elle tr 44am n Eighty-one years of editorial freedom Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan Nixon: Running on his laurels? 420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, Mich. News Phone: 764-0552 Editorials printed in The Michigan Daily express the individual opinions of staff writers or the editors. This must be noted in all reprints. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 1972 NIGHT EDITOR: SARA FITZGERALD Bolstering the Thieu govt. LAST FALL, under the guise of support- ing "democracy" in Vietnam, the Nixon administration lent its support to an election that was blatantly dishonest. At that time, South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu ran unop- posed after succeeding in forcing his would-be opponents out of the race through a variety of repressive and in- timidating tactics-enacting harsh se- dition and election laws, closing down opposition newspapers, and ordering po- lice to "shoot to kill" anti-government demonstrators. The "election" was met with outrage from around the world. In Saigon, a newspaper reported finding three million blank ballots - apparently to be used by Thieu in the event of a low voter turnout. In Washington, 130 congressmen signed a petition calling the adminis- tration's support of the Thieu regime "a mockery" of democratic principles. In Da Nang, meanwhile, demonstrators battled with police outside polling places. ND NOW, IT is the Nixon's adminis- tration's continuing support for the corrupt Thieu regime that appears to be a mnajor factor in delaying any negotiated political solution to the war. Yesterday, the National Liberation Front stated unequivocably that Thieu must resign immediately if negotiations are to begin. Under this plan, a tempor- ary coalition government would be set up to organize free elections; and in ex- change for a firm withdrawal date com- mitment, the American POWs in North Vietnam would be released. Nixon's latest peace proposal, however, would not ensure free elections, and cer- tainly; provides Thieu with another chance to run a rigged election. Ac- cording to the Nixon plan, Thieu would step down from office one month before the election. But no provision is made for dismantling the Thieu political machine after he leaves office, or for stopping the president from enacting discriminatory election laws before he steps down. It is apparent that neither the Viet Cong nor the North Vietnamese will ac- cept a peace settlement that invites Thieu to turn the next election into a re-run of last October's one man show. CLEARLY, a political solution to the war will only be realized when the U.S. government divorces itself from the Thieu dictatorship, in favor of free deter- mination for the people of South Viet- nam. -ALAN LENHOFF With the major presidential prima- ries r a p i d l y approaching, political pundits are assessing the strength and tactics of major candidates. In this article and two to follow, Daily re- porter Tony Schwartz offers his as- sessment of the presidential contenders. By TONY SCHWARTZ THE MOST common refrain sounded when the subject of Richard Nixon's re-election arises is, "It's inevitable." Curiously the source of the claim can al- most always be traced to bitter liberal opponents of the President. The reasoning is partly a case of resign- ed cynicism. But it is also partly the "buffer principle". Nixon's opponents seek to buffer themselves in the early going from a second shocker akin to 1968. Nixon, like the ethereal Lazarus, rose from the political grave where most thought he had been buried in California, 1962. Indeed at first glance - perhaps even at second glance - there is ample logic to the refrain. There are two visible rea- sons. First, Nixon is an incumbent and most of us are hard put to recall the last in- cumbent to lose a re-election bid. Most voters wpren't even alive when FDR out- distanced incumbent Herbert Hoover in 1932. The incumbent can call on a power- ful store of goodies including access to all of the media, a wealth of stored fav- ors and in Nixon's case particularly, a seasoned campaign team with the legacy of a win to look back on. The second reason is, quite bluntly, that Nixon is Nixon. He is a perennial candi- date who is'tougher and more savvy than ever in the wily art of modern political (campaigning. For a quarter century, this man has been far more at home running for office than holding it. The challenge of the battle and the glory of the effort have been a deeply ingrained part of his constitution since his earliest days in Southern California. FOR THE 1972 campaign, Nixon has ferreted out yet another role. If one were to compute the number of "new Nixons" over the past 25 years, the figure would certainly approximate the number of campaigns he has undertaken. In what is almost certainly his very last political campaign, Nixon has placed himself in the middle folds of his party, preying once again on the "silent major- ity" he is convinced elected him four years ago. Interestingly, Nixon's modern stance is at blinding odds with the one that first put him on the political map in the late 1940's and early 1950's. At that time he was a tenacious ideolo- gue, battling Alger Hiss and the Com- munist threat; speaking from the van- guard of the Republican far-right wing. Of late, the man who was once Dwight Eisenhower's "Spiro Agnew" h a s drift- ed to a middle ground. This more moder- ate and flexible role has endeared him to such former adversaries as self-ac- claimed' moderate New York Gov. Nelson Rockefeller. Security for the Davis trial T HAS BECOME almost an American tradition that when trials provoke a- great deal of controversy, they tend to become an event in themselves, gen- erating their own questions of law and justice. Such a trial is the current case against Angela Davis. Most people are familiar by now with the details of Davis' arrest and the charges against her. In fact, beyond the attention one would expect the commu- nist press to pay to Davis' trial, various media from around the world have flocked to San Jose to give accounts of what is going on. Beyond the construction of new press facilities and increased security precau- tions--to the tune of $70,000-those present have been witness to enforce- ment of a strange exaggeration of court- room rules. Utilizing a California state law passed in 1970, the judge in Davis' case has banned any demonstrations within a square mile of the courtroom, supposed- ly fearing that demonstrations might in- fluence or put undue pressure on jurors. While one doubts that the judge's in- terpretation is quite in character with the law, which bans demonstrations only within "sight or sound" of the court- room, it seems a slightly ridiculous pre- caution in view of the expensive secur- ity measures. Precautions included brick- ing up of all the courtroom's windows and various means of sequestering -the jury. JRONICALLY, THE arrests of 24 this week who refused to obey the ban, will probably make only more apparent to the world's watching eyes the limita- tions courts have imposed on freedom of speech. As for the jurors, one hopes they know it already. -MARK DILLEN The tenor of the upcoming battle for Nixon will be conducted in two distinct stages. For as long as possible, Nixon will seemingly stay above the sweaty arena of partisan politics, waving instead the more dignified presidential banner. Nixon has admitted himself this stra- tegy, but the most tangible evidence to date is reflected in the campign slogan on his bumper stickers. The uncharacter- istic audacity of 1968's "Nixon's the One" has been replaced by the shrewd and apolitical "Re-elect the President." THE METHOD is clever. While Nixon's Democratic opponents chew each cther up in overcrowded primaries, a beaming President will command the headlines as he trumpets the unreproachable concept of. "world peace" from China. The dirty work in the Republican primaries will be ' handled by a group of competent presi- dential surrogates. His advisors count on minimal threats in the primaries. Rep. Paul McCloskey (R-Calif.), on the left flank, is judged no more than an ephemeral annoyance. Rep. John Ashbrook (R-Ohio), on the right is taken somewhat more seriously. The Nix- on team's sentiment, however, is /that . Ashbrook's eforts will not meet with sub- stantial support and that hard-line con- servatives will eventually return to the Nixon camp. It is evident that when Nixon finally does enter the political arena which he relishes, he will run on his and Congress' record. A muted campaign is likely to center on the request to ". . . let us com- plete what we have begun." Nixon will seek a base of r upport similar to the winning combination of 1968. His greatest hope of adding to his take is centered on the South, where he may now be more popular than four years ago. NEVERTHELESS, Nixon's re-election is by no means reassured. Beginning with the speculative nature of the record on which he will run, there are a variety of obstacles he must overcome in the up- coming months. The basis of Nixon's campaign rhe- toric is likely to focus on three issues: Opening the door to an era of negotiation with the Russians and particularly the Chinese, a decisive and successful chal- lenge to the dual economic threats of un- employment and inflation and a winding down of the war in Indochina. Nevertheless, at present the campaign claims are a tenuous proposition. In Indochina, the war continues. The claims of a successful Vietnamization pro- gram have been countered recently with increasing speculation on a major T e t offensive by the North Vietnamese. That such a move would arouse the bellicose ire of Nixon is almost certain. In any case, Nixon has resumed heavy bombing of the North in the past few months. As to the president's latest p e a c e speech, it too is an unknown quantity. If the voters decide that Nixon's offer was a fair and flexible initiative met by an intransigent enemy, mark one for the Republicans. On the other hand, if the Democrat's can use the disclosure to sub- stantiate their claim that the war is not winding down, Nixon may have a prob- lem. ON THE ECONOMY, Nixon has doubt- less grabbed center stage from Gardner Ackley and the Democrats who had been calling for wage and price controls for more than a year. Nevertheless, Nixon's move was a gam- ble and has been beset by a wealth of kinks and roadblocks. Despite generally confident predictions for 1972, both un- employment and inflation remain at pa- tently unacceptable six per cent levels. Moreover, Nixon's early successes in courting the labor vote have come on hard times. George Meany's AFL-CIO has already expressed a militant desire to de- feat Nixon in the upcoming campaign. UAW leader Leonard Woodcock and AFSCME head Jerry Wurf have joined the Muskie bandwagon, bringing considerable influence and votes with then:' All this aside, it is likely that Nixon's economic standing with the voters will be finally determined by how many are unemployed and by whether the price spiral has been checked come election time. The 25 million newly enfranchised vot- ers - or more specifically the 10-12 mil- lion who are expected to vote - form a second looming question mark for Nix- on. With registration running slightly more than two to one democratic, Nixon must woo a large portion of opposition party voters. His alternative is to capture a large proportion of the huge bloc of young vote ers who are registering as "independ- ents". Cognizant that a substantially Demo- cratic youth vote could defeat him, Nixon is already putting much energy into de- termining the nature of this mysterious group. He is steering away from the col- lege voters in the hope that making a convincing pitch to the large majority of young people who are workers and house- wives will suffice. THERE ARE two final unknowns which the President must face. The degree to which the Democrats can emerge with a relatively unscathed and uniformly sup- ported candidate; and the unknown cours- es of possible third party candidates like George Wallace and Gene McCarthy are sources of much concern to both Nixon and the Democrats. At this point, it is sobering for impet- uous political prognosticators - profes- sional and amateur alike - to recall the situation at a similar date four years ago. At that time, Lyndon Johnson was des- tined to re-election; Richard Nixon was still a dogged but doomed loser. In short, predicting the direction of American poli- tical campaigns holds about as much water as each day's long-term weather bureau forecast. TOMORROW: The Democratic contenders A 4 I. Freedom versus the draft WHILE MANY MEN bad good reason to rejoice when they heard their draft lottery numbers yesterday, there are still those for whom the next year and a half will be characterized by uncer- tainty and fear. Though it is likely that very few men will be drafted this year and next, the basic evil of unnecessarily denying peo- ple their liberty remains, as long as any men are forced to enter military service. In court cases dealing with govern- ment surveillance of individuals, courts have ruled that the state must show an "overriding interest," such as an interest in national security, in order to abridge any of the freedoms, human or civil, that are guaranteed us as Americans or hu- man beings. Cannot the same principle of "overrid- ing interest" be applied to the draft, for what is a more fundamental freedom than thefreedom of personal self-deter- mination? Editorial Staff ROBERT KRAFTOWITZ Editor JIM BEATTIE DAVE CHUDWIN Executive Editor Managing Editor RICK PERLOFF ......Associate Editorial Page Editor PAT MAHONEY ... Assistant Editorial Page Editor LARRY LEMPERtT....... Associate Managi~ng Editor LYNN WEINER Associate Managing Editor ANITA CRONE ........................Arts Editor JIM IRWIN...................Associate Arts Editor ROBERT CONROW .................Books Editor JANET FREY .. ............... .Personnel Director TERRY McCARTHY..............Photography Editor NIGHT EDITORS: Pat Bauer, Rose Sue Berstein, Lindsay Chaney, Mark Dillen, Sara Fitzgerald, TanmyJacobs, Alan Lenhoff, Arthur Lerner, Hes- ter Pulling, Robert Schreiner, W.E. Schrock, Geri Sprung. USING THE PRINCIPLE of "overriding interest" in national security, the country can only commit as many troops as can be raised by recruiting when the national security is not at stake. In such cases, the military need is not great enough to balance the affront to individual freedoms. The present world situation would fit ,into this category-our present military commitments are not essential to na- tional security. In terms of American troops in Europe, present and past administra- tions have argued the necessity to help protect Western Europe from the threat of Soviet invasion. This is based on the assumption that the. countries of Western Europe cannot sufficiently defend themselves or deter an invasion without massive A.merican support present at all times even though the, world war has been over for more than 25 years and those countries have made fantastic strides toward rehabili- tation. Of course, the main rationale for drafting men in the past few years has been the Indochina War. However, it, is doubtful that our support for military dictatorships such as South Vietnam is essential to the national security of the United States. INDEED, THE ONLY circumstances that would constitute a threat to na- tional security would be either a direct attack or an attack on a neighbor that would have a clear and direct damaging effect on this country. Even if a legitimate interest in main- taining large troop levels in Europe and rK4 f' - "",, . " --t !141' +" . _ _ 7r v "It's quite simple ... if devaluation works, a Republican gets the credit . . . if it fails, a Democrat is responsible!" Winding Down the War 4 Letters: On the Cheryl Clark hearing To The Daily: HOW'S THAT AGAIN? Jan Bene- detti's editorial, (Daily, Feb. 1) says of the new complaint p r o- cedure under which the C h e r y 1 Clark case is now being consider- ed: "If Clark's charges are again rejected, the case could end in federal court, thus proving once again that the University is un- able to handle its own deficien- cies." Does that mean that the arbi- Polly Warner which appeared in your January 27, 1972 issue points up the confusion which probably exists in the minds of most peo- ple regarding the upcoming citi- zen advisory vote on the city in- come tax. Ms. Warner indicates that we will be asked to vote on a one per- cent income tax accompanied by the 7.5 mill reduction in property taxes. That is not the wording (nor likely the intent) of the many reasons why a city income tax should not be enacted at this time, the purpose of my letter is to make clear that the electorate is not being asked to support a one percent city income tax but rather to give City Council the power to enact whatever tax rate the state permits without having to come back to the citizens for further approval. If the referendum question is passed by voters who understand President Robert Knauss (Daily, Jan. 21) describes him as a "satis- factory though not an outstanding, vice-president." The editorial then goes on to discuss the difficulties surrounding his position, and his performance despite those difficul- ties, in terms which would seem to me to add up to his having been outstanding. Indeed, the editorial itself concludes that he has "serv- ed well . . . a pleasant surprise." I agreed that he has served well papers realize the implications of the meticulous file which they keep so as to avoid duplications? It is inconceivable to me that a student would allow information of this kind about himself to be In a file which has such potential for blackmail. Talk about data banks! Prof. Bernard A. Galler Computer and Communi., cation Sciences and Mathematics