presidency.

And at once the Republican national conven the cheering, sign-waving Nixon partisans leading

The giant wave of cheers had begun even before Wisconsin cast its decisive ballots; for Mr Nixon had won its 30 votes by primary (preference) election, and the convention knew that made it the crucial delegation.

Mr Nixon wound up the roll-call with 692 votes; Governor Nelson Rockefeller, of New York received 287; and Governor Ronald Reagan, of California, 182.

And when the call was complete, States which had cast votes for other candidates began switching their ballots to the nominee. Mr Nixon's triumph came after 7) hours of nominating speeches and of carefullyrehearsed and well-staged demonstrations for the three contenders. But even amid the blizzard of balloons and the sea of signs for Governors Rockefeller and Reagan, it was evident that the convention belonged to Mr Nixon. So the former Vice-Presi-dent who narrowly lost the White House to the late Pre-■ sident John F. Kennedy in 1960, won the right to try again, on November 5. He will carry the Republican standard against the man the Democrats nominate in Chicago in three weeks. Mr Nixon has said he is certain his opponent will be Vice-Pre-sident Hubert Humphrey. Support Declared It was the vanquished candidate, Governor Reagan, who strode, smiling, to the convention microphone to declare himself behind Mr Nixon. “I herebv proudly move, on behalf of my fellow-Celiforni-ans. that this convention declare itself unanimously united behind candidate Rich-! ard Nixon as the next Presi-i dent of the United States,”! he said.

The response was another mighty- cheer from the floor and from the galleries. Governor Rockefeller, weary

i and showing he was. told a ■ news conference later that he ! had telephoned Mr Nixon to i offer him his congratulations, and that he would support and campaign for him. “I don’t regret losing the race,” he said. “Every minute of it has been worth while in terms of the future of this country. Mr Nixon’s nomination reflects the real wishes of our party leaders." During the day. Governor Rockefeller had made a sharp attack on Mr Nixon, who, he said, would “unite the Democratic Party as no-one else in this country can do.” He was “pretty mad” at what he said were the Nixon tactics of plac fating the Southern delegates. “We are not going to win l nationally with a candidate be- | holden to Southern delegates,” Governor Rockefeller :said. : There was little tension, ' and most of the excitement ! ivas manufactured as the conI vention held its climactic ses- | sion in a hall packed with , about 18,000 people. The marathon Republican i [ talk-in produced 52 speeches [ ! of nomination and seconding. ’ 12 Nominations In all, 12 names were ad-, vanced for Presidential nom-I ination, including those of: such favourite sons (nominal ! candidates) as Senator Hiram Fong, of Hawaii, Senator Strom Thurmond, of South Carolina (who used to be a Democrat) and Governor Rockefeller’s brother, Mr Winthrop Rockefeller, of Arkansas. There was, of course the ever-running Mr Harold E. Stassen, whose delegatenephew made his nominating speech. It produced a 31-sec-ond ovation. Seldom have so many people paid so little attention to so many speeches. As the parade of minor candidates advanced in nomination, delegates wandered leisurely through the aisles, chatting among themselves. It was Governor Spiro T. Agnew, of Maryland, who offered the convention the name of The Man with the Votes, crediting Mr Nixon with “the greatest political come-back in American history.” It was indeed a come-back, from twin defeats—in 1960

tion exploded into tumult, g the surging roar. for the White House, and in 1962 for the Governorship of California. After that one, Mr Nixon bade a bitter, but temporary farewell to politics. Governor Agnew said Mr Nixon was “the man not only to match this moment but to master it.” Amid cheers, he went on: “A man firm in upholding the law,; and determined in the pursuit of justice; a man who can negotiate peace without sacrificing life, liberty or land; a man who had the courage to rise up from the depths of defeat six years ago and to make the greatest political come-back in American history.” Mob Scenes Governor Reagan watched his Presidential bid crushed | from a vantage point just outside the convention hall—the white trailer hat served as a communications centre for his floor lieutenants. Governor Rockefeller’s was the longest of the carefullyI programmed demonstrations: i 28 minutes of music, marchj ing, sign-waving and cheers. [ The Nixon mob scene went i on for 24 minutes after his I I name had been advanced: [ I that for Reagan lasted 22. I The demonstrators were i largely recruited from the ; galleries—most of the delegates were onlookers—and turning them off was much harder than turning them on. Representative Gerald Ford, of Michigan, the chairman, hammered his gavel, and shouted: “The convention cannot proceed on its important business of nominating the next President of the United States until order is restored.” Even before the balloting began, Mr Nixon had arranged meetings with party leaders to tell them of his choice of a Vice-Presidential running mate. One Republican source said the Mayor of New York (Mr Lindsay) and Senator Mark Hadfield, of Oregon, were two prospects, but Mr Nixon who took a half-hour car ride round Miami shortly before midnight, said he had not de-1 cided who his running mate would be. Seventh Crisis . And so Mr Nixon, who once I wrote a book about the six! crises of his political life, has surmounted the seventh. His triumph has brought to a climax a studied, meticu-lously-organised, but nonetheless dramatic return to the Republican pinnacle by a man who, six years ago, uttered his own bitter political obituary. That was in Los Angeles, the morning after Mr Nixon lost his bid to become State Governor. Haggard, exhausted, Mr Nixon faced a news conference and proclaimed: “You won't have Nixon to kick round any longer because, gentlemen, this is my last press conference.” He left the State from which he had been elected to the House, then to the Senate, leaving Congress to become General Dwight D. Eisenhower’s Vice-President, moved to New York and became a Wall Street lawyer. But politics remained Mr Nixon's real profession. And

in the aftermath of the Republican’s devastating 1964 defeat, party professionals began talking of Mr Nixon as a contender again for Presidential nomination. Mr Nixon was soon on the road, campaigning for candidates, speaking at fund-raising functions, building a bulging stock of political favours due. The off-year elections of 1966 produced a Republican recovery, and Mr Nixon, an ardent campaigner for the party’s nominees, shared in the triumph. That began, in earnest but under cover, the campaign culminating in Miami Beach. ‘We Will Win’ “This is not my last press I conference,” Mr Nixon said on February 1, formally announcing the candidacy he was to carry through seven Presidential primaries. When he came to Miami Beach on Monday, already in command of the convention, he recalled the 1960 race he lost to President John Kennedy by the slimmest of margins. “We see history repeating] itself, but there's one big dif-i ference—this time we're go-' ing to win," he declared. Futile Quest Governors Reagan and Rockefeller campaigned to the final hours in their futile quest. As the convention be. gan its nominating session. Governor Rockefeller accused the Nixon forces of resorting to “arm twisting and frightening pressure tactics.” “A massive psychological blitz by the Nixon forces has been stopped,” he said. But nothing had been stopped at all. Governor Rockefeller claimed all day that if the major “favourite son” States held firm, Mr Nixon’s count of votes would fall short of victory. But Mr Nixon's surge left the favourite sons as political orphans. Reagan’s Call While scores of States were revising their votes to make the ballot unanimous for Mr i Nixon, Governor Reagan i asked the chairman’s permis[sion to mount the convention platform. He was just offstage, but Mr Ford held that [the convention’s rules forbade such an appearance while the roll-call was incomplete. Governor Reagan waited in the wings while the roll continued. Various dignitaries went back individually to talk with him, and Governor Reagan appeared to be arguing forcefully, but goodhumouredly for the right to go to the lectern.

Then South Dakota moved for a suspension of the rule to .permit the California Gov-, emor to take the platform to urge a unanimous vote for Nixon. The motion was carried with a roar.

Clad in the off-white jacket which has been his trademark here. Governor Reagan strode to the front of the platform to declare that the convention was united in the belief that the party was the only vehicle that could replace years of Democratic rule; and he moved that the convention cast a unanimous ballot for Mr Nixon as the Republican nominee.