Mister Sam's Successor

Already all but settled is the question of Sam Rayburn's successor as Speaker. Democrats are ready to elect Massachusetts' Representative John McCormack, 69, when they caucus in January. McCormack was Democratic majority leader during all the years of Rayburn's speakership. He acted as temporary Speaker when Rayburn went home last summer, and by House tradition, broken only once in the past half a century, the majority leader succeeds as Speaker--and one thing Mister Sam left, beyond doubt, was a legacy of respect for tradition. McCormack already has commitments from all potential rivals except Missouri's liberal Representative Richard Bolling, a Rayburn protege and a favorite of John Kennedy's.

Democrats may, however, come into conflict in choosing McCormack's replacement as floor leader. The leading candidate is Oklahoma's Carl Albert, 53, currently the Democratic whip and a party workhorse who is well liked by the White House. But since the majority leadership leads toward the Speaker's chair and McCormack himself is not likely to be a long-term incumbent, Albert may have eager opposition. Dick Boiling, 45, is one possibility, and so is Alabama's Albert Rains, 59, a moderate who gets along well with both the party's Northern and Southern blocs in the House.

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