Show t frimll far on 1948 bial candidates truman seen as standard bearer 2 ot of the ine democratic party dewey faces fight in new york to stay in GOP race by BAUKHAGE news analyst and commentator service 1616 E eye ye street NW washington D C national elections still are three years away but washington politicians and news correspond corre correspondents spon dents particularly the latter already are selecting men to be watched the next campaign will be normal in sit at least one respect namely that the democratic candidate for all practical purposes already has been chosen unless the par tys hierarchy wishes to confess failure of a policy of government it has espoused with only occasional occa occasional siona departures the ticket will be headed by president harry S truman As a matter of fact that can now be dismissed from conjecture unless fate intervenes truman is the candidate however passing of a president and the elimination fro from m the political scene of an incumbent in the vice presidency plus election of a democratic mayor in new york city have combined to encourage election forecasting mayor elect william odwyer will not figure personally so but because he ran roughshod over the nominee of governor thomas E dewey head of the republican national ticket in 1944 he has brought national implications into what otherwise would have been simply a municipal ballot who will be Tr running mate currently is a kopul popular ar subject of debate in political circles whom the republicans will place on their ticket runs a close second taking those developments up in in inverse order attention first comes to governor dewey his was the presidential chance discounted by the election of odwyer in new york city over josiah goldstein a former democrat turned Rep republican a circumstance that help him one bit in an overwhelmingly democratic community headed for the past 12 years by mayor laguardia LaGuardi i the little flower defied fi d description by party label but his replacement on january I 1 will be regarded as substitution of a democrat for a republican no one familiar with new york state politics needs to be told how poor are the chances of a candidate for governor who lacks city support dewey faces the new york electorate two years hence and he does it recent history indicates without city backing if he fails to gain another term at albany that plus his defeat for the presidency just about ends him as a contender strong GOP COP competitors loom assuming if only for the sake of developing the thought that this diagnosis by washington scribes is accurate upon whom does the mantle fall the subject becomes difficult at that juncture but there are two who stand out so far in front of other aspirants as to make them virtually alone in the field one is a disciple of the old school the other an ultramodern ultra modern in politics the former senator arthur vandenburg of michigan the latter former governor harold stassen of minnesota A close third and a vigorous contender is ex governor john bricker of ohio A political catalogue could hardly record three more differing types senator vandenburg is the most p politically orthodox of the three his experience in public life has been confined wholly to tho th united states senate but he has made the best of every political break A forceful orator be is known throughout the country there is no bluster to his oratory it has been pointed at specific objects and he has clicked with the country facing an era of international a dea dealings lingk of transcendent importance he is well versed in world affairs he was chosen over several other illustrious party members as a republican delegate to the united nations conference at san francisco francisca where he acquitted himself well in the field of labor relations second today only to international problems he was the sponsor of the recent labor management meetings in washington which if they did no more proved that employers and employees can sit down at the same table and discuss their differences feren ces even if they cannot aradi cate them that was a major stepping stone toward amity it was labeled the presidents labor man argement conference both sides and the rest of the nation know it was Vanden burgs former governor stassen stands in a position to become the first veteran of world war II 11 to become president just as the incumbent president truman is the first veteran of world war I 1 to achieve that high estate stassen has youth plus experience ce as the chief administrator of a state which is important politically and geographically like vandenburg he also was a delegate to san francisco but in any frank appraisal PP baisal of their roles in international politics he must give ground to the michigan senator however stassen has captured popular imagination by his forward looking attitude toward the tantamount subject of the day the atomic bomb he has a faculty for capitalizing on issues governor bricker faces the drawback that hes been to the well before he failed to win the republican presidential nomination in 1944 and had to be content with second place but who could win against the wave of dewey sentiment then washing over the nation that he has made a splendid state administrator even democrats admit what he lacks is recognition outside his own state he has suffered from the accusation that he is provincial his declarations on foreign affairs as a vice presidential candidate a year ago marked for their profundity convincing unless all present plans miscarry bricker will try for the united states senate that would give him the national sounding board he needs bricker is handsome an attribute which cannot be overlooked in these days of vote hes an able speaker and a war veteran the latter will be a factor to be carefully weighed when the 1948 1943 ticket is made up and this time hell have the wholehearted support of senator robert A taft of his home state something he lacked in a practical sense before taft was a candidate himself this time hf he says he will not be democrats vie for vice presidency on the democratic side the goal hopefuls will be shooting for is the vice presidential nomination the field is rather open but not to the more obvious personages there is of course no vice president today senator kenneth mckellar functions on the job as president pro tern tem of the senate actually in spite spile of public thought to the contrary that make him the second highest officer of the federal government protocol places the speaker of the house next to the president As a matter of record president truman has asked congress to enact legislation creating statutory succession to the presidency with the speaker preferred over the president pro tern tem of the senate should vacancies occur in in both the presidency and the vice presidency translated into sports talk mckellar is in on a pass in any event mckellar will be approaching 80 years of age when the next convention rolls around and would be out of the running on that score if for no other reason A dark horse in the long range predictions is senator brian mc term member he trimmed the popular and able senator john danaher republican to win his office he has many of the attributes which won votes for thomas dewey a year ago hes young just turned 42 he has proved himself an able prosecutor while serving as chief of af the criminal division in the department part ment of justice when he cleaned up such messes as the harlan mine outlawry hes a white house intimate a vigorous speaker self made man with a substantial accumulation of worldly goods gained in the practice of law and hes chairman of the senates committee to develop national policy on atomic energy in gaining the latter distinction he overthrew the senate seniority rule and bypassed by passed older members who aspired to that important post |