A NIBBLING PROCESS

BY Richard Nixon's stop watch, it was time to end the qualifying heat and prepare for the marathon ahead. As odds-on favorite for the Republican presidental nomination, he had to give serious consideration to the choice of a running mate. He also set out to polish position papers for the G.O.P. Platform Committee, and write an acceptance speech. For his retreat, he borrowed a white bungalow at California's Newport Beach that resounded all week to pounding waves from the West.

From the East came sounds of persistent pounding at Nixon's delegate support. Some of his staffers admitted that their man had lost about 50 delegate votes in the past few weeks. They still believe, however, that he will get at least 700 on the first ballot, 33 more than needed for nomination. North Carolina, once counted as solid for Nixon, went soft, may go for a favorite son. In the Midwest, there were signs of a slight shift toward Nelson Rockefeller. In the South, Ronald Reagan was having a visible effect.

Nonendorsements. Four weeks ago, TIME correspondents surveyed the commitments and inclinations of the 1,333 G.O.P. delegates. The indication then was that Nixon could expect 688 first-ballot votes, or 21 more than necessary for the nomination (TIME, July 5). A recheck last week showed a slight erosion of that strength and enough uncertainty in some states to put a first-ballot nomination in question.

Illinois Senator Charles Percy came out for Rockefeller, and while his state's delegation is still regarded as predominantly pro-Nixon, the Percy-Rockefeller rapprochement* had psychological repercussions. There were three gubernatorial nonendorsements. James Rhodes of Ohio, Spiro Agnew of Maryland and George Romney of Michigan hung loose. The three states have 132 votes among them with enough Nixon sentiment to settle matters. As long as they remain even nominally neutral, however, Rockefeller and Reagan operatives can keep pleading elsewhere.

Agnew said he did not expect to be nominated as a favorite son, indicating that his delegation would break before the convention opens on Monday. The Rockefeller camp believes Rhodes will hold out for a couple of ballots. Romney, once Rockefeller's ally, said none of the three prospects appealed to him. As for his convention role, the Michigander said that he expected "to be in the midst of the conflict with words that are true and action that is right, even if not understood at the time."

No Time to Decipher. Neither Rockefeller nor Reagan could afford the time to try to decipher that Romneyism. They were too busy dominating attention at the National Governors' Conference in Cincinnati and bustling about the delegate circuit. Rockefeller's people continued to boast about his poll showings. Louis Harris' latest showed Rockefeller leading Hubert Humphrey by three points while Nixon trails by two. They also circulated a Pennsylvania poll indicating that Rockefeller could carry the state while Nixon could not. Nixon retaliated with poll findings from California, Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, Florida, New Jersey, Missouri and Pennsylvania that showed Nixon beating Humphrey and George Wallace in each state except Michigan, where Humphrey's lead was less than half of 1%. Nixon also maintained his strength among rank-and-file Republicans, who, according to the latest Gallup poll, prefer him to Rockefeller, 60% to 23%.

Since announcing his candidacy April 30, Rockefeller has traveled 65,000 miles and visited 45 states. He was still on the wing last week, courting Romney in Cincinnati and taking side trips to mingle with convention delegates from North Carolina, Kansas, Missouri and Rhode Island, insisting all the while that the convention is still open.

Tourist Findings. If Rockefeller should perform the miracle of stopping Nixon, he might just be delivering the prize to Reagan. The Californian--as well as a good many other Republicans --believes that he, not Rockefeller, stands to inherit most of Nixon's votes if Nixon falters. "It is inconceivable to me," Reagan told Southern delegates in Birmingham, "that anyone who would support Dick Nixon or me could support Nelson Rockefeller."

As an unofficial candidate, Reagan has not recently been matched against the competition in any of the nationwide polls. His political travels hitherto have been ostensibly to help the party raise money. Now he is becoming a little less covert. Nixon has been counting on solid support from Kentucky, but each of the 24 delegates asked to have his picture taken with Reagan last week. After Reagan left the meeting, several delegates asked the Governor's strategist, F. Clifton White--who helped swing the nomination to Barry Goldwater four years ago--how they could get out of their commitments to Nixon. White suggested that they switch to a favorite-son candidate.

Despite Reagan's disclaimer that he will become a candidate only when nominated as a favorite son, White and other aides have been canvassing delegates for some time. "You can't call this a campaign," insists a Reagan hand who has been working out of Miami Beach. "We're just a couple of guys traveling around. All we're doing is gathering information." The conclusion based on these tourist findings is that while most Republican delegates like Nixon, their affection does not always outweigh the fear that he might not win. In the South and parts of the West particularly, the only place for conservative Republicans to go from Nixon is to Reagan.

In one respect, this leaves Nixon where he has always wanted to be: in the center, standing for unity among the party's factions. It also produces an air of suspense and interest about the convention, which is better for Nixon and the party than a foregone conclusion would be. But as the nibbling process from both sides continues, it is still possible, however remotely, that Nixon's bastion in the middle will come under siege next week in Miami Beach.

* The two had been cool since 1964 when Percy, the G.O.P. gubernatorial candidate and a liberal, came out for Barry Goldwater before the convention in deference to Illinois' Republican leaders.

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