The Challenger Within

It is March 14, 1972. California Congressman Paul McCloskey, campaigning against Richard Nixon's policy of unrestricted air strikes in Indochina, has just captured 40% of the vote in New Hampshire's G.O.P. primary. Hardly has a celebration begun at McCloskey headquarters when a hush falls over the room: the President appears on nationwide television announcing a total cessation of the bombing and an early date for the withdrawal of all remaining U.S. troops in Viet Nam.

In pursuit of this unlikely vision, Paul ("Pete") McCloskey, 43, has begun tilting at the windmills. Just returned from a fact-finding mission in Indochina, he starts this week as a guest on Face the Nation, then skims from an antiwar rally in Providence to the main protest event in Washington, D.C. He is also due to testify before a Senate subcommittee hearing on Indochinese refugees. A serious, tough-minded opponent of the war, he has flatly asserted that he is going to challenge Nixon in the primaries unless the President stops the bombing and accelerates the pace of withdrawal. As yet, the threat is still somewhat guarded; McCloskey is admittedly reluctant to so engage the President, and he has paved the road to New Hampshire with a long series of "ifs."

There is, of course, the McCarthy precedent for such a challenge. But unlike McCarthy, McCloskey is not necessarily seeking the presidency. "I would not expect to win. I have neither the background nor the training," he demurs. Nor is he much interested in precipitating a "dump Nixon" movement. More likely, he hopes that by a good showing in the New Hampshire primary, or even the threat of one, he can embarrass the President into ending the war.

Five Attempts. The challenge is all the stronger because it comes from an unlikely source. A Navy veteran, McCloskey volunteered for the Marines during the Korean War and won the Silver Star, the Purple Heart and the Navy Cross in combat as a second lieutenant. Elected to Congress in 1967 on a mild antiwar platform, outpolling among others Shirley Temple Black, he has been a supporter of the President on domestic issues.

Only on the war has McCloskey been out of step with the Administration; he has been a consistent dove in the pro-war House. Aides date his change of outlook to 1966, when a close friend returned from Viet Nam seriously wounded. McCloskey's first reaction was to attempt to return to active duty as a Marine officer and serve in Viet Nam. When he was turned down, he entered a period of deep introspection and re-examination of his attitudes toward the war. The result has been an ever growing commitment to withdrawal.

McCloskey is greatly upset by what he believes to be the stepped-up use of firepower in the war, by the notion that "somehow we can save face by killing more Cambodian,Vietnamese and Laotian civilians." He does not accuse the Administration of falsification of the facts on the war, but of "willful deception of the American people" by the selective disclosure of facts. An old friend of Presidential Assistant John Ehrlichman, he has five times attempted to communicate his feelings to the President, once in a hand-delivered letter. He was a House co-author of the bill repealing the Tonkin Gulf resolution. Last fall, having lost faith in both personal appeal and legislative action, he decided on a primary challenge as the only remaining means of influencing the President to end the war. He also drew wide attention when he endorsed discussion of impeachment as a justifiable means "to bring home to the President the depths of despair" over Viet Nam.

Not Bad Ratings. His party's attitude toward McCloskey has been to pretend he isn't there. Says G.O.P. National Committee Chairman Robert Dole coyly: "I haven't heard of him. How do you spell that last name? McWhat? We really don't have much dealing with him. This is the Republican National Committee." But the posturing is unconvincing; the lesson of the 1968 Democratic primary in New Hampshire is not lost on G.O.P. strategists.

Comparisons to McCarthy, though, can be misleading. While sharing McCarthy's sincerity and distaste for demagoguery, the squarejawed, handsome McCloskey is more Kennedyesque in appeal. The father of four, he is a dedicated conservationist and at least once a year tries to head for Jackson Hole, Wyo., or the High Sierra for backpacking and fishing. He comes across well on television. After his 1967 race, McCloskey took a poll. It showed that of the people who had voted for him, only 5% did so because they knew his views and agreed with them, while 84% admitted they had no idea of his background or ideas but voted for him because he "appeared to be sincere and honest on television." Not bad ratings against Shirley Temple.

No One Better. It is still too early to assess McCloskey's chances of mounting an effective primary campaign. Money is a problem, although such diverse financial angels as New York Philanthropist Stewart Mott, California's Norton Simon and Cleveland Industrialist Cyrus Eaton have expressed interest in his campaign. He has received more than 30,000 letters of support from across the country, but realistically admits that it will take a much greater groundswell to put him across.

McCloskey still hopes that the President will change his mind on Viet Nam, that he will get out more quickly, that he will "come up with a startling new initiative." He would also prefer that someone else make the run. But as to his determination there is little doubt. "You're damned right you'll see me up in New Hampshire next year," he says. "If Nixon doesn't change and no one else better does it, I'll be there. I like those mountains."

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