Ford will campaign from White House

Press, 24 August 1976, Page 8

Ford will campaign from White House

NZPA Vail, Colorado, President Ford will at-j tempt to retain the White i House by spending most of, his time in Washington asi the nation’s leader, by dem-| onstrating knowledge of the. Government in debates with, Jimmy Carter, and by focus- 1 ing the Republican Presidential campaign on the bigj industrial states, the "New York Times” has reported. “In the final analysis,” aj senior official of the Ford I campaign said in Vail on Sunday, the contest between! the President and his De-ii mocratic challenger “will* come down to whether! people trust Ford or Carter! more to represent their; values in Washington fori the next four years.” Mr Ford recuperating from an exhausting week ini which he and his Vice-Presi-l dential running mate. Senator Robert Dole of Kansas, were nominated by the Re-, publican national convention. attended as usual, the "Yellowstone Christmas”' church service on Sunday and went golfing at his mountainside retreat. Aides who began assembling for a series of cam-, paign meetings scheduled to I start in Vail yesterday said! that the basic outline of a, come-from-behind strategy against Mr Carter and Sena-|

I tor Walter Mondale of Minnesota would consist of the i following elements: i A ‘‘less is more” format, | in which the President will I travel only sporadically i while Senator Dole wages i the Republican campaign on jthe road. 1 Mr Ford will concentrate j instead on high-visibility; White House activities —i -including frequent news con-i ferences, pointed messages! J to the opposition in Con-1 igress, and possibly a call fori •a special session — meant! Ito stress his presence in the executive mansion. A major-state electoral I strategy, with the limited ! campaign resources targeted • on the industrial and agri- ; cultural heartland and I spreading west to California and east to New Jersey. (New York, Texas, the Deep I South, while not formally (written off, are to be given modest attention and re- | sources. An attempt to recreate the! .tone and style of the President's acceptance speech to! the Republican convention, j which Mr Ford’s aides regarded as his finest performance as an orator in his 28 (years tn politics. Because the acceptance speech required (weeks of preparation and reihearsal. Mr Ford will give relatively few campaign (addresses and will try to

i reach a broad television i audience with them. An effort to tum the first face-to-face Presidential campaign confrontation in 16 years into a tour de force for the President. “There are others here (who don't agree” that Mr [Fore can win a series of debates with Mr Carter, one of [the aides gathering in this |ir. itation Swiss village said, i “But ’ have a gut feeling ’that the President will do •well because of an accumulated knowledge of federal activities.” he added. The right debate format can show, the official added, that “Ford knows the Government. down, left, right, inside, outside, and upside down.”

The remark reflected an infectious confidence that seems to have imbued the campaign deliberation. A Ford campaign operative predicted that the next national opinion polls would narrow 'Considerably the huge lead that Mr Carter enjoyed beIfore the Republicans chose their ticket in Kansas Citv.