Eleanor McGovern: A lively politician
By MERYL GORDON
NEW YORK
0 W! I tried to duck as the
subway swerved and a cam-
era man swung into me, his_
camera hitting me hard in the
head. No sooner did he recov-
er himself, than another enter-
prising photographer, angling
for a shot, fell into my lap . . .
all of this with maybe 25 to 40
-people crammed into a single
subway car trying to photo-
graph Sen. George McGovern
and his wife, Eleanor, who were
taking a morning subway ride
Tuesday, the day of the New
York primary.
I landed across from the Mc-
Governs when we all crammed
into the subway, and thus risk-
ed danger to various parts of
my anatomy as the camera men
tried to snap new and different
shots of them.
It was the first day that
Eleanor McGovern had appear-
ed in New York with the Sena-
tor, and in the odd moments
when I could peer out between
legs, arms and cameras, I tried
to get a glimpse of her.
My musings were interrupted
brusquely. "All the McGovern
party out" boomed a voice over
the loud speaker. We all push-
ed out of the car onto the plat-
form only to hear 'in sorry, all
the McGovern party must re-
turn." This time, I tried to sit
on the other side of the sub-
way, and along came Ms. Mc-
Govern and sat down next to
me! Maybe I could interview
her ...
FOR THE next few hours. al-
though I enjoyed the first class
plus luxury of the plane, and a
whirlwind trip through N e w
Orleans, I was getting myself
primed for the interview. Ques-
tions ran through my head; the
adrenalin flowed wildly, I had
to borrow a tape recorder. Fin-
ally, back on the plane, I went
lip for my interview, only to find
Ms. McGovern sleeping. Her
press aid told ine that now
wasn't good, I'd have to wait .. .
maybe tomorrow.
Disappointed and relieved, I
joined the rest of the drinking
press, having two gin and tonics
and floating back into the haze,
when Ms. McGovern's aide ran
up and said "She wants to talk
to you now." NOW! Grabbing my
tape recorder, pen and pencil
and questions, I rushed to the
front of the plane. She was sit-
ting in the front seat, looking
relaxed, and I could barely hear
her over the roar of the piane.
VERY FRIENDLY, very will-
ing to talk, Ms. McGovern ech-
oed many of her husband's opin-
ions. A true politician, she re-
frained from being very opinion-
ated and gave cautious answers
to my questions.
On abortion, she said, "I don't
think it's something that t h e
federal government can do any-
thing about. I think it's where it
should be, in the states. People
at a local level should be able
to find a solution that's satis-
fying to them. There's -ao one
answer".
In reference to Sen. H,rtrert
Humphrey's recent attacks on
her husband, she coimented, "I
think it's a move of despera-
tion. He feels it's his last
chance for the presidency -.
he's run twice before. It doesn't
seem like the Hubert H u m -
phrey I've known for m a n y
years. So many of the things
he's been saying about my hus-
band, he knows better. It's very
distressing."
MS. McGOVERN'S major con-
cern is child and infant devel-
opment, and she has been speak-
ing to that concern across the
country in these past eight
months of campaigning.
"I think the only way we're
really going to bring about tre-
mendous change for this coun-
try is by helping our babies, by
creating a stimulating loving en-
vironment for them so they can
learn, so that they may become
whole human beings." I would
like to be the White House child-
ren's advocate."
Ms. McGovern has been in
touch with Democratic politics
for a long time. Her father,
Earl Stegeberg was Democratic
says. "If nothing else, it's been
a wonderful education for me.
Marvelous things are happening
in local communities . . . in talk-
ling local problems. There's a
lot of creative thinking going
on in grass roots America."
In the last few weeks of the
campaign, security has b e e n
very tight around the McGov-
erns. Eleanor McGovern says,
however, that they have not "liv-
ed in fear" of an assassin. "Well,
of course. we did think about it.
I did as soon as the tragedy
developed for Gov. Wallace, but
its something that one doesn't
dwell on. You just can't live in
fear, and we don't."
County Chairman of their area IN THE middle of our conver-
in South Dakota. She met her sation, the pilot interrupted to
husband in high school, when tell us we'd be landing soon in
they debated against each other' New York. There, she was to
. . . she won. rush to change, quickly attend a
dinner, and then join her hus-
She attended Dakota Wesleyan band and daughter Terry at the
University, in business school victory party.
along with George McGovern, Rus
whom she married shortly af- hing, moving, going on to
ter the beginning of World War the next agenda item. But for
II the moment, in the last few
. minutes of the airplane ride, she
InS. McGO ERN' campaign- was calm, relaxed - and op-
, timistic about her chances of be-
been doing alone, has given her ing our country's "first Ms."
a broader view of America, she next fall.
NIGHT EDITOR: CHRIS PARKS
NIGHT EDITOR: PAUL TRAVIS
EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR: ROSE SUE BERSTEIN
ASSISTANT NIGHT EDITOR: MERYL GORDON
PHOTO TECHNICIAN: DAVID MARGOLICK
Letters to The Daily
To The Daily:
THIS LETTER speaks about war research in
the city and how most of us must share the
responsibility for it. I admit that I am among
those who have a greater responsibility because
between 1956 when I graduated from engineering
school and 1965 when I decided I could in con-
science no longer work on war research, I work-
ed on war research projects at the University,
at Bendix Systems Division here and at Conduc-
tron Corporation.
There is a responsibility which City Council.
local corporations, and the administrators and
Regents of the University, as well as citizens here
and throughout the State must face up to, that
is, responsibility for condoning and abeting the
continuing role of the University and spmo-ff
local corporate enterprises in the automated de-
struction of Southeast Asia and its peoples.
Most of the war research here concerns some-
thing called "remote sensing of the environ-
ment", a technology in which the University and
local corporations are probably pre-eminent in
the country. For the most part "remote sen-
ing" research here is done for the Pentagon or
ing" research here is done for the Pentagon or a
mote sensing is destruction for thousands oft
human beings. As the eyes and ears of tie auto-
mated battlefield and the air war it means
destruction of people, animals, plants, and land
in Southeast Asia.'
At the May 17 public hearing before C i t y
Council on the air war and local war research,
philosophy Prof. Frithjof Bergmann charged that
"standing by in silence cripples our souls." I
would add to that and say that if we here eon-
tinue to accept the profits of silence and inac-
tion we sell our soul as well.
AT WHAT price do we sell the -oul of our
community and our University? Is the pisice for
some of us political support and donations of the
developers of these devices? Is the price t he
good esteem of war profiteers? Is the price
the approval of their supporters? For those
among us who are war research workers, is it
the paycheck we collect or a feeling of achieve-
ment when one of our devices is added to the
arsenal?
What we have been doing and allowing to be
done in our city and in our University is a hid-
eous sin against humanity. We must begin to
atone for that sin.
We must insist that the administrators of our
University and our Regents cease their efforts
to destroy the Ann Arbor anti-war movement
and instead :help to dig a lasting memorial bomb
crater on the University Diag as an act of atone-
ment for developing the sensors used in de-
stroying Southeast Asia.
We must ask the State Legislature to do
whatever is in their power to forbid the use of
any state facilities for war research.
We must demand that City Council members
face their responsibility as elected officials with
legal powers and pass ordinances which recog-
nize that war research violates the public good
and which declare production or sale of any
goods or services within the city to destroy or
impair human or animal life or property in
Southeast Asia to be a public nuisance.
WE WHO are against the war in Southearst
Asia must withhold our own votes, campaign
funds, and electoral campaign support from any
council candidates who refuse to vote for strong
anti-war resolutions and ordinances having legal
power.
-David Gordon
Ann Arbor Coalition to End the War
June 19
"Sergeant, just classify this as 'protective
reaction' strike against hostile enemy
action and military building .. .
Any questions?"