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APRIL 1, 1N8New Campaign Strategy Unveiled in 1968Campaign strategy by the two major political parties is at variance with that employed in any campaign since 1932.The winning political party in 1968 will be credited with employing the most astute tactics for gaining ascendency in the nation.Under the old formula the Democratic Party captured the Presidency from the beginning of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s four-term tenure until election of LyndonBaines Johnson in 1964 with the exception of the two terms of Dwight D. Eisenhower, popular war figure and Republican candidate.The Roosevelt coalition embraced Southern conservatives, Northern liberals, support from the ranks of labor and the Negro vote.Although the election in 1960 was the closest in national political history, percentagewise, John FitzgeraldKennedy was elected as President on the Democratic Ticket.In 1968, some aspects of the old and successful formula have been cast aside.Although Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey will continue to seek support in the South, he has handed an indicated five Southern states to George C. Wallace, former governor of Alabama.The Republican candidate, Richard M. Nixon, former Vice President, is expected to show strength in the South, although not to the extent of carrying Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia and South Carolina over the former governor of Alabama.Keenly contested by the political parties will be the border states, in which Nixon hopes to make a good showing. This was apparent in his selection of Gov. Spiro T. Agnew of Maryland as his running mate.Classified as a liberal in politics, Humphrey tapped Sen. Edmund S. Muskie of Maine, similarly identified inpolitical philosophy. Both Agnew and Muskie are highly respected by their colleagues.The Democratic battleground seems, therefore, to be the East, the industrial states of the Middle West and, to some extent, the border states.Nixon is centering his campaign on states in the Middle West, the Far West, the border states and several key commonwealths in the East.Extent of the Wallace vote is uncertain. Besides making a strong showing in the South, he will make some inroads in the border states and in several cities in the Middle West in which racial strife has developed.Neither political party is overlooking the possibility that the Wallace candidacy could throw final decision into the U. S. House of Representatives. As a result there is high interest in congressional races. While the Republican Party will be required to win 31 more seats to gain control of the U. S. House of Representatives, this does not guarantee the control of 26 states delegations.How dissentient Democrats at the national convention of the Democratic Party will vote forms a matter of speculation. Both Humphrey and Muskie are seeking to persuade them to return to the fold.In 1964, Lyndon Baines Johnson captured an estimated 94 per cent of the Negro vote. There could be a sizable reduction in the support for the Democrats among Negroes in 1968.Likewise, it appears that labor groups will not be able to exercise the control over members as they have in the past, although most labor chieftains will endorse Humphrey.The campaign in 1968 will be fought less along traditional party lines than in former years.Lurking in the background will be the war in Vietnam, a problem on which there is a wide variance of opinion.One of the prime issues will be whether voters prefer return of this nation to a more conservative type of federal operations.Humphrey can be listed as somewhat left of center. Nixon would be characterized as a little right of crater, although not an arch-conservative. Wallace is keying his speeches to an appeal for a change.Both major political parties embrace members with a widespread variance in viewpoint.It could even happen that the result of the 1968 election would result in a realignment of political parties in the United States.At least, there has been a shift in 1968 of campaign strategy from that during a long period in Americanhistory.
Newspaper Details
Greensburg Daily News
Greensburg, Indiana, US
Wed, Sep 25, 1968
Page 4
Full Page
Clipped by
University O.
MI, USA 10 Jun 2019
Other Publications Near Greensburg, Indiana
Greensburg Review
Greensburg New Era
Greensburg Decatur Press
Greensburg News
Greensburg Daily News and Greensburg Daily Review
