Nixon Campaigns for His Presidency

I realized I had to take my case to the people and convince them of my honesty and integrity.

From Paris, France, to Xenia, Ohio, to Bad Axe, Mich., Richard Nixon last week took his own advice, as set forth in the Six Crises description of how he defused the 1952 uproar over his political slush fund. This time, his counteroffensive was against the gathering danger of his impeachment, and the peripatetic President's message to the American public was that despite Watergate he was still greatly respected and needed abroad, and could still be welcomed and on top of things at home. But his travels provided Nixon with no more than a brief respite from the pressures of Watergate and impeachment. Nor could his activity hide the fact that beneath the surface calm, he has been deeply affected by them. He often seemed subdued, yet at times he was unusually euphoric.

In Paris, where he had journeyed to join in a memorial service for President Georges Pompidou, his exuberance led to a series of small, yet embarrassing gaffes. Obviously cheered by the friendly throngs that surrounded him whenever he appeared in public, the President at one point declared that it was "a great day for France." In fact, it was a national day of mourning. At the U.S. embassy, Nixon startled British Prime Minister Harold Wilson by enthusiastically grabbing his face with both hands, Italian "good-ta-see-ya" style. Then, motioning toward a blonde woman in Wilson's entourage, the President asked: "Is that the one we've been hearing about?" It was an obvious and tactless reference to Wilson's private secretary, Marcia Williams, who has been implicated in a land speculation deal that threatens to scandalize Britain (see THE WORLD). An approximate equivalent would be Wilson asking: "Is that the one who erased the tape?" Afterward, Wilson murmured to an aide: "This might have helped Nixon, but I'm not sure what it did for me."

Before Nixon left Washington, Deputy Press Secretary Gerald Warren said that substantive talks with the foreign leaders assembled in Paris for Pompidou's wake would be "inappropriate." But meetings were requested by six visiting government leaders (among them Wilson, West German Chancellor Willy Brandt and Soviet President Nikolai Podgorny), and Nixon naturally enough honored the requests. The meetings offended some French sensibilities. Complained Le Monde in an editorial: "It was a President under reprieve who stole the show from a dead President." Nonetheless, his aides pointed to the sessions as evidence that world leaders look on Nixon as vital in foreign affairs. Said Chief of Staff Alexander Haig: "A viable presidency is a cornerstone of world security."

Plainly Shaken. Nixon was scarcely home before he took to the road again. On Tuesday, he flew to the Ohio farming town of Xenia, which had been virtually destroyed by a tornado the previous week. For 2 1/2 hours, he toured the devastated area by helicopter and by car, and was plainly shaken. "In terms of destruction, just total devastation, this is the worst I have seen," he said. He ordered Administration officials to cut through the red tape and speed aid to rebuild the town. "Within a matter of two or three years," he promised, "you are going to find Xenia back on its feet, better than ever."

The next day Nixon was in rural Michigan, campaigning for a Republican candidate for Congress, James Sparling Jr. He had asked for Nixon's help at a time when polls showed him running well behind Democrat Robert Traxler. By last week, however, Sparling was not so far behind and was calling his invitation a challenge to Nixon "to get out of the White House and face the people." He even went so far as to issue a statement that greatly embittered White House aides. It said in part: "The shadow of guilt now hangs over the President of the U.S."

A week of work by presidential advancemen in the traditionally Republican district underscored the importance Nixon placed on the political outing--for himself. The White House had talked such reluctant Republican leaders as Governor William Milliken and Senator Robert Griffin into greeting the President on his arrival at Tri-City Airport, though neither helped him do any campaigning the rest of the day. Advancemen also had laid out a 57-mile motorcade route that passed through a dozen communities but carefully avoided the main population centers of Saginaw and Bay City, both Democratic strongholds.

In Bad Axe, Cass City and Sandusky, Nixon drew crowds far larger than the towns' populations (all under 3,000). For the most part, the reception was friendly, though not enthusiastic. There were some hostile placards (among them: IMPEACH THE CROOK and CAPONE GOT 10 YEARS) but many more pro-Nixon demonstrators, including a group that chanted, "God loves the President." Then it was back to Washington, a change of suitcases, and off to his Key Biscayne home for the Easter weekend.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so viewer discretion is required.