Is McGovern a Stalking Horse?

McGovern [is] less a candidate in his own right than a vulnerable and expendable point man for the Kennedy juggernaut. His organization is a Kennedy front; his campaign team a Kennedy farm club. The McGovern for President Committee is rapidly becoming a wholly- owned subsidiary of Edward M. Kennedy Enterprises, Inc.

The charge, made in the Republican National Committee's peppery publication Monday, has surface validity. The presidential candidacy of South Dakota Senator George McGovern seems to have little steam of its own. Polls indicate that only 5% of the nation's registered Democrats and 6% of Democratic county chairmen prefer him over the other potential Democratic candidates. His camp abounds with "Kennedy men": Advisers Arthur Schlesinger Jr. and John Kenneth Galbraith, Robert Kennedy's Press Secretary Frank Mankiewicz, Writers Richard Goodwin and Adam Walinsky, plus other lesser-known figures. President Kennedy's Press Secretary Pierre Salinger will be coming aboard early next year. McGovern himself was John Kennedy's Food for Peace director. Moreover, McGovern's posi-tion on the Democratic left is about where Ted Kennedy would be expected to be if he were running.

Kennedy Myth. Certainly, if Ted Kennedy were to plunge into the primaries as an announced candidate, the McGovern candidacy would be all but buried. McGovern almost certainly would urge his followers to support Kennedy, and some of McGovern's aides would rush to Teddy's side. As one of the party's top pros put it: "McGovern wouldn't last five minutes." Yet that reality does not necessarily make McGovern a mere stalking horse for Kennedy. The most compelling reason for denying the charge is that many of those aides are thoroughly convinced that Kennedy has no intention of seeking the nomination--at least not before the Democratic Convention. Even then, most of them think that the convention would have to be deadlocked to turn to him.

Another complexity is that there are so many men in the Democratic Party who have worked for one or more of the Kennedys in their many campaigns that it is difficult for a serious candidate to find a seasoned staff without including some of them. Examples: New York Democratic National Committeeman John F. English and former Massachusetts Democratic State Chairman Lester Hyman are working for Senator Edmund Muskie. Former John Kennedy Campaign Organizer Hy Raskin is on Washington Senator Henry Jackson's unofficial campaign staff. At the same time, such key Kennedy operatives as Ted Sorensen and Kenneth O'Donnell have not jumped in to help McGovern --or anyone else yet.

Also involved is what McGovern Campaign Manager Gary Hart, who was Robert Kennedy's Western coordinator in 1968, calls "a popular American myth that all Kennedys are alike, and people support Kennedys in equal measure. Actually, there are the John Kennedy people and the Bob Kennedy people and the Teddy Kennedy people." Adds another Democratic insider: "A lot of people who'd go down the line for Bobby wouldn't do a thing for Teddy."

The possibility of a McCarthy candidacy could also complicate the situation, outflanking both Kennedy and McGovern on the left. The former Minnesota Senator met recently for a strategy session with two groups of potential financial backers in New York, and some participants were certain that the unpredictable politician is going to compete in the Democratic primaries again. At the meetings Howard Stein, chairman of the Dreyfus Corporation and an angel for his 1968 run, and others indicated that if McCarthy does run, the money will be there.

Have to Take It. Perhaps the most convincing evidence of all that Mc- Govern is not just operating a holding action for Kennedy is the determined and energetic way in which he is campaigning. He is traveling widely, speaking up readily on issues. He has taken to wearing longer hair, buckled shoes, flowered ties and modish suits to appeal to a younger following. Vows McGovern: "If Senator Kennedy or anyone else gets that nomination, they are going to have to take it away from me. I'm not yielding to anyone." Iowa Senator Harold Hughes, who recently withdrew from contention, insists: "George is not a stalking horse for anybody. He's in it to win. He's serious. But he doesn't have a chance." At any rate, if he were not in the race, the party would be further to the right.

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