Page Four THE MICHIGAN DAILY Tuesday, May 18, 1 976 Page Four THE MICHIGAN DAILY Tuesday, May 18, 1976 'Mo' Udall: Warm, effusive contender This sn/sr isi isis condu/csed iby Dil( s/aff Sri/sr Phiis, 11/sipB(kri o. DAIlY: YOU SEEM TO BE CONCENTRAT- ING ALL YOUR EFFORTS HERE IN MICHI- GAN. WHAT MAKES YOU THINK YOU CAN WIN HERE? Udall: I've been waiting for a long time to get ('arter one-on-one. Ile's never yet won any state by .5o per cent against major opposition. We inst bad too many candidates in Pennsyl- vania. Jackson had 25 (per cent) and I had 18 (per cent) and he (Carter) had 37 (per cent). Jackson's vote and mine were more than his. Michigan isn't an ideal state for me, but it's the first one where there isn't the distraction of a lot of other candidates. Where you really have a two-man contest I've always felt I could do well. In Connecticut, the governor was. with Jackson who again siphoned off a pretty good chtnk of the vote, and with any bit of luck with that Jackson vote I would have been the winner there. So you can't pick and choose your places and Michigan isn't an ideal place because of what some of the establishment in organized labor are doing to me. But it's the best crack I've got one-on-one at this closing phase of the campaign so I'm going all out here and I think my msessoge is beginning to get across. DAILY: IF YOU LOSE IN MICHIGAN WILL YOU QUIT THE RACE? IT SEEMS TO ME YOU'LL BE COMPLETELY OUT OF FUNDS? Udalt: No. No you're dead wrong. I'm going to the ensd. The end is 25 days from now. It's one thing to end a campaign when there are fsur other candidates articulating your point of view. It's one thing for Birch Bayh to drop out when we still had five liberal candidates (in the race). It's quite another thing to say to millions of Democrats, progressive Democrats in Ohio, New Jersey, C'aliornia, 'you don't count. There isn't anybody you can vote for who's carrying the banner' and I feel an obligation to do that (carry the banner). I've come this far in two years, I'm not about to quit with twenty days to go, which is where I'll be Wednesday. I feel a real obligations to keep Carter's feet to the fire. If he's going to be the nominee, and I don't think he is yet, we ought to find out who he is and where he comes from and what he stands for and I'm going to force him to take stands on issues. So, there's something very con- structive here. I expect to be at the convention with the second highest number of delegates. I've passed Scoop Jackson. Now, anything can happen in sixty days. It's been a crazy year and I'm going to see this through to the end. Michi- gan is a proportional representation state. There isn't any outcome you imagine that's not going to give me a big chunk of delegates. So I can get delegates in Ohio, I can get them in New Jersey, I can get delegates in California. I'm going to be in all those places. DAILY: WHY DO YOU THINK THIS IS THE YEAR FOR ANTI-WASHINGTON CANDIDATES LIKE JIMMY CARTER AND RONALD REA- GAN? Udall: This is all very superficial. If you ask people if they hate Washington, they'll say yes. It turns out most of it is anti-Nixon (anti-) Ag- new disillusionment. People are not against their own government. They're against the govern- ment that's crooked and unresponsive and waste- ful and these kinds of things. You ask people if they'll support a government headed by some- one they can believe, (someone) that's going to break up oil companies, guarantee people jobs, give them health insurance, (and) do something about conglomerates that export American jobs (and) they'll say yes. I think my campaign is not to dismantle government, but to make it work. I think there's a majority out there for still think is a majority of the party. DAILY: DO YOU THINK THE PROGRES- SIVE WING OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY IS LOSING POWER? WILL THEY SUPPORT CARTER IF HE IS THE NOMINEE OR WILL THEY DEFECT TO GENE McCARTHY? Udall: I don't see major defections. I think the thing you might see is a lack of enthusiasm, which can sometimes be as bad. I'm beginning to see cynicism among the liberals in the party. That's why I think it's important that I stay in and provide a voice and an outlet for what I still hink is a majority of the party. DAILY: SO YOU DON'T SEE THE PRO- GRESSIVES LOSING POWER WITHIN THE PARTY? Udall: No, I think they're still a majority and I think I can still get the nomination if we can See UDALL, Page 5 Cross-over voting: A different view By TIM SCHICK The candidates in the Michigan primary have been busily telling us the strategic importance of this election. Unlike 1972, when the fledgling Michigan primary had little significance, this year it could determine the nominations of both parties later this summer. Because of the importance placed on today's election it is vital that the public cast its vote in a way which will have the greatest impact on the conventions and the election - by voting for Ronald Reagan. On the Democratic side it seems clear that despite the number of candidates competing, Jimmy Carter and Hubert Humphrey have the best chance of capturing the nomination. With over half the delegates already selected, a vote for anyone but front-runner Carter is a vote for Hubert Humphrey. Carter is surely a better choice than Humphrey. It must be remembered that the Minnesota Senator had his chance in 1968 and lost. Carter, while less than candid on some issues, appears to be a worthy alternative to other Democrats. Casting ones vote today for Ronald Reagan could do considerable damage to the Republican party. President Ford is running scared. If he loses his home state, or wins by only a narrow margin, the Republican conven- tion could be transformed into a messier battleground than the Democratic fiasco four years ago Regardless of te winner, the Republican party could be sufficiently weakened to the point that the Democrats could breeze to victory in Nosember. If Ford survives the convention it would be clear that he lacks the full nup- port of his own party, making it even more difficult for him to find the votes needed to be elected. On the other hand a Reagan nomination will saddle the Republicans with an extreme candidate, of the Harry Goldwater brand, Political purists might be repulsed by the cross-over strategy. However, it offers an opportunity to seat a Demo- cratic president. Regardless of the candidate, there are some basic differences betsween the Democrats and the Republicans which stunt be remembered. The Democrats will offer a far better economic and human services pro- gram than any Republican will suggest. Hy voting for Reagan, a weak Republican party and a strong Democratic party is possible. And while we may not see ar first choice win the nomination, eight years of Republican obstruction in the White House is long enough. Tim Sihick is the Summer Co-editor-in-chief of the Daily. Letters to The Daily T/I (e/r Of ise('1d iMsnt experience. A Udall administra- for rtri IU:da?? ias prepsti I stion would not be content with for (151 252. Ih5eIs:ricl Wr ii tibusiness as usual," with let- tng things ride, with coasting -ri of 'iWa/sh/e na ts/og on charisma and vague -good-will: it would be an activ- ist administration, concerned with putting people to work, To The Daily: and with extending the legal 'heMichigantsrimisarytrillh sand economic benefits enjoyed a crucial test for the candidacy my'thenmore fortn.te ssoevery of Morris Udall and for the senser if society. cause of liberalism in general. Face it: the two are indissolubly le rsulnp do this by the in- linked ts.gether st this stage of tssediaite inceptinsoif federal kthe g ee; no chansce of a new works projects, by fighting for fice stampeding itnsfruoit lef the repeal of "right to work" field. Unless eery liberal-mied- laws, by the creation of a Con- ed person in she state lines up ss1mer Protection Agency, by behind Udall, it will mean that enacting a program of national the victory, and perhaps the health insurance. Right now, Democratic nomination, will go America lags behind the rest to Timmy Carter, who has re- of the sorld in the enjoyment fused to say in plain English of thesemand other measures. what he would do as President 'ingressman Udall believes that and who has tried to idealize or me ought to lead the way in ensver sip his own conservative iuman rights issues, and that record. It osld mean that ev- we should mold our own future erv left-of-center voter will be rather than "reacting" blindly virtually disenfranchised in the to every act of God or man that November election - a possibili- might befall us. In this sense ty with tragic consequences. his program is an optimistic, Congressman Udall stands on ggressive onetthat is diametri- his record. He has been the con- ceptance of "a world he never sistent advocate of every pro- made" of President Ford or the gressive policy in his fifteen folksy evasions of Governor Car- years u >Congress, regardlessof ter. its popularity at the timae. He offers a program for America So much in this presidential that is based on that record and campaign depends upon keeping one's judgment clear. The Mich igan primary, if it is lost at all, will be lost through the acts of people who may know better, who believe that Udall is preferable to Carter, but who will nevertheless find them- selves voting for "Jimmy" against their judgment, almost against their will. They have been lulled or seduced into the belief that Carter's election will bring about another "era of good feeling," a combination of Camelot and a revivalist camp- meeting. This is infantile think- ing. We live in a world that forces decisions upon us, and one of these decisions will be whether we elect as President a man who offers a smile and a security blanket-"homespun" on Madison Avenue - or a man with the mental eqtuipment, background and honesty this country so badly needs. Carter or Udall. For once we voters of Michi- gan have the chance to make a real choice, to assert our free- dom against the cynical dictates of media men and clever poli- ticians. Wewill have only our- selves to blame if, one cold day in November, we wake up to find that our only choice for President is between two fatu- ous grins. So pull that voting lever for Udall. Ted Mackenne