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Show like Jacqueline Kennedy, is young, pretty and stylish plus having a natural, outgoing charm that the former First Lady lacked. Be'sides, Sharon Rockefeller comes of a good political family herself, being the daughter of Illinois Senator Charles Percy. Why does a Rockfeller go into politics? For Jay Rockefeller the answer is a mixture of ambition and compassion. The son of John D. Rockefeller 3rd, head of the Lincoln Center cultural complex in New York, he went to school at the best Eastern institutions Exeter, Harvard, and later Yale, where he specialized in Asian studies. Asia vs. America Actually, Rockefeller told PARADE in an interview in his spacious, blue-carpet- ed office in the state capitol, he came to West Virginia almost by chance. "1 had thought wanted to get into Asian affairs," he said. "I even had visions of being the first U.S. Ambassador to Red China. I had worked for the Peace Corps in Washington and then the State Department pn the Philippines desk. I decided I knew a lot about Asia but not enough about America. I made a very conscious decision to go into the Poverty Program to get the broadest view of American politics." The choice of West Virginia was made at the suggestion of an old Peace Corps friend who was torn in the state. So in 1964 Rockefeller was assigned to a tiny town 15 miles south of Charleston called Emmons. There are cynics who hint that a poor area was deliberately selected to give Rockefeller a chance to overcome the image. After all, West Virginia is the state where Jack Kennedy scored heavily in a primary victory over Hubert Humphrey on his way to the 1960 Democratic nomination. His first day in Emmons, Rockefeller recalls, he drove there in a Hertz car with a Washington license plate. "The people thought I was either a Republican organizer, a Federal revenue agent looking for moonshine stills, or a state official checking on welfare recipients." But he won the trust and affection of the poverty-ridde- n town and helped them to start a community action organization. 1 of a welfare group holding demonstration at the state capitol. He's the only Democrat in the family. rich-playb- npn J iiUL by Jack Anderson CHARLESTON, W. VA. nn American history, the name Rockefeller has always been a synonym for money. But in recent years it's also taken on another meaning: politi- cian. Right now there's a new Rockefeller of Sen. Percy. Son Jamie is 1 year old. on the political horizon, and some observers predict that before long he'll tower over the others in importance, just as he does already in physical height. He's Jay Rockefeller formal name, John Davison Rockefeller 4th age, 33, 6 foot 6, and 20Q pounds, handsome, multimillionaire Secretary of State in West Virginia. As a politician, Jay Rockefeller joins his uncles Nelson, Governor of New York, and Winthrop, Governor of Arkansas. But he's his own man, and always has been. For one thing, he's a Democrat. For another, he's starting in politics a lot younger, and working at it harder. Political supporters who've seen him in action say he's headed for the Presidency of the United States, and will run for the West Virginia Governorship in 1972 as a major stepping stone. His large personal staff resembles that of the late John F. Kennedy in its youth, energy and loyalty. And his wife, Sharon! oy Emotional impact "Something happened to him when he went down to West Virginia," says his friend Charles Peters, editor of the Washington Monthly. "It was a tremendous emotional experience. The impact on him was obvious. It took this raw material and made it committed." After less than two years in Emmons, Jay ran successfully for the state legislature, telling his friends: "I'm going into politics because I now realize that the job of helping the poor cannot be continued 6 PARADE JULY 19, 1970 |