Gadfly in a Suicide Post

There was chin wagging, eyebrow lifting and nay-saying when the announcement came that Georgia Congressman Andrew Jackson Young Jr. had been nominated as the United States Ambassador to the United Nations. Indeed, for a while the firmest nay had been that of Young himself. But last week, under what one source described as "imploring by Carter to reconsider," personable Andy Young accepted what he conceded to be, only half facetiously, a suicide post, or so it has proved for many a famed political figure.

The present ambassador, William Scranton, although ideologically aligned with President Ford, urged the nomination of Young. His reasoning: Young would be in such close contact with his President that he might be able to influence national actions on the international stage, particularly in Africa, where the situation may become critical. The perceived closeness between Young and Carter is real, having both a political base (Young delivered invaluable black support to Carter) and a personal one (the fellow Georgians' knowledge of and respect for each other).

Many appraised the appointment positively. Says one former U.N. official: "Moynihan was the stick, Scranton was the carrot, and now Young can reap the benefits by innovating." According to a black diplomat, Young "could go far in changing the 'atmospherics,' and that is important since many U.N. issues are more symbolic than real."

But other U.N. observers doubt how much Young can achieve. They point out that after the fires of rhetoric have burned low and the time comes for the casting of votes or vetoes, the U.S. ambassador is expected to follow State Department instructions. Young is aware of how little he can do if his orders clash with his conscience. As he said in an

ABC-TV interview last week: "I may have to be absent on an occasion rather than cast a veto that I don't believe in" -an allusion to such issues as southern African problems and the admission of Viet Nam to the U.N.

Nor is the fact that he is a black necessarily going to help Young at the U.N. Black Africans have long resented appointments of black U.S. ambassadors to African countries, and in Young's case some Africans feel he could do them more good if he stayed in Washington.

Risky Future. Young, 44, is one of the brightest Congressmen. Defeated only in his first campaign for election to the House in 1970, he has won three later contests by ever increasing majorities. He has earned a prized place on the immensely powerful House Rules Committee, and with continuity of service he would be virtually assured of eventual succession to its chairmanship. Why he should risk so golden a political future remains a mystery to many of his supporters.

New York City (Harlem) Congressman Charles Rangel spelled out his concern for the appointee: "It takes a lot of courage for a man of Andy Young's reputation to go to the U.N. and deal with the credibility gap that we have with the Third World nations. I don't envy him. In fact, if I were a religious man, I'd be praying for him."

Through the bitter years of the civil rights battles and the uphill struggle toward power in Congress, Young has retained an almost incongruous sense of humor. "I always used to enjoy throwing out ideas on foreign policy, acting like a gadfly, just to stimulate discussion," he said last week. "Then I got involved with this peanut farmer from Georgia and everyone has started to take me seriously."

Among other attributes he will bring to the U.N. are a fine speaking style, an attractive family (he has four children) and an indefinable quality that makes people trust him. Also diplomatic experience in the harshest sense. As he once put it: "I was taught to fight when people called me nigger. That's when I learned that negotiation is better than fighting."

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