Trappings of Confidence

From the very beginning of his 1952 campaign, Bob Taft has used the bandwagon theme: Republicans everywhere want Taft; Taft is ahead; Taft can't lose. The purpose of this tried but not necessarily true strategy is to influence delegates who want, above all, to be riding the winning horse. Last week, with the Republican Convention only a fortnight away, Taft & Co. were playing the confidence theme like a name band at sign-off time, trilling the high notes and thundering the lows.

Magnanimous Bob. Candidate Taft put on the benign air of a man who has already won the decision, and is just waiting until it is made official. Fighting Bob became magnanimous Bob; he was quicker to smile, less inclined to the harsh word, and seemed to feel a little sorry for his Republican opponents. Now & then a slight sneer flitted across his face, but on the whole he was a much more appealing television personality than the Fighting Bob of the last six months, who often looked ready to eat the microphone.

In one smooth New York television show, Taft had friendly reporters on hand to bring up the right subjects and comely "Belles for Bob" to introduce well-rehearsed members of the audience. Eisenhower, said Taft, was coming around nicely to the Taft views on domestic policy, although he really didn't seem to understand the Taft-Hartley law. Asked about Ike's request for farm editors' help to learn about farm policy, Taft chuckled: "I've been educated for some 15 years on farm policy." Later, he took a swat at the farm editors. "My own opinion of the editors isn't that high," he said.

Same Bob. On another television show, a humble Taft talked about what kind of President he would be. Said he: "I would like to be able to go on living a normal American life with the same friends I have always had, with as many of my former associates as possible, and without kidding myself that I am any different from what I have always been."

As for delegates, he couldn't think of "a single one that General Eisenhower has gained." He counted 56 he had picked up since Ike came home, and offhand made a surprising claim: "he already has about 603 or 604 delegates" (needed for nomination: 604). The only question left, said bland Bob Taft, is whether to shoot the works and take the nomination on the first ballot or hold back for a while. As he talked, neutral polls gave him about 470 delegates.

Taft did not answer the obvious question: Why, with the presidential nomination in his hand, should a candidate play cat & mouse with it? Nor did he make any reference to the recent history of such shows of confidence. In 1948, on the eve of the Republican Convention balloting, Bob Taft called a press conference and told newsmen: "The Dewey blitz has been stopped."

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