Correspondents' Correspondence The Carter Question
SCHIEFFER, BOB
Correspondents' Correspondence BRIEF TAKEOUTS OF MORE THAN PERSONAL INTEREST FROM LETTERS AND OTHER COMMUNICATIONS RECEIVED BY THE EDITORS. The Carter Question Washington—The remarkable thing...
...In retrospect, they say, Carter's campaign in the primaries was not as perfect as it was originally perceived to be...
...That is the question being asked here these days in the offices of political strategists of both parties and by almost everyone else even remotely interested in politics...
...Now it seems Carter must use the two remaining debates not only to demonstrate a grasp of the issues but also to show that he is a decisive man of action, good judgment and common sense.—Bob Schief-fer...
...In contrast, President Ford is able to command instant media coverage when he rebuts Carter, and it is no longer rebuttal directed at a host of candidates but criticism leveled at one individual...
...the possible benefits are somewhat harder to discern...
...The remarkable thing about his campaign since then is that he seems unable to do anything right...
...Since most of the time Carter was just one of many challengers on the hustings, they point out, his blunders were frequently overlooked simply because no one candidate received the kind of concentrated coverage both the President and Carter are getting now...
...But the bishops and Playboy posed an even greater mystery, for both pretty clearly involved no-win or at best long-shot situations...
...The Ford people are spreading the word that Carter is simply the victim of his own bad judgment...
...Whatever it is that has gone wrong with the Carter campaign, there is for the first time a genuine feeling of optimism around the Ford camp...
...When Carter sought the meeting with the bishops he knew they were upset over his stance and unlikely to change their minds under any circumstances...
...What has happened to Carter...
...In the cases of Kelley, the grain embargo and the misunderstood tax plan, the mystery was why a man who only a few months ago was being admired for not commenting on anything before having a firm position in mind appeared to have lost that touch...
...Carter's strange interview in Playboy magazine capped off some very rocky weeks...
...Carter's fumbling, it seems to me, has made the television debates critical to all concerned...
...The Ford people are especially pleased with indications in the polls that there are no overriding issues this year such as the war in Vietnam or Watergate...
...Carter became embroiled in a controversy over whether or not he would fire FBI director Clarence Kelley for accepting gifts and services from his staff...
...The Carter Question Washington—The remarkable thing about Jimmy Carter's primary campaign was that he seemed unable to do anything wrong...
...Carter's mistakes, it is further noted, were sometimes pointed out forcefully by the other Democratic hopefuls—Morris Udall, for example...
...There was a time when it was thought the Georgian could beat the President if he just broke even in the debates —although he was not able to do that in the first meeting, according to a poll conducted by CBS News and the New York Times...
...and in one interview Carter seemed to advocate raising the taxes of everyone in the United States who earned more than $12 thousand to $14 thousand a year...
...The possible hazards of the Playboy interview would seem as obvious as the front side of one of the magazine's bunnies...
...The Ford people see no way Carter has helped his Presidential image in recent weeks...
...During the period, Catholic bishops met with the Democratic candidate and said publicly they found his position on abortion disappointing...
...Many voters, apparently, will vote for the man with whom they feel most comfortable—the man who seems more Presidential...
...But often that criticism was discounted as coming from politicians who were simply trying to knock off the front runner...
...The President's supporters, of course, will be delighted if that view catches on...
...Some reporters who have traveled with Carter suggest other explanations...
...he qualified a campaign promise that he would never impose embargoes on grain sales overseas...
Vol. 59 • October 1971 • No. 20
