Show GENERAL HUGH S. S JOHN JOHNSON SO 0 0 L Forr N V CAMPAIGN WEAKNESSES WASHINGTON You certainly a have to hand it to the old master in inthe inthe inthe the White House for his ability to 11 keep the show going all by himself and to conduct a brilliant political campaign without even seeming to know that one is going on e He is doing it in scintillating fash fash- tb ion ion He is getting away with itHe it He isn't even being seriously challenged challenged challenged chal chal- by what should be his opposition tion Maybe Mr Willkie is just winding winding wind wind- ing up but he is taking a painfully long time about it Public enthusiasm is a fickle jade lI Mr Willkie's es e's performance in taking Q the nomination away from the professionals professionals professionals pro pro- at Philadelphia was as spectacular a show as Mr Roosevelt's Roosevelt's Roosevelt's Roose Roose- velt's getting the naval and air mr bases It captivated the country but as the President knows so well a popular figure has got to keep the glass balls bans dancing Mr Willkie himself apparently relies more on Orrin Roots Root's amate amateur amateur ama ama- te r Willkie clubs than on the Republican Republican Re Rt publican party organizations in the several states That is a mistake that Mr Roosevelt never made He had all kinds of amateur clubs too Businessmen's Roosevelt for President President President dent clubs the Good Neighbor league and as many others as could b Jo e ft own t ther u oge These dont don't have to putter around depending on emergency organization organization tion and manufactured enthusiasm They depend on dough and Hatch act or no Hatch act money still talks Mr Roosevelt has 10 billions to spend Yet with all that intriCate intricate intricate cate pattern of decentralized regional region region- al organization Mr Roosevelt never neglected the good old Democratic i political organization On the contrary contrary contrary con con- he relied on it rewarded it reorganized it and built it up to a greater strength and on a wider range than any Democratic organization organization organization had ever known before Mr Willkie may have been nominated in 4 1 spite of the professionals but he certainly cannot be elected without them He cant can't be elected without making making making mak mak- ing election issues either The ammunition ammunition ammunition am am- is there by the ton ton ton-cais- cais caissons sons bursting with it But no shell shellis is worth its cost without a gun to shoot it I always thought the President President President dent was wrong in condemning Yes But men in term off-term debate of issues but you cant can't get anywhere anywhere anywhere any any- where in a political campaign if all you have learned to say is Yes But You have got to learn to say No Sir II and make it emphatic c cand and convincing enough to be heard and carry conviction I didn't expect that any candidate or any party would ever again make the terrific blunders of the All Alf Landon Landon Landon Lan- Lan don campaign but so far this Republican Republican Republican Re Re- publican campaign looks enough like it to be its twin i The high command of both the political political political po po- po- po armies appear reasonably confident and tranquil but the great I general staff of each is in a dither I For the Democrats the loss of Jim Farley on the eve of the battle of the third term was some such catastrophe as would be the loss of 1 Hitler to the Nazis before a decision in the Battle of Britain Mr Flynn make no mistake about it is a very able man with a better basic brain I think than his great predecessor But Mr Flynns Flynn's field command has been restricted to the Battle of the Bronx and this great American terrain is a very different matter Even on his own ground Mr Flynn will have to wait walt until the great boss buster Tom Dewey gets through with him Mr Flynns Flynn's Bronx empire was just a little imitation competition Tammany I dont don't know what bones are buried in that realm realm but but maybe maybe may may- be Mr Dewey does On the Rep Republican side campaign manager Joe Martin is as active as asa asa asa a night prowling tom-cat tom on a aUn tin lin roof dodging missiles and talking back but that is in congress not congress not the campaign The purely political political political cal general staff statI is therefore leaderless leaderless leaderless leader- leader less and accordingly disorganized There isn't even a speech There is no strategy board of elder statesmen statesmen statesmen-or or rather seasoned poli poli- Mr Willkie fascinates everybody everybody everybody ev ev- who sees him or hears him talk extemporaneously either on a chair or platform but there are people in this country and he cant can't see them all There is the radio but he is not coached to click there and in spite of the wailing of several speech experts as Haines Falconer that he has a natural equipment with which r. r v he could promptly be made the i greatest radio orator of our t time me a combination on of diffidence and rugged rugged rug rug- ged individualism prevents that A great opportunity seems to be trembling trembling trem trem- bling in the balance y Senator WASHINGTON Senator Pepper wants the President to have the power to suspend all statutes in preparing for defense and imagining imagining ing that he is Patrick Henry shouts shouts' If this be dictatorship make moke the most of it It happens to be Patrick Patrick Patrick Pat Pat- rick Henry in reverse Senator Josh Lee wants the President President dent to have power to take the newspapers newspapers newspapers news news- papers and radio for propaganda in in other words to suppress truth 1 and tell lies to the American people In short they say we must become become become be be- come Nazis to fight Hitler |