The White House: The President in Motion

FOR several weeks now the President has been personally confronting his problems and his critics in a fashion that has perceptibly lifted spirits in the capital, at least among Republicans. The new mood stems from Nixon's revelation of an impending journey to Peking and his New Economic Policy, generating a momentum he has tried to sustain since then. The pace continued last week, beginning with his flight to Alaska for his meeting with Japan's Emperor Hirohito, which may have slightly soothed that nation's bruised feelings over both Nixon's Peking and economic ventures.

Once back in Washington, Nixon was not content to simmer while Democratic

Senator Edward Kennedy assailed his Administration's ineffectiveness in securing the release of Hanoi-held U.S. prisoners of war at a Washington meeting of P.O.W. relatives. Fully aware of their growing impatience, Nixon boldly went to the meeting (see story, page 21). Nor was Nixon willing to remain aloof from international complaints about his new trade and monetary moves; he gave a White House reception for finance ministers and international bankers attending a monetary conference in Washington. He defended his steps and promised that they do not mean that the U.S. is headed down a path toward economic isolationism (see THE ECONOMY).

Nuclear Accidents. Nixon also moved to improve U.S. relations with the Soviet Union in a two-hour conference with Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko--a session that one participant later termed "more friendly than any previous meeting" between the often dour Gromyko and U.S. officials. The talks ranged the world trouble spots, from the Middle East to the India-Pakistan dispute and to West Berlin. There apparently was little discussion of Nixon's Peking trip or of U.S. involvement in South Viet Nam--two sensitive issues. But both sides expressed optimism about achieving progress in arms limitation when the SALT talks resume next month in Vienna.

That hope was buttressed by the signing of two nuclear control agreements between the U.S. and U.S.S.R. on relatively minor matters that nevertheless indicated a spirit of cooperation. To prevent a nuclear collision that might be based on misunderstanding or accident, the two powers agreed to improve the reliability of the Washington-Moscow hot line by employing communications satellites. They agreed to notify each other of any unauthorized firing of nuclear weapons and to provide advance word of any launching that would take a missile beyond either nation's territory and toward the other's. The U.S. and the Soviet Union also joined in presenting a treaty banning the use of bacteriological weapons and toxins to the United Nations.

Rising Complaints. Besieged from many sources on the type of nominees he should select to fill two vacancies on the Supreme Court--including persistent pressure to name a woman --Nixon quietly pursued his own course. He asked the American Bar Association to give its opinion of the fitness of Virginia Representative Richard H. Poff, despite rising complaints from civil rights groups and the threat of another Senate nomination fight by Democratic Senator Birch Bayh, who led the successful opposition to Nominees Clement Haynsworth and G. Harrold Carswell. But just as the A.B.A. was about to make its private recommendation to the President, Poff telephoned a Nixon aide and said that he did not wish to have his name considered for the nomination. He noted the charges of "racist" already raised against him and the probability of a Senate battle over confirmation. Poff, whose wife is ill, told House Republican Leader Gerald Ford: "Jerry, I'm just not going to let my family and my name be subjected to that kind of abuse." Actually, Poff was supported by some liberals in the Congress for renouncing any segregationist views, and a White House count revealed that at least 55 Senators would have approved his nomination. Presidential Press Secretary Ronald Ziegler said that Nixon still felt that Poff is "highly qualified" but that he "respects the decision which the Congressman has made."

Earlier, Nixon had attended the funeral of Justice Hugo Black, a jurist whose legal legacy Nixon still apparently hopes to dilute by appointing justices more likely to accept the Administration's arguments on law and order and civil rights issues.

Wrong Note. Jaunty and jovial, Nixon also found time for less weighty matters. He attended a sentimental 75th birthday party for Mamie Eisenhower, where his piano rendition of Happy Birthday sounded only one wrong note. He hosted a retirement party for Douglas Cornell, 65, an Associated Press correspondent who has covered seven Presidents in 43 years of White House assignments. Nixon ribbed his sometimes critical press followers with a backhanded compliment. "When I have to write anything, it's hard work," he said. "That's why I admire newspaper correspondents. You just write off the top of your head."

Nixon's new activism created the feeling in Washington that someone, at least, was in charge. Yet, amid all of the motion, there was also a considerable element of uncertainty. No one is sure that Nixon's economic innovations are working, or what will happen when the freeze ends. With evidence of political upheaval in China, no one knows whether there will even be a Nixon journey to Peking, although planning is proceeding secretly and Peking representatives have conveyed assurance to the U.S. that the trip is unaffected by the present events in China. Also highly uncertain is just what will result from such a meeting, if it does occur. Looming over all of Nixon's activity is the lingering war in Southeast Asia and when the U.S. will finally leave.

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