The Press SATURDAY, AUGUST 10, 1968. “Who Is Agnew?”

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31754, 10 August 1968, Page 12

The Press SATURDAY, AUGUST 10, 1968. “Who Is Agnew?”

Mr Nixon’s surprise choice as his running-mate of a politician virtually unknown outside his own state must reduce Republican hopes of winning the presidential election this November. Mr Agnew’s liberal reputation has been somewhat tarnished in recent racial disputes in Maryland. Mr Agnew protests that he is still a liberal while others have moved further to the Left This equivocation may give Mr Agnew the right appearance—in Mr Nixon’s view—to counter the appeal to southern racialist sentiment of the probable independent candidate, Mr Wallace. And Mr Nixon is as shrewd a judge of these matters as anyone.

Mr Nixon’s prospects of succeeding President Johnson cannot be properly assessed until the Democratic candidate is announced towards the end of this month. But, in the likely event of the selection of Mr Humphrey, Mr Wallace could scarcely muster enough votes to prevent a decisive outcome. TW Humphrey-Nixon contest would be regarded by a significant minority as a choice between two second-bests. The Republicans having rejected Mr Rockefeller, and the Democrats likely to reject Senator McCarthy as a presidential candidate, Negroes and liberals may feel they are being slighted by both parties.

Had either Mr Rockefeller or Mr Reagan been the Republican candidate, the Vietnam war would have assumed more importance in the election campaign than is now likely. On this issue there is little apparent difference between Mr Nixon and Mr Humphrey. If domestic issues determine the outcome of the election, Mr Nixon’s greater political experience will be an advantage. To have recaptured the confidence of his party in such a spectacular way suggests that he will be a more formidable contender for the Presidency than many have been prepared to admit—perhaps more formidable than when he was narrowly beaten by Mr John Kennedy in 1960.