The Silent and Unsilent

The "silent majority" is becoming one of the Administration's catch phrases. Richard Nixon appealed to it on Nov. 3 to stand by his war policies. Its opposite, of course, is the unsilent minority, which Spiro Agnew, who has been running regular Thursday-night beat-the-press shows, defines as "an arrogant few" dissenters. Such constant reference to that magic line of 51% of the people--whether friends above it or opponents below it--may end up looking like a form of insecurity. After the Senate rejected Judge Clement Haynsworth for the Supreme Court, the President observed, naturally enough, "I deeply regret this action." But then, as if bringing up reinforcements, he added: "I believe the majority of people in the nation regret it." A majority of the Senators, elected by a majority of their constituents, may have wondered whether they had suddenly joined the unsilent minority.

Nixon--who was elected President by a minority of the voters--is doubtless correct in saying that the majority supports him on the war, and it is an important fact. But to lean on that fact quite so heavily may not be the wisest form of leadership. The majority rules, and it should--but it is sometimes wrong and often fickle. What (it is intriguing to speculate) would the President do if his present majority should change its mind and turn against his policies? One thing, though: the President has not yet taken to carrying different opinion polls, Johnson-style, in all his pockets.

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