Replotting Muskie

It could have been a wake. But Ed Muskie, fresh from a morning round of golf, managed to be relaxed and good-humored as he faced nine of his top advisers at his Bethesda, Md., home last week to try to rescue his foundering candidacy. Said he: "I'm here to listen, so say what you want to say."

They certainly did. Iowa Senator, Harold Hughes, complained about the lack of campaign leadership. Former Senator, Albert Gore, urged concentration on the nonprimary states, with curtailed campaigning for the April 25 primaries in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. Berl Bernhard, Muskie's campaign chief, also advocated bypassing the rest of the primaries except for California with its winner-take-all 271 delegates.

Senator Tom Eagleton, of Missouri, and longtime Presidential Adviser, Jim Rowe, who had opposed Muskie's ill-fated effort in Wisconsin, were sunk in gloom over his fourth-place finish there. Clark Clifford had also been against competing in that primary, but his was a voice of optimism still. U.A.W. President Leonard Woodcock, Businessman-Diplomat Sol Linowitz and Muskie's Maine confidant, George Mitchell, added their warnings, suggestions and views to the three-hour discussion that ended with a compromise agreement on new Muskie strategy.

The revised plan is uncomplicated, but represents a sharp departure from Muskie's original scenario. Instead of aiming for as many primary victories as possible, Muskie will from here on out go for the four biggest prizes --Pennsylvania, Ohio, California and New York. While Muskie is on the stump, his staff will go delegate hunting in nonprimary states, bent on picking up a goodly share of the 1,009 convention delegates in those states.

Still, the advisers all agreed that the success of the drive hinges largely on Muskie's performance in Pennsylvania and Ohio. "If he gets his brains knocked out in Pennsylvania, he'll be crippled almost to obliteration," admitted one adviser. The new strategy also calls for a more forceful focus on the issues. There will be considerably less hand pumping at plant gates and in beer halls; instead Muskie will appear on TV interview and telephone talk shows, and limit his speeches to a few selected audiences.

Outwardly at least, his own mood and wit seem to improve with his shrinking prospects. Asked by a TV interviewer last week in Pittsburgh what he would do if George Wallace won the nomination, Muskie replied: "I'd cry."

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