The Polls

The surveys' story sounded both sweet and sour to Barry Goldwater.

Since last summer, Goldwater has steadily lengthened his lead over Nelson Rockefeller in presidential preference polls. Last week the Gallup poll reported that since its last canvass in October, Goldwater has stepped out even farther ahead of Rocky among Republican voters. Michigan's Governor George Romney, too, continued to move up. The statistics among Republicans:

October Now

Goldwater 42% 45%

Rockefeller 26% 23%

Romney 15% 16%

An Associated Press poll found Goldwater the overwhelming favorite among G.O.P. state and county leaders. Of 2,916 Republicans polled, 1,404 answered the survey questions. Of those, 85.1% said they believed that "at present" Goldwater would be the party's strongest candidate in a contest with President Kennedy. Rockefeller garnered but 56 votes, 4% of the total. Asked who they believed would finally be nominated, 64.2% picked Goldwater, 4.6% Rocky.

At week's end Gallup released the results of another poll. Exploring the growing speculation that Richard Nixon may become a candidate, Gallup asked a sampling of Republicans whom they would prefer if the convention choice narrowed to Goldwater and Nixon. Result: Nixon 52%, Goldwater 48%.

Whoever the G.O.P. candidate, predicted doorbell-ringing Pollster Sam Lubell, he would now give President Kennedy a far better run for his money than seemed possible only five months ago. Then, wrote Lubell, "interviewing across the nation pointed to a landslide victory for President Kennedy." Now "the President faces a close election with only a small edge in his favor."

Lubell's explanation: with the easing of cold war tensions, the public now views civil rights strife rather than the struggle with the Soviets as the U.S.'s No. 1 political issue. "Interviews in five Eastern states,* where Kennedy should be at his strongest," wrote Lubell, "show him losing a tenth of his 1960 support--mainly because 'he gives in too much to the Negro.' "

* Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut and Maryland.

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