Bitter, Not Better, Down the Stretch

When Gerald Ford was cleared last week of allegations that he had mishandled congressional campaign funds, the relieved President was moved to express hope that now the campaign would rise "to a level befitting the American people." But the campaign level seems more likely to sink than to soar. With only two weeks remaining, millions of voters are still struggling to make up their minds, and Ford and Jimmy Carter have been trying to win them by focusing with increasing acerbity on each other's character and competence.

At the very televised news conference that he summoned to trumpet Special Prosecutor Charles Ruffs declaration that charges against him were groundless (see following story), the President attacked Carter for having "slandered" the good name of the U.S. in their last debate and repeated his vastly exaggerated claims that Carter, as President, would increase Government spending by at least $100 billion and boost taxes for everyone earning more than $14,000 a year. At almost the same moment, Carter was promising he would "never" boost taxes on wages or salaries, a pledge that could prove tough to keep. Though Carter muted his harsh rhetoric of the previous week, he nonetheless characterized the past two Republican Administrations as "wasteful," "incompetent," "ineffective" and "fuzzy-headed." So much for the high road.

Ford strategists are, in fact, convinced that the President must abandon any above-the-battle posture and more and more make Carter the issue. The polls released last week had Ford trailing by five to eight percentage points, which, if they hold, translate into a Carter landslide. They doubtless reflected news of the previous week--Ford's toughest--marked by the debate loss to Carter and the resignation under fire of Agriculture Secretary Earl Butz.

Eight Blunders. Certainly Ford has been fighting back since then. He virtually hissed Carter's name at a Republican fund raiser in California, urging listeners to "just ask your friends in Georgia about him," and told a Texas audience: "You just can't believe that man." Whistlestopping through Illinois, Ford said: "Jimmy Carter will say anything, anywhere to become President." At another point, he said with extravagant alliteration: "He wanders, he wavers, he waffles and he wiggles." In this week's final debate, Ford is prepared to claim that Carter has had to apologize for no fewer than eight blunders during the campaign, including his "ethnic purity" remark and his suggestion that church properties be taxed. The Ford camp believes his declaration will effectively offset any Carter reference to Ford's gaffe on Eastern Europe.

With the cloud over his personal probity dispersed, Ford's major problem now is the slowdown in the economy. The nervous stock market has dropped 8% in the past three weeks. This week the Government is expected to report that the growth rate in the gross national product slowed to about 4% in the third quarter, down from 9.2% in the first quarter and 4.5% in the second. The Consumer Price Index for September--also due out this week--is expected to show some improvement but with inflation continuing. Ford may well be apprehensive about economic news coming out almost to Election Day; the Index of Leading Indicators will be released on Oct. 29, four days before the voting. Already Ford is haunted by the decline in the real earnings of production workers so far this year. When they have less money in their pockets, workers tend to place the blame on whoever is in the White House.

In blatantly political appeals for the votes of farmers and Jews, the President used the muscle of his office last week. Just before a weekend trip to the farm belt, he ordered grain price supports boosted, despite a declaration 24 hours earlier by a Department of Agriculture senior economist that there was "no economic justification" for any increases. Ford also agreed to the sale of previously prohibited compression bombs and other sophisticated weaponry to Israel, startling State Department and Pentagon experts, who were not consulted. Of course, Carter has pitched for those same votes by calling for increases in the grain price supports and strong military backing for Israel.

A Stir. Ford also faces some embarrassment from comments of his insensitive Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General George Brown. He is quoted in an interview to be published next week as calling Israel "more of a burden than an asset" to the U.S. The gist of his remarks was leaked to newspapers in Israel and has already created a stir there. Brown was interviewed for King Features by Cartoonist-Writer Raanan Lurie. The general got in trouble before, when he ignorantly suggested that Jews control American banks and newspapers and thus exert an undue influence on Government policies.

For Carter, the week had more pluses than minuses. The Democratic National Committee has registered more than 3 million voters in 14 targeted states--twice the goal. The drive's focus was on groups that vote overwhelmingly Democratic: blacks, Hispanic Americans, low-income whites and young people. Registration is up substantially throughout Carter's South. Elsewhere registration drives have been conducted largely by labor unions, black groups and other pro-Carter activists.

Though he has plainly bottomed out after his September slump, Jimmy Carter remains Jimmy Carter's most formidable foe, fully capable of again blowing a lead by new gaffes or by continuing displays of a mean streak that seems strangely at odds with his repeated professions of love and compassion. CBS Commentator Eric Sevareid last week noted Carter's "instinct for the deliberate insult, the loaded phrase and the broad innuendo." Columnist Joseph Kraft accused him of "overkill" and a "compulsion to humiliate and crush the President." Fearing a pro-Ford backlash, Carter changed course for a couple of days last week, adopting a somewhat less strident campaign style. By week's end, he was again flailing away at Ford. In a sharp telegram to the President, he demanded that Ford stop misrepresenting his position on several issues, most notably federal spending, the defense budget and taxes. Ford, after sending a telegram to Carter in reply, told an audience in Lincoln, Ill.: "There is some confusion on exactly where he does stand. I am delighted to help him clarify his programs."

Unless he self-destructs, Carter, with his solid Southern electoral base, appears to be in a strong position to attain the goal he has pursued so single-mindedly for the past four years. But Independent Eugene McCarthy could siphon off enough liberal votes to cost Carter some crucial states (see story page 17). Other potential land mines:

-- The abortion issue. Only a small minority would cast their votes solely on how the candidates stand on abortion. But they are concentrated in such states as Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey and Illinois, and they could have an impact on a tight race. As one right-to-life leader argues: "We will demonstrate against Jimmy Carter. We will not demonstrate against President Ford." Actually, Ford's position on abortion is only marginally different from Carter's. The President favors a constitutional amendment to allow states to prohibit abortions, an idea given no realistic chance of being adopted. Carter opposes abortion but also opposes an amendment prohibiting it.

-- Campaign funds. Carter enters the homestretch with only half as much campaign money as Ford--$9.3 million, v. $18.3 million. While Carter spent heavily for travel and staff, the President confined himself to the White House. Late this week he plans to begin virtually nonstop travel, as well as a media blitz, for the closing days--notably in California, Texas, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Illinois and Michigan--that Carter cannot match.

Carter views such difficulties with the serenity of a candidate who figures he has the election in hand. A full six days of the campaign's closing weeks will be spent at home in Plains, Ga. After all, a man contemplating a move to Washington wants to enjoy the old homestead to the fullest while he can.

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