Presidential Candidates Are Now Being Sorted Out

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26792, 8 June 1948, Page 5

Presidential Candidates Are Now Being Sorted Out

For the Daily Times by C. V. R. Thompson NEW YORK, June 1. From now on the American people have no say in deciding who will fight it out in the Presidential elections fiiis autumn. They have not spoken loud enough in the primary elections —State by State polls to enable them to pick their favourite—and the primary season has now ended. So the politicians take over. It is almost certain that the Democratic Party will pick Harry Truman, because there is no one else. With the Republicans, it is still an open race. The primary season has had some effect on the long entry list. It has been proved that no one, except perhaps William Randolph Hearst, the newspaper magnate, and a few of his Hollywood friends—including Shirley Temple—wants General MacArthur. And Senator Robert Taft, the white

hope of the diehards, has little more left than nuisance value. Mr Harold Stassen, who nearlystarted a prairie fire that would have elected him in spite of the politicians, dampened it with his programme to outlaw the Communists, and now he does not have a chance. The only man to gain from the primaries is New York’s governor, Mr Thomas Dewey On the present list he is by far the strongest, but still perhaps not strong enough to beat all the combinations that can be ranged against him at this month’s nominating convention. To break the deadlock that is expected, there is talk of calling on a dark horse, and the favourite dark horse is Senator Vandenberg. The latest combination forecast is Vandenberg for President and Dewey for VicePresident—the most formidable “ ticket ” for America’s Republican Party in 25 years.