Who's for Whom

Most U.S. newspapers are owned by Republicans, and the majority of publishers remain G.O.P. loyalists on their editorial pages. But not since the trade weekly Editor & Publisher started keeping track 40 years ago has a Republican presidential candidate enjoyed such an overwhelming edge in endorsements as Richard Nixon does this year. By the beginning of October, reported E & P, 548 dailies with combined circulation of 17.5 million had come out for Nixon's reelection, while only 38 with 1.4 million circulation had backed George McGovern. The trend was continuing last week, and Nixon is certain of a much bigger editorial edge than in 1968, when he was favored by 634 dailies (circ. 34.5 million) to 146 (circ. 9.5 million) for Hubert Humphrey.

In the traditionally Democratic South, McGovern is taking a particularly bad beating. Even the Abilene (Texas) Reporter News has endorsed Nixon, the first time it has gone for a Republican in 91 years. The only Southern papers of any size to opt for McGovern so far are Little Rock's Arkansas Gazette and Louisville's Courier-Journal. Elsewhere, Nixon enjoys a solid majority of editorial votes in the Midwest and a virtual stranglehold on the West Coast. In New England, the sole prominent daily to declare for McGovern to date is the Pittsfield (Mass.) Berkshire Eagle (circ. 30,519).

Serious Question. Among major papers that announced their choices last week, the Philadelphia Inquirer and Los Angeles Times came out for Nixon. McGovern, said the Times, is "weakest where Mr. Nixon is strongest--in the perception of the nation's place in the world." But the St. Louis Post-Dispatch expressed its dissent, saying that McGovern "offers a philosophy of decency and compassion directed toward healing wounds and drawing the nation together. Mr. Nixon's appeal is to less noble instincts."

LIFE, one of the few magazines that formally endorses candidates, declares for Nixon in its current issue. The editorial says: "The Nixon Administration, despite its one glaring failure in foreign policy--the long stay in Viet Nam for less and less--and despite some sizable shortcomings in domestic policy, does have an impressive record of accomplishment." LIFE credits McGovern with "admirable qualities of compassion and courage," but concludes: "Some of his statements on foreign policy and defense have sounded either uninformed or frighteningly naive. Most damaging of all, his indecisiveness and his impulsive rhetoric have raised a serious question as to his personal capacity to handle the responsibilities of the presidency."

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